Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio e Invarianza de la Versión Breve de la Escala de Dificultades de Regulación Emocional (DERS-S-SF) en una Muestra de Universitarios Peruanos

Compulsive buying in university students: its prevalence and relationships with materialism, psychological distress symptoms, and subjective well-being

This research aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between academic self-efficacy and dependence on artificial intelligence in a sample of Peruvian university students. A quantitative, non-experimental, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample consisted of 186 students of both sexes, selected through probabilistic sampling, who were administered the Specific Academic Situations Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale and the Artificial Intelligence Dependence Scale, instruments that showed adequate metric properties. The results showed that the level of academic self-efficacy was medium, while the dependence on artificial intelligence was moderate. Furthermore, it was found that men and students between the ages of 25 and 34 had slightly higher levels of academic self-efficacy. In comparison, those between the ages of 16 and 24 experienced higher levels of dependence on artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between both variables was -0.299 (p<0.05). It was concluded that there is an inverse and significant relationship between academic self-efficacy and dependence on artificial intelligence in the sample of Peruvian university students. In other words, as academic self-efficacy increases, the level of dependence on artificial intelligence tools decreases.

Introduction Nursing has a relevant role in managing mental health. It is important to identify and thereafter to enhance positive aspects of mental health among university nursing students. Aim The aim of the present study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Positive Mental Health Questionnaire (PMHQ) in terms of reliability and validity using confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of university students. Method A cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 1091 students at 4 nursing schools in Catalonia, Spain. The reliability of the PMHQ was measured by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and the test-retest stability was measured with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the validity of the factorial structure. Results Cronbach's alpha coefficient was satisfactory (>0.70) for four of the six subscales or dimensions and ranged from 0.54 to 0.79. ICC analysis was satisfactory for the six subscales or dimensions. The hypothesis was confirmed in the analysis of the correlations between subclasses and the overall scale, with the strongest correlations being found between the majority of the subscales and the overall scale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model proposed for the factors fit the data satisfactorily. Discussion This scale is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating positive mental health in university students. Implications for Practice A good questionnaire to measure positive mental health in university students is useful not only to promote mental health but also to strengthen the curricula of future professionals.

BackgroundAccumulated evidence suggests that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are at particular risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD). Yet, little is known about the mechanisms under this high comorbidity. This study aimed to elucidate the process of the development of alcohol related problems among individuals with elevated social anxiety. We investigated the moderation effect of difficulties in emotion regulation on the relationship between symptoms of social anxiety, coping and conformity motives and alcohol related problems.MethodsIn a sample of university students (N = 647) in South Korea, we examined whether cognitive (fear of negative evaluation), behavioral (social avoidance), and physiological symptoms (concerns over physiological symptoms) of social anxiety affect alcohol related problems with the mediation of coping and conformity motives. Furthermore, difficulties in emotion regulation were hypothesized to moderate each mediational path.ResultsResults showed that the fear of negative evaluation and concerns over physiological symptoms were associated with alcohol related problems with the mediation of conformity and coping motives, respectively. As hypothesized, each path was moderated by difficulties in emotion regulation.ConclusionsFindings suggest that coping and conformity motives to cope with cognitive and physiological symptoms of social anxiety were related to alcohol related problems. In addition, individuals with high levels of difficulties in emotion regulation were prone to exhibit more alcohol related problems.

Apresentaram-se neste trabalho dois estudos relativos à validação e adaptação transcultural Escala Multidimensional de Atitudes Face a Lésbicas e a Gays (EMAFLG; Gato, Fontaine, & Carneiro, 2012). Este instrumento é constituído por 27 itens distribuídos por quatro dimensões: Rejeição da proximidade; Homopatologização; Heterossexismo moderno; Suporte. No primeiro estudo, testou-se esta estrutura numa amostra de estudantes universitários portugueses (N = 425), através de Análise Fatorial Confirmatória. A maioria dos itens apresentou pesos fatoriais elevados e significativos e o modelo apresentou um ajustamento global aceitável (χ2/gl = 2,35; CFI = 0,93; RMSEA = 0,056; SRMR = 0,04); os indicadores de validade convergente e discriminante também se mostraram satisfatórios, ficando demonstrada a validade de constructo do instrumento. No segundo estudo, com o propósito de verificar em que medida a EMAFLG tinha um significado equivalente noutro país de língua oficial portuguesa, realizou-se o teste da invariância do instrumento, junto de uma amostra de estudantes universitários brasileiros (N = 420), recorrendo à Análise Fatorial Confirmatória Multigrupos. Os resultados sugeriram a aplicabilidade da EMAFLG em amostras de estudantes universitários nos dois países.

Limited health literacy is a significant predictor of engaging in unhealthy behaviors. However, the literature regarding the association between health literacy and smoking in university students is very limited. Thus, this study was conducted to examine the association between university students' health literacy and smoking habits. A cross-sectional design was used. A sample of university students (N = 327) was recruited to conduct this study. Data collection was performed using a demographics questionnaire and the health literacy questionnaire. AMOS was used to conduct data analysis using structural equation modeling analysis with maximum likelihood estimation. Different versions of the structural model were compared and evaluated based on specific fit indices criteria. The results showed that 30% of the participants were current smokers. Smoking cigarettes was the most common type of smoking in this study, and 23.1% of the participants were current users of two or more types of smoking (e.g., cigarettes and hookah). The structural model with three latent variables (health literacy, smoking status and type, and smoking frequency and duration) was the one that best fit the data; the model fit indices were X2 = 305.84, df = 102, p < .001; RMSEA = .068; CFI = .95; CMIN/df = 2.51; TLI = .929; and AIC = 355.75. A single standard deviation increase of health literacy causes .38 decrease in smoking status and type and .13 decrease of smoking frequency and duration. The results showed that health literacy is negatively associated with smoking in a sample of Jordanian university students.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in war-affected regions. Syria has endured 9 years of war and yet little is known about the impact of the conflict on the well-being of Syrians who remain. In this study, we investigated trauma and estimated PTSD prevalence among university students in Deir-ez-Zor, a Syrian governorate that was under the siege by ISIS for over 3 years. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used on a sample of Al-Furat university students in Deir-ez-Zor. We collected data on socio-demographics, trauma exposure, and stress levels. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 was used to provide prevalence rate estimates, and determine the symptom severity among Syrian university students. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the development of PTSD symptoms. Results: A total of 833 students were recruited into the study, 86.4% of the participants were exposed to at least one traumatic event. The estimated PTSD prevalence was 28.2%, and the highest PTSD rates were found among students who were forced into sexual act (46.3%). A significant association was found between PTSD and internal displacement (p = .032), academic year (p = .002), and social economic status (p = .000). Binary logistic regression indicated that PTSD symptoms were predicted by smoking and third-year university students. Conclusions: The results presented in this research revealed a high prevalence of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms among a sample of university students in Deir-ez-Zor. These findings call for immediate actions to help the affected population in restoring their mental health, so they can be prepared to face the challenges and demands of the post-conflict period.

The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between academic self-efficacy and digital competence in a sample of undergraduate university students in Peru. The design was nonexperimental, cross-sectional, and correlational. The non-probabilistic sample consisted of 98 students from a private university in Peru. Academic self-efficacy single-item scale and digital competence questionnaire were used. Spearman correlation coefficient, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. The statistical program used was SPSS v. 25. The average academic self-efficacy obtained was 3.73 (standard deviation [SD]=0.73). Regarding digital competence, the mean recorded was 72.34 (SD=11.57). Additionally, it was found that there were no significant differences in academic self-efficacy and digital competence according to gender (p&amp;gt;0.05). Similarly, it was found that there is a significant correlation between academic self-efficacy and digital competence in students (rho=0.438; p&amp;lt;0.001). Similarly, it was found that there is a correlation between academic self-efficacy and the five dimensions of digital competence (information, communication, content creation, technological security and problem-solving) in university students (p&amp;lt;0.05). This research could contribute to the development of programs, courses, or psychoeducational strategies for the development of academic self-efficacy and digital competence in university students.

AimsPTSD is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in war-affected regions. Syria has endured 10 years of war and yet little is known about the impact of the conflict on the well-being of Syrians who remain. This study aimed to provide an estimated prevalence of PTSD among trauma-exposed university students in Deir-ez-Zor, Syria, a war-ridden region, that was under siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) for over 3 years. Moreover, we aimed to study the different types of trauma to which the students were exposed and studied the association between PTSD and multiple covariates including, socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habits, academic performance, and stress levels, and identify factors that influence the development of PTSD symptoms.MethodA descriptive cross-sectional study design was used on a sample of Al-Furat university students in Deir-ez-Zor. We collected data on socio-demographics, trauma exposure, and stress levels. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 was used to carry out PTSD diagnosis and to determine the severity of the disorder.ResultA total of 833 Syrian students were recruited into the study, the mean was 22.4 ± 3.2 years. Of those, (22.2%) have been displaced 3 times, while (18.8%) were displaced over 5 times. (86.4%) reported experiencing at least one traumatic event, (33.8%) of the participants were exposed to one traumatic event, and (44.7%) experienced four or more traumatic events. PTSD prevalence was (28.2%), and the highest PTSD rates were found among students who were forced into sexual acts (46.3%), followed by those who witnessed childhood trauma or violence and those who witnessed violence as adults (42.6%). Sample distribution over stress levels was as follows: normal (39.5%), mild (16.0%), moderate (17.8%), severe (17.3%), and extremely severe (9.8%). A statistically significant association was found between PTSD prevalence and stress severity (p = 0.000). A significant association was found between PTSD and internal displacement (p = 0.032), academic year (p = 0.002), and social-economic status (p = 0.000). Binary logistic regression revealed that smokers (vs non-smokers, OR = 0.259, p = .034) and third-year students (vs fifth year, OR = 0.44, p = .019) were significantly associated with PTSD.ConclusionThe results presented in this research revealed a high prevalence of trauma exposure and PTSD among a sample of university students in Deir-ez-Zor. These findings call for immediate actions to help the affected population in restoring their mental health, so they can be prepared to face the challenges and demands of the post-conflict period.

With advances in knowledge about health promotion, public health professionals are in search for the determinants of personal health behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of health behaviors and its associated factors in a sample of Indian university students. Using a cross-sectional survey, we assessed health behavior among a sample of randomly selected university students. The sample included 800 university students from non-health (mainly engineering and sciences) undergraduate courses of Gitam University, Visakhapatnam in India. The students were 541 (67.6%) males and 259 (32.4%) females in the age range of 17-20 years (Median age=18.2 years, SD=1.0). On average, students engaged in 15.8 out of 25 health behavior practices. There was a high rate of overweight and obesity (26.8% and 10.7%, respectively), low rate of brushing teeth at least twice a day (28.6%), annual dental check-up (25.8%), habitual seatbelt use (23%), and poor dietary patterns (79% ate less than the recommended fruit and vegetable consumption of five servings a day, and 68.5% did not avoid eating fat and cholesterol). In multivariate analysis among men, personal constraints (Odds Ratio=OR 1.75, Confidence Interval=CI 1.09-2.82), health benefits (OR=2.01, CI=1.27-3.17), and not suffering from depression (OR=0.60, CI=0.22-0.94) were associated with the health behavior index. Among women, those who were living away from their parents or guardians (OR=1.94, CI=1.06-3.55), economically better off (OR=2.16, CI=1.00-4.63), and had higher social support (OR=3.65, CI=1.75-7.63), were associated with the health behavior index. Students had a high proportion of health behavior practices. Several high health risk practices were identified, including overweight, poor dental practices, poor dietary and sleeping habits. It is hoped that the gender-specific predictors identified, including sociodemographics as well as social and mental health variables, can also be utilized in designing health promotion programs.

The current study aims to construct and validate a measure of research misconduct for social science university students. The research is comprised of three studies; Study I presents the scale construction in three phases. In Phase I, the initial pool of items was generated by reviewing the literature and considering the results of semi-structured interviews. Phase II involved a psychometric cleaning of items, after which 38 items were retained. In Phase III, those 38 items were proposed to 652 university students, and data were exposed to exploratory factor analysis, which extracted a one-factor structure with 15 items and 55.73% variance. Study II confirmed the factorial structure of the scale using an independent sample (N = 200) of university students. Confirmatory factor analysis of the scale demonstrates a good model fit to the data with the one-factor structure established through the exploratory factor analysis. The scale exhibits good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.95. Study III involves validation of the scale, with evidence for convergent validity collected from a sample of university students (N = 200). The results reveal that the research misconduct scale has significant positive correlations with academic stress and procrastination and a significant negative correlation with academic achievement. The obtained convergent validity testifies that the scale can be considered a psychometrically sound instrument to measure research misconduct among social science university students.

Prevalence of overweight/obesity and central obesity and its associated factors among a sample of university students in India

Objective. to analyze the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in terms of its internal consistency, scores distribution, concurrent and discriminant validity, and factorial analysis in a sample of university students and social anxiety disorder (SAD) cases and non-cases. Methods. A sample of Brazilian university students from the general population (N = 2314) and a sample of university students identified as cases (N = 88) and non-cases (N = 90) of SAD were assessed, using as a parameter the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV. The different instruments were completed individually in the presence of an experienced rater. Results. the BAI showed adequate internal consistency (0.88–0.92) and discriminant validity, with 0.74 sensitivity and 0.71 specificity for a cut-off score of 10. The factorial analysis suggested a three-factor solution to be the most adequate. Conclusions. the version of the BAI studied is quite adequate to be used in the context of Brazilian university students, identifying the presence of anxiety indicators. However, its usefulness to screen for SAD seems limited.

Objective: Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is a growing problem among adolescents. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of PIU and to explore the relationship between anxiety, depression ,and PIU among sample of Egyptian university students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from February 2017 to January 2018 on a random sample of 588 students selected from four faculties in Sohag University. PIU was assessed by the 20-item Young Internet Addiction Test (YIAT). Information was also collected on demographics, family and school-related factors and Internet usage patterns. Taylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale was used as a general indicator of anxiety. Beck depression inventory was used for measuring the existence and the severity of depression. Results: Findings showed that the prevalence of PIU among the studied population was 35.2%. About 86.9% of Students with PIU significantly had anxiety also, 85.02% of Students with PIU significantly had Depression . Depression, Availability of internet at home, Anxiety, presence of computer at home, using Internet for chatting , high monthly income , young age, Theoretical faculties , using Internet for chatting and Male gender were the most important predictors of PIU. Conclusion: PIU prevalent disorder among undergraduate university students in Egypt. Clinicians and health professionals should be aware of the risk of PIU in students with Anxiety and Depression.

Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale in a sample of Chilean university students