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Spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) allows us to study the interaction between psychological and neurophysiological stress mechanisms. With this analysis, low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) bands are obtained, whose values can be represented with different units. However, there are inconsistencies in some of these units in the stress assessment. Objective. This study aimed to analyze the similarity of 5 units of HRV in a psychophysiological stress assessment. Method. Two groups of first-time undergraduate students participated. The psychophysiological assessment had three conditions; baseline, stress, and recovery. Comparisons also included baseline and stress conditions. Spearman correlations and principal component analysis were performed among all HRV units. Results. There were significant reductions in all HF units in both groups in the stress condition. Only one group showed significant differences in all LF units. Principal component and correlation analyses corroborated the dependence between LF and HF represented in normalized and relative units. Using these two units should be considered with caution in stress assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The high prevalence of overweight and obesity in children from Latin America (LA) have been related to obesogenic food environments. Besides, the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic should also be considered. The objective of this research was to describe and compare the perceptions of parents, teachers, and experts in LA of food environments at home and school that favor healthy habits in schoolchildren in pre Covid-19 stage and during the pandemic. Methods: This study used a survey self-reporting regarding conditions at home and the school favoring healthy habits, for three profiles: parents, primary school teachers, and experts. A fisher exact test was used to establish the difference between the response categories between countries and profiles. Logistic regression models were used to determine the probability of response in the levels of importance adjusted for sex and nationality. Results: Information from 954 questionnaires was reported: 48.4% experts, 32.0% teachers, and 19.6% parents. There were differences in the perception of food environments at school between profiles (p<0.001). In multivariate logistic regression models, experts and teachers were 20% more likely to give greater importance to elements of the food environment at school compared to parents (p<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings showed that parents were less likely to perceive important elements of the school food environment compared to experts and teachers. Interventions are required to improve healthy eating environments that consider children's interpersonal mediators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of developing eating disorders is a real problem in young university students it is related with multiple contributing psychological factors. Therefore, the objective of the study was to identify the psychological factors that predict the risk to develop eating disorders in the university population of southern Tamaulipas. We conducted a cross-sectional, comparative and predictive study with 169 young university students of both sexes. We applied The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Body Shape Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Student's t-test showed that the risk of eating disorder, body dissatisfaction and self-esteem was higher in women than in men. The Multiple Regression Model indicated that the predictors of eating disorder risk in women were body dissatisfaction and anxiety, whereas in men only body dissatisfaction was detected as a predictor. The findings allow us to suggest that body dissatisfaction is a predisposing factor in the risk of eating disorders in both sexes, an element that can be considered in the strengthening and construction of prevention strategies in similar samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy is a skill that enables the identification with and interpretation of others' subjective experiences. The purpose of this study was to validate the Empathy Quotient (EQ) in adolescents in Mexico. A sample of 573 Mexican adolescent students (350 female and 223 male) with an age range of 12-19 years was employed (Mage= 14.8 years, SD= 1.96). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out which identified two factors, one with 16 items associated with the affective dimension and one with 13 items related to the cognitive dimension (model fit indices: GFI= .984, RMSEA= .034, and RMSR= .072). To evaluate the resultant bifactor model, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed, showing good fit indexes (RMSEA= .020, RMSR= .045, CFI= .998, GFI= .988). Regarding internal consistency, we found a McDonald's x correlation coefficient of= .941 for the affective dimension and ?= .772 for the cognitive dimension, with p< .001. The validation of this empathy instrument will support its use as a clinical research assessment tool in Mexican adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]