Positive University Environment and Agreeableness as Protective Factors Against Antisocial Behavior in Mexican University Students.

Violence in schools is a global issue. Approximately 32% of Mexican students have experienced some form of violence in the school setting in their lives. Previous research has tended to focus on the causes of violence and antisocial behaviors in offenders or adolescent samples and has found evidence to suggest the underlying role of environmental and personal factors. The present study investigates the effect of positive school environment and agreeableness as protective factors against antisocial behaviors in a sample of undergraduate and graduate students (n = 304) from northwestern Mexico. Our results demonstrate that a positive school environment has a negative effect on antisocial behaviors via mood and anxiety disorders as well as in interaction with agreeableness, suggesting an interplay between personality and environment. These findings can provide some basis for the development of university programs aimed at fostering positive environments that promote student mental health and protect against antisocial behaviors.

Beyond the Categorical Distinction Between Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar II Disorder Through the Identification of Personality Traits Profiles.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and type-II bipolar disorder (BDII) is not clearly understood. Nevertheless, in clinical practice and research, most efforts focus on establishing a categorical distinction between the two. We propose using personality traits as a more informative strategy to describe them. METHODS: Five-Factor Model personality traits were measured in 73 individuals with either BPD or BDII. Latent class cluster analysis was applied to the sample. RESULTS: A three-cluster model resulted the best fit to the data, where all clusters had high neuroticism and low extraversion scores but differed widely on the other traits. The clusters' boundaries did not match the categorical diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our sample showed significant heterogeneity on personality traits, which can have a relevant effect on the outcome of each disorder and that was not captured by the categorical diagnosis. Thus, we advocate for a multivariate approach as a better way to understand the relationship between BPD and BDII.

Predictive factors of treatment adherence in cancer outpatients.

OBJECTIVE: Identify which variables are predictors of treatment adherence in cancer patients. METHODS: Two hundred twenty cancer outpatients were evaluated by the following instruments: questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical data, NEO-FFI Personality Inventory Revised (NEO-FFI-R), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), patient's knowledge about cancer disease questionnaire, and Adherence Determinants Questionnaire (ADQ). A logistic regression analysis was applied to verify the predictive power of the variables, and network analyses were conducted through the qgraph package. RESULTS: The sample was composed of 138 (62.7%) women and 82 (37.3%) men. The mean age of participants was 54.66 (SD = 13.30), and the education level mean was 8.32 (DP = 3.76) years of study. Powerful others locus of control (LOC) and the personality factors conscientiousness and agreeableness are presented as predictors of high treatment adherence. The variable family cancer history, on the other hand, was a predictor of lower adherence levels. CONCLUSIONS: The powerful others LOC may be connected with more trust and dependence in the health team, leading to better adherence. Specific characteristics of personality factors can help individuals to cooperate with their caregivers and to follow medical orders. The evaluated factors are interrelated and should be taken into account by health professionals when developing interventions to modify health-related behaviors and treatment adherence.

Agreeableness and interpersonal forgiveness in young adults: the moderating role of gender / Agradabilidad y perdón interpersonal en adultos jóvenes: el papel moderador del género

Interest in psychological correlates and personality substrates of forgiveness has been growing recently. Empirical evidences have suggested that agreeableness may be the most robust predictor of forgiveness and revenge. This article examined gender differences in the relationship between this dispositional quality and interpersonal forgiveness in a sample of young adults. This study also tested the role of gender as a potential moderating factor between dispositional traits and forgiveness dimensions. While no gender differences were found in agreeableness in our sample, females scored lower in motivation to avoid while males scored higher in motivation to revenge. Results also indicated that agreeableness was significantly associated with motivations to avoid (only in males) and seek revenge (for both genders). Finally, gender also moderated the association between agreeableness and motivation to revenge. Our findings are discussed in terms of the need for future research to consider these differences in further positive psychology intervention programs.

Ei interés por los correlatos psicológicos y los factores de personalidad subyacentes a la capacidad de perdonar ha crecido recientemente. la evidencia empírica sugiere que la agradabilidad podría ser el predictor más robusto del perdón y la venganza. Este estudio examina las diferencias de género en la relación entre esta cualidad disposicional y el perdón en una muestra de adultos jóvenes. También se comprobó el papel del género como moderador entre agradabilidad y perdón. Aunque no se encontraron diferencias de género en agradabilidad, las mujeres puntuaron menos en evitación mientras los hombres puntuaron más en venganza. Los resultados también indicaron que la agradabilidad se relacionó significativamente con motivación a la evitación (en hombres) y motivación a la venganza (para ambos sexos). Finalmente, el género moderó la asociación entre agradabilidad y motivación a la venganza. se discute la necesidad de considerar estas diferencias en futuros programas de intervención en psicología positiva.

Evaluación psicométrica de un instrumento de deseabilidad social para niños / Psychometric assessment of a measure for social desirability for children

El objetivo del estudio realizado fue evaluar las propiedades psicométricas de una medida de deseabilidad social (8 ítemes) para niños, elaborado en habla hispana (Lemos, 2005), y que se distingue por su brevedad, respaldo de la literatura científica, novedad y originalmente construido en habla hispana. El instrumento es particularmente relevante para la investigación que usa el auto-reporte como medida de recolección de datos en niños, la cual es muy frecuente en niños y adultos. Sin embargo, hay apenas algunos estudios en niños con este constructo en habla hispana, especialmente con el desarrollo de test para su medición. La validación original muestra propiedades psicométricas que posiblemente no son replicables por cuestiones metodológicas. Debido a la importancia de describir y cuantificar este constructo en población infantil, se evaluó su estructura interna (análisis factorial confirmatorio de grupo múltiple), validez de constructo (diferencias de edad y sexo) y confiabilidad (consistencia interna, KR-20 con modificación Horst) en una muestra peruana de 202 niños de nivel primario de una institución educativa pública, de educación regular. Los análisis mostraron que solo una dimensión retiene mejor la variancia de los ítemes (contrastando con la bidimensionalidad original), algunos ítemes tienen bajas correlaciones inter-ítem y cargas factoriales, la consistencia interna es baja, y que las correlaciones con la edad no siguieron el patrón esperado. Se discuten los resultados estructurales en el marco del sesgo producido por el fraseo de los ítemes y las diferencias metodológicas del estudio que se informa, aspectos que pueden influir en las propiedades psicométricas del instrumento.

The importance of the effect of social desirability on self-reported measures in children has been analyzed for several decades, with the development of instruments for children (eg, Crandall, V. C.,Crandall, V. J. & Katkovsky, 1965). This type of research is still ongoing and developing basic research (Haghighat, 2007), especially in the creation of short measures (Carifio, 1992; Haghghat, 2007) with good discrimination and masked within test battery for use in group research in children. However, research with this construct is more abundant in adults, and less common in children, especially in Latin America. May be the limitations in reading comprehension, development aspects in the recognition introspective cognitions and emotions, among other things, do not allow a deeper analysis and safety compared with adults. Also, in Spanish language, it is rare to find independent instruments that describe social desirability in children, but rather integrated into a multidimensional test (i.e., Eysenck, S. B. G. & Eysenck, H. J., 1973). One of the most important measures for social desirability speaking is developed in Hispanic context is the Children's Social Desirability Scale (EDESI -Lemos, 2005). This instrument has a particular relevance to psychological research, which calls attention to the impact of social desirability on reports that children make their own psychological attributes using questionnaires. Since EDESI can make an important psychometric contribution to quantify the social desirability in Hispanic children, ongoing evaluation of its psychometric properties have not only local value (i.e., relevant to the geographical region in which it was built) but also in the international context Hispanic. This study assess ed the replicability of results Lemos (2005), with this potential instrument of social desirability. Although some features of the study design Lemos not repeated here (e.g., distribution in different socioeconomic levels), the evidence obtained provides additional evidence in a rather partial replication framework. The sample consisted of 202 students from grade 4 to 6 (55% male and 45% female) primary level from a public educational institution of Lima, Perú, between 8 and 12 years old. For analysis, exploratory factor analysis in ULS method, parallel analysis and Scree Test for number of factors, polychoric correlations and Promax rotation (k = 4) was used. The estimate of reliability was made with the KR-20 coefficient and confidence intervals, and Horst's (1953) correction was used to reduce the impact of the dispersion of item difficulty (Merino & Charter, 2010). A one-dimensional structure as the most suitable was found to represent the construct. Internal consistency was slightly lower compared to that found in the original study, but still be considered equivalent. The results presented in this study suggest that previous findings (Lemos, 2003, 2005) are limited in their replicability, and probably the methodological choices for analyzing the internal relations of its items are the explanations for this. The instrument may require items to be scaled in three or four response choices and a slightly higher number of items if one want to improve efficiency in mass applications. Additionally, a check to verify the factor structure of the scale settings as a first step (Merino & Arndt, 2009) compared to more advanced methods (e.g., structural equations), should be conducted. According to results in this study, should be considered not just a two-dimensional model, but include a one-dimensional model that seems to compete more successfully with the original two-factor model. An important aspect is the phrasing of the items as grouping factor of the items. This problem is recognized in self-report instruments that have phrased items on direct and opposite direction to construct. The prospect of research on this topic, and with this instrument should include structural hypotheses as bifactor model and method factor as plausible explanations of relations between items. Also, assess the measurement model forget the best estimation of reliability. It can also anticipate constructing items with Hispanic multicultural relevance.

Evaluación psicométrica de un instrumento de deseabilidad social para niños / Psychometric assessment of a measure for social desirability for children

El objetivo del estudio realizado fue evaluar las propiedades psicométricas de una medida de deseabilidad social (8 ítemes) para niños, elaborado en habla hispana (Lemos, 2005), y que se distingue por su brevedad, respaldo de la literatura científica, novedad y originalmente construido en habla hispana. El instrumento es particularmente relevante para la investigación que usa el auto-reporte como medida de recolección de datos en niños, la cual es muy frecuente en niños y adultos. Sin embargo, hay apenas algunos estudios en niños con este constructo en habla hispana, especialmente con el desarrollo de test para su medición. La validación original muestra propiedades psicométricas que posiblemente no son replicables por cuestiones metodológicas. Debido a la importancia de describir y cuantificar este constructo en población infantil, se evaluó su estructura interna (análisis factorial confirmatorio de grupo múltiple), validez de constructo (diferencias de edad y sexo) y confiabilidad (consistencia interna, KR-20 con modificación Horst) en una muestra peruana de 202 niños de nivel primario de una institución educativa pública, de educación regular. Los análisis mostraron que solo una dimensión retiene mejor la variancia de los ítemes (contrastando con la bidimensionalidad original), algunos ítemes tienen bajas correlaciones inter-ítem y cargas factoriales, la consistencia interna es baja, y que las correlaciones con la edad no siguieron el patrón esperado. Se discuten los resultados estructurales en el marco del sesgo producido por el fraseo de los ítemes y las diferencias metodológicas del estudio que se informa, aspectos que pueden influir en las propiedades psicométricas del instrumento.(AU)

The importance of the effect of social desirability on self-reported measures in children has been analyzed for several decades, with the development of instruments for children (eg, Crandall, V. C.,Crandall, V. J. & Katkovsky, 1965). This type of research is still ongoing and developing basic research (Haghighat, 2007), especially in the creation of short measures (Carifio, 1992; Haghghat, 2007) with good discrimination and masked within test battery for use in group research in children. However, research with this construct is more abundant in adults, and less common in children, especially in Latin America. May be the limitations in reading comprehension, development aspects in the recognition introspective cognitions and emotions, among other things, do not allow a deeper analysis and safety compared with adults. Also, in Spanish language, it is rare to find independent instruments that describe social desirability in children, but rather integrated into a multidimensional test (i.e., Eysenck, S. B. G. & Eysenck, H. J., 1973). One of the most important measures for social desirability speaking is developed in Hispanic context is the Childrens Social Desirability Scale (EDESI -Lemos, 2005). This instrument has a particular relevance to psychological research, which calls attention to the impact of social desirability on reports that children make their own psychological attributes using questionnaires. Since EDESI can make an important psychometric contribution to quantify the social desirability in Hispanic children, ongoing evaluation of its psychometric properties have not only local value (i.e., relevant to the geographical region in which it was built) but also in the international context Hispanic. This study assess ed the replicability of results Lemos (2005), with this potential instrument of social desirability. Although some features of the study design Lemos not repeated here (e.g., distribution in different socioeconomic levels), the evidence obtained provides additional evidence in a rather partial replication framework. The sample consisted of 202 students from grade 4 to 6 (55% male and 45% female) primary level from a public educational institution of Lima, Perú, between 8 and 12 years old. For analysis, exploratory factor analysis in ULS method, parallel analysis and Scree Test for number of factors, polychoric correlations and Promax rotation (k = 4) was used. The estimate of reliability was made with the KR-20 coefficient and confidence intervals, and Horsts (1953) correction was used to reduce the impact of the dispersion of item difficulty (Merino & Charter, 2010). A one-dimensional structure as the most suitable was found to represent the construct. Internal consistency was slightly lower compared to that found in the original study, but still be considered equivalent. The results presented in this study suggest that previous findings (Lemos, 2003, 2005) are limited in their replicability, and probably the methodological choices for analyzing the internal relations of its items are the explanations for this. The instrument may require items to be scaled in three or four response choices and a slightly higher number of items if one want to improve efficiency in mass applications. Additionally, a check to verify the factor structure of the scale settings as a first step (Merino & Arndt, 2009) compared to more advanced methods (e.g., structural equations), should be conducted. According to results in this study, should be considered not just a two-dimensional model, but include a one-dimensional model that seems to compete more successfully with the original two-factor model. An important aspect is the phrasing of the items as grouping factor of the items. This problem is recognized in self-report instruments that have phrased items on direct and opposite direction to construct. The prospect of research on this topic, and with this instrument should include structural hypotheses as bifactor model and method factor as plausible explanations of relations between items. Also, assess the measurement model forget the best estimation of reliability. It can also anticipate constructing items with Hispanic multicultural relevance.(AU)

Personalidade e religiosidade/espiritualidade (R/E): [revisão] / Personality and religiousness/spirituality (R/E): [review]

CONTEXTO: Embora existam muitos estudos relacionando o contexto religioso com a saúde física e mental, há poucas pesquisas sobre a interface entre religiosidade/espiritualidade (R/E) e personalidade. OBJETIVOS: O objetivo principal foi revisar as evidências empíricas de investigações sobre a relação entre religiosidade, espiritualidade e personalidade. MÉTODOS: Foi realizado um levantamento da produção acadêmica por meio das bases de dados virtuais: PubMed e PsychInfo, com artigos indexados até janeiro de 2008 e utilizando as combinações: "personality and spiritu*" e "personality and religio*" Além disso, foram pesquisados os artigos presentes em uma metanálise sobre o tema. RESULTADOS: Alta Religiosidade está associada a baixo Psicoticismo e a alta Amabilidade e Conscienciosidade. Conscienciosidade em adolescentes pode ser um preditor significante para a maior religiosidade na adultez jovem. E a dimensão de Religiosidade é mais provável candidata a residir além dos cinco grandes fatores de personalidade. CONCLUSÃO: A crença em uma dimensão de Religiosidade, em uma realidade transcendente ou em um Deus pessoal, em alguns casos, parece não possuir correspondências entre quaisquer dos cinco fatores de personalidade. Isso parece indicar que a R/E seja um potencial sexto fator de personalidade que não está presente nos modelos de personalidade atuais.

BACKGROUND: Although there are many studies linking the religious context with fisical and mental health, there is little research on the interface between religiousness/spirituality and personality. OBJECTIVES: The main goal was to review the empirical research on the relationship between religiosity, spirituality and personality. METHODS: A survey of the academic production through virtual databases: PubMed and PsychInfo, published until January of 2008 and using the combinations: "personality and spiritu*" and "personality and religio*" was conducted, in addition to articles presented in a meta-analysis about the subject. RESULTS: High Religiousness is associated with low Psychoticism and high Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Conscientiousness in adolescents can be a significant predictor for the higher religiosity in the early adulthood. And the dimension of Religiosity seems to be a potentially candidate to be beyond the Big Five. DISCUSSION: The belief in a dimension of Religiosity, in a transcendent reality or in a personal God, in some cases, does not seem to show associations between any of the five factors of personality. This can indicate that the R/E is a potential sixth factor of personality that is not present in the current models of personality.

Construção e validação da escala fatorial de Socialização no modelo dos Cinco Grandes Fatores de Personalidade / Development and validation of an Agreeableness scale in the Big Five personality model

O presente estudo visou a construção e validação de construto de uma escala para a mensuração de Socialização no modelo dos Cinco Grandes Fatores de Personalidade. Neste Modelo, Socialização é uma dimensão da personalidade que agrupa traços como altruísmo, franqueza, confiança nas pessoas, bem como frieza, falta de empatia, comportamentos antisociais, etc. Os participantes deste estudo foram 1.100 pessoas de cinco estados brasileiros, de ambos os sexos, com nível de escolarização médio ou superior. Foram realizadas análises fatoriais para a verificação da dimensionalidade da EFS, sendo que a solução de três fatores foi considerada mais adequada. Os fatores extraídos foram denominados Amabilidade, Pró-sociabilidade e Confiança nas pessoas. A consistência interna dessas escalas (calculada por Alpha de Cronbach) foi de 0,91; 0,84 e 0,80 respectivamente, e da escala geral 0,92.

The present study was designed to develop and assess construct validity of an Agreeableness scale (Escala Fatorial de Socialização - EFS) in the Big Five model. In this model, Agreeableness is comprised by traits that describe altruism, straightforwardness, trust in people, as well as coldness, antisocial behaviors, among others. The participants were 1.100 individuals, from five States in Brazil, of both sexes, with high school or university level of education. Factor analyses were conducted to determine the EFS dimensions. A 3-factor solution was found to be more adequate. The factors found were named: Cordiality, Pro-sociability, and Trust in people. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alphas) for the factors were .91, .84, and .80 respectively, and .92 for the general scale.