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This work describes the design and validation of a questionnaire to assess the expectations of higher education professors regarding virtual education (CEDVES). The sample included 546 professors, 299 men (54.66%) and 247 women (45.23%), from different scientific disciplines of a university in Chile. The final version consisted of 38 items answered using a five-point Likert scale. Nine factors were identified from the exploratory factor analysis. This configuration accounts for 75% of the variance. The structure of the instrument was studied using confirmatory factor analysis. It was found that nine factors produced a good fit, derived from a hierarchical solution in which all these factors depend on a factor of second general order. Each of the scales, like the general factor, present good indicators of reliability. The analysis indicates that this questionnaire has adequate validation and could be broadly used in higher education.

This case study aimed to change the construction of teachers' written tests so that items were designed to assess competencies in an authentic and challenging way. A small group of five psychology teachers participated in 10 sessions of an authentic assessment faculty-training program, to learn to assess problem-solving competencies for situations typically faced by professionals in the workplace. The authentic assessment training emphasized the incorporation of three main characteristics: (1) inclusion of a realistic context, (2) measurement of higher order thinking skills, and (3) development of evaluative judgment, concerning the quality of their own performance. Post-training the items´ construction was analysed, according to their type and authenticity. Mixed effects logistic regression showed a statistically significant increase in open-response items, and two-way ANOVA indicated that cognitive challenge improved. The results showed written tests had: a) more open-response items of higher cognitive complexity, b) fewer items requiring closed, memorized responses, c) more use of realistic contexts to measure knowledge in a situated way, and d) improvement in curriculum alignment of tests and greater consistency in measuring competencies. These advances validate the authentic-assessment training program for a better written assessment design.

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the changes in the strategies to stimulate self-concept used by teachers, that received training, in the academic self-concept of its students. A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-application measures was used. A total of 36 secondary school teachers and 814 students participated. The program consisted of four months of workshop sessions and accompaniment in the classroom. It was found that changes in the teaching strategies mediated the effect of the intervention on students' self-concept. In addition, the change in the students' type of self-concept depended on the change in the teachers' specific strategies. In conclusion, the training program designed for stimulating academic self-concept was effective in promoting strategies in teachers that increased student's self-concept. Thus, it can be concluded that the intervention is an approachable methodology to support the development of self-concept, potentially impacting students' academic success. The findings contribute to the design of future interventions in school contexts for the improvement of students' self-concept.

Research on the multidimensionality of hallucination-like experiences (HLEs) can contribute to the study of psychotic risk. The Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended (LSHS-E) is one of the most widely used tools for research in HLEs, but the correspondence of its paper and online formats has not been established yet. Therefore, we studied the factorial structure and measurement invariance between online and paper-and-pencil versions of LSHS-E in a Chilean population. Two thousand eighty-six completed the online version, and 578 students completed the original paper-and-pencil version. After matching by sex, age, civil status, alcohol and cannabis consumption, and psychiatric treatment received, we selected 543 students from each group. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of a four-factor model and a hierarchical model that included a general predisposition to hallucination, explaining the strong relationship between the different types of hallucinations. Both models showed a good fit to the data and were invariant between paper-and-pencil and online versions. Also, the LSHS-E has good reliability in both online and paper-and-pencil formats. This study shows that the online LSHS-E possesses psychometric properties equivalent to the paper-and-pencil version. It should be considered a valuable tool for research of psychosis determinants in the COVID-19 era., Author(s): Yanet Quijada [sup.1] , Sandra Saldivia [sup.2] , Claudio Bustos [sup.2] , Antonio Preti [sup.3] , Susana Ochoa [sup.4] , Elvis Castro-Alzate [sup.2] [sup.5] , Sara Siddi [sup.4] Author [...]

Health care providers have been shown to stigmatize mental disorders, which has serious consequences in the care, treatment and recovery of people. The instruments that have been developed to assess stigma in this population are few in number; some do not specifically focus on health workers, are aimed at a reduced range of professionals, and lack robust psychometric analyses. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an instrument meant to assess the stigmatizing attitudes of health care providers toward people with mental illnesses. An instrumental design with two independent convenience samples of health care providers who worked in primary and secondary health care centers was used. The first sample (n = 272) was used for exploratory factor analysis, and the second sample (n = 419) was used for confirmatory analysis. Each subject received the studied scale, a sociodemographic background survey and the Social Distance Scale (SD), which were all used for the concurrent validity analysis. To evaluate concurrent validity, the Pearson correlation index was used, while internal consistency was evaluated via Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's total omega coefficient. The final instrument includes 2 dimensions: stigmatizing beliefs (12 items) and infantilization and relational distance (6 items). Reliability indexes (Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's total omega) are between 0.73 and 0.86, respectively. Moreover, concurrent validity present moderated and significant correlations ranging from r.sub.p = 0.28 (p < .001) to r.sub.p = 0.45 (p < .001). The instrument has a robust factor structure and suitable levels of internal consistency and concurrent validity, which support its use in studying the attitudes of health care providers., Author(s): Alexis Vielma-Aguilera [sup.1] , Claudio Bustos [sup.2] , Sandra Saldivia [sup.1] , Pamela Grandón [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.5380.e, 0000 0001 2298 9663, Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty [...]

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between (1) willingness to study strategies, (2) causal attributions (to effort, ability and external causes) and (3) student´s perception of self-efficacy about their ability to self-regulate their processes of willingness to study. Method: An instrument built by the researchers called Willingness to the Study Self-Regulation Questionnaire was applied to a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 695 Chilean university students from 5 universities of the Province of Concepción. Outcomes: Strong correlations were found between self-efficacy for the willingness to study self-regulation and the willingness to study strategies (r = 0.54 to r = 0.55). The willingness to study strategies had positive and moderate correlations (r = 0.38 to r = 0.42) with causal attributions for success to effort, weak correlations (r = 0.15 to r = 0.28) with causal attributions for success to ability and to external factors, and negative weak to moderate correlations (r = -0.19 to r = -0.38) with causal attributions for failure to effort, ability, and external factors. Conclusions: Students with high levels of willingness to study strategies show positive beliefs about their own ability to self-regulate their processes of willingness to study, they make causal attributions for their success mainly to effort, and they attribute their academic failure less and less to ability and external factors.

Background: Mental disorders in university students are a growing attention problem in the international community due to their high prevalence and serious consequences. One possible reason is university students' difficulties in coping with stress. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process that, when combined with stress, can lead to the development of various disorders. We aim to determine the effect of stress and RNT on predicting various mental health syndromes in university students across 7 days. Method: Prospective observational study using Momentary Ecological Assessment (EMA) with the OURMIND Mobile App. On day one, 238 university students responded to the SCL-90R questionnaire for symptoms of depression, anxiety, hostility, obsession, psychoticism, paranoia, somatization, and interpersonal sensitivity; RNT styles questionnaires, RRS for rumination and negative reflection, PSWQ for worry; SISCO-II for term academic stress, and sociodemographic. EMA consisted of five assessments a day for 6 days; each time, the students answered items about academic and non-academic stress (EMA-stress), reactive RNT duration and intrusiveness (EMA-RNT process), and reactive RNT rumination, reflection, and worry (EMA-RNT content). On day eight, symptoms were re-assessed. Seven hierarchical stepwise linear regression models were used to test the predictive power of the study variables in the development of SCL-90R symptoms. Results: When comparing models, adding baseline symptoms increased the models' predictive power in all symptom groups. In most cases, including EMAstress generated greater predictive power, except for paranoia and interpersonal sensitivity. Adding the EMA-RNT process increased the prediction of paranoia and obsessive symptoms; for hostility symptoms, RNT styles increased predictive power. For the final regression models, considering the initial symptoms, the EMA-RNT process predicted the progression of symptoms in six out of eight groups, while EMA-non-academic stress predicted the remaining two. Additionally, living with other relatives or friends was a predictor of depressive symptoms. Discussion: The stress of university life impacts the development of psychiatric symptoms in university students. These results provide evidence of RNT as a transdiagnostic process in several syndromic groups. Universal preventive programs should consider the impact of academic and non-academic stress on university students' mental health. Targeting RNT would also benefit selective preventive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current research based on observational design studies characterized the teaching practices that stimulate the development of academic self-concept, but there is a need for experimental and quasi-experimental studies to validate those findings. The present research evaluate the impact of a teacher training program based on academic self-concept stimulation strategies on academic self-concept, attendance and grades of their students. Method: 36 teachers of primary level and 819 students from public schools of the Province of Concepción, Chile, participated. A quasi-experimental design with pre and post measures was applied. Information was collected through self-report and information available on official records. Results: After the intervention, teachers in the experimental group have greater capacity to stimulate the self-concept of their students, D(1, 41700.91)=17.09, p < 0.001, encouring self-concept related to capacity, work procedures and class participation. Also, the students on experimental group have a greater perception about their capacity to participate in classes after the intervention, dependent on the pre-test perceived capacity, D(1, 983-22)=6.10, p=0.014, and higher attendance rates, D(1, 691.34)=82.50, p<0.001, than control group. Discussions and conclusions: The teacher training program is effective to improve the teaching strategies of stimulating the academic self-concept, the perception of competence to participate in classes of the students and to increase the levels of attendance.

Despite the increase in research on suicide bereavement, the effectiveness of peer-support group programs in promoting the grief process and mental health of suicide loss survivors remains unclear. The goal of our study was to determine the effectiveness of peer-support group programs for suicide loss survivors. A systematic review (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022307591) of articles published from January 2000 to December 2021 was applied in the databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and SciELO. Articles written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese with full text availability were included in this review to perform a narrative synthesis of the results and a bias analysis. 12 qualitative and two quantitative studies, were selected. No evidence of efficacy in reducing suicidal behavior was found. Qualitative studies highlighted that these types of groups provide social support, enabling individuals to cope with grief and mitigating psychological discomfort. In conclusion, from evidence-based medicine, results on peer-support groups for suicide loss survivors has a low level of certainty and an insufficient grade of recommendation. Nevertheless, qualitative studies indicate the potential benefits of these programs. The prevailing use of qualitative methodologies accounts for a participatory and subjective epistemology, typical of community programs such as peer-support programs. Finally, both quantitative and qualitative perspectives are necessary for the integration and validation of mutual support groups for suicide survivors in public mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the changes in the strategies to stimulate self-concept used by teachers, that received training, in the academic self-concept of its students. A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-application measures was used. A total of 36 secondary school teachers and 814 students participated. The program consisted of four months of workshop sessions and accompaniment in the classroom. It was found that changes in the teaching strategies mediated the effect of the intervention on students' self-concept. In addition, the change in the students' type of self-concept depended on the change in the teachers' specific strategies. In conclusion, the training program designed for stimulating academic self-concept was effective in promoting strategies in teachers that increased student's self-concept. Thus, it can be concluded that the intervention is an approachable methodology to support the development of self-concept, potentially impacting students' academic success. The findings contribute to the design of future interventions in school contexts for the improvement of students' self-concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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