Gender, sexuality and relationships in Young Hispanic people

This study explores the relation between gender differences and sexuality among young Hispanic people. Eight hundred and forty young people from Spain and Mexico filled out a self-administered questionnaire about sexuality (sexual experience, sexual orientation, and sexual relationships) and gender (self-identification). Men in both Spain and Mexico more commonly report the practice of masturbation and vaginal sex, and are more likely to be unfaithful than women. Women in both countries report more steady partners and longer length of relationships. There were greater gender differences for Mexican men and women than for Spanish men and women in terms of sexual frequency, sexual orientation, and infidelity. Therefore, gender may play an important role in young people's sexuality, more so in Mexico than in Spain

Effectiveness of hte treatment program Virtual Flight with Mexican population

In recent years virtual reality (VR) has been used as a tool in the treatment of Flying Phobia (FF). The “Virtual Flight” program has showed its efficacy in the Spanish population (Botella, Osma, García-Palacios, Quero, & Baños, 2004). The current research aims to test this program in Mexican population. Results obtained after treatment and at the 1-year follow-up period confirm its effectiveness and efficiency establishing its clinical utility, which implies the analysis of the applicability and possibility of the intervention in the context where it has to be offered. These results add empirical evidence in the use of VR and show the generalization of the used procedures and techniques in Mexican population.En años recientes se ha utilizado la realidad virtual (RV) como herramienta en el tratamiento de la Fobia a Volar (FV). El programa “Virtual Flight” ha demostrado su efectividad en población española (Botella, Osma, García-Palacios, Quero y Baños, 2004). La presente investigación tiene como propósito ponerlo a prueba en población mexicana. Los resultados obtenidos al finalizar el tratamiento, así como en el seguimiento a 1 año confirman su efectividad y eficiencia al establecerse utilidad clínica, que supone analizar la aplicabilidad y posibilidad de la intervención en el contexto en el que tenga que ofrecerse. Estos resultados incrementan evidencia empírica al uso de la RV y ponen de manifiesto la generalización de los procedimientos y técnicas empleadas en población mexicana.Financiamiento del proyecto SALUD-2006-01-44337 “Desarrollo y evaluación de sistemas basados en tecnología de realidad virtual para el tratamiento de trastornos de ansiedad”. Fondos Sectoriales CONACYT. 2007-2010

Comparación de ciberacoso y autoeficacia en redes sociales: Ciudad de México y Estado de México.

The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of cyberbullying, the type of responses to it, as well as knowledge and self-efficacy in the use of social networks in young people from Mexico City and the State of Mexico. The sample comprised 1673 students of both sexes between 14 and 20 years old (862 participants from Mexico City and 811 from the State of Mexico). We performed descriptive analyses and X2 tests. The results showed a significant difference between the frequency of cyberbullying and the level of young people's knowledge. The latter variable was higher in Mexico City than in the State of Mexico. However, participants from the State of Mexico scored higher than those from Mexico City in the way they respond to cyberbullying (assertive and empathetic) and in self-efficacy. More research on this issue is needed given the scarcity of statistics and information on this topic in MexicoEl objetivo del presente estudio fue comparar la frecuencia con la que se presenta el ciberacoso, el tipo de respuestas ante él, así como el conocimiento y autoeficacia para el uso de redes sociales en jóvenes de la Ciudad de México y del Estado de México. La muestra estuvo constituida por 1673 alumnos de ambos sexos (862 de la Ciudad de México y 811 del Estado de México) de entre 14 y 20 años. Se realizaron análisis de frecuencias y la prueba χ2. Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas entre la frecuencia en la que se presentó el ciberacoso y los conocimientos que poseen los jóvenes entre las dos entidades federativas, siendo más elevado en la Ciudad de México en comparación con el Estado de México. Sin embargo, en la forma en que los jóvenes responden al ciberacoso (asertiva y empática) y en autoeficacia la diferencia es contraria, es decir, el Estado de México puntúa mayor que la Ciudad de México. Finalmente, se concluye que se deben realizar más investigaciones de esta índole debido a que existe una escasa información acerca del ciberacoso en México

Culture as an Influence on the Perceived Risk of HIV Infection: A Differential Analysis Comparing Young People from Mexico and Spain

This study analyzes risk behaviors and attitudes related to HIV-AIDS transmission between young people from two Hispanic/Latino culture and origin (Mexico and Spain). For this purpose, 840 participants filled out the AIDS Prevention Questionnaire (Ballester et al., El “Cuestionario de Prevención del Sida (CPS)”: Análisis de la fiabilidad y validez. Sociedad Española Interdisciplinaria del Sida, San Sebastián, 2007). From the Theory of reasoned action, our results revealed differences between the risk behaviour profiles of young people depending on their origin or gender, in terms of attitudes and behaviours. For example, Mexican participants have exhibited more levels of perceived risk or severity of HIV while for Spaniards, the fear of HIV was higher. Regarding the perception of condom use, loss of pleasure seems to be an important barrier for both groups of Mexican and Spanish young although others, such as lack of information would be reported only for Mexican women. Regarding self-efficacy, there are no significant differences in general but, in specific cases, we found them: Spanish participants seem to be more comfortable with putting on a condom while Mexican participants are more confident when it comes to buying it. However, these Spanish young people have reported more behavioural intention and present condom use in all sexual practices. In general, predictors of condom use are different depending on gender and origin. Thus, in order to develop effective strategies in AIDS prevention, cultural differences for HIV transmission should be considered even inside the group of Hispanic/Latino young people

Cross-cultural validation of evidence-based clinical interventions for the treatment of anxiety disorders

Las aplicaciones de tecnologías avanzadas han generado la emergencia de un espacio de investigación en ciencias del comportamiento. El creciente acervo de publicaciones, sobre la eficacia y eficiencia de programas de intervención para una serie de trastornos psicológicos, plan- tea la necesidad de fortalecerlos, evaluando su generalización a otros contextos culturales para contribuir a la medición de la validez externa. Mediante la colaboración de dos grupos de investi- gación, se realizó la validación transcultural de tres intervenciones empleando realidad virtual para el tratamiento de miedo a volar, agorafobia y miedo a hablar en público con un programa auto-apli- cado, que demostraron previamente eficacia con población española. Se informan los resultados de eficacia y eficiencia de las intervenciones en población mexicana. Se discute la relevancia de la validez externa de los programas de tratamiento con incorporación tecnológica, que pueden con- tribuir a optimizar tratamientos y sistemas de valoración psicológica beneficiando los servicios de salud mental.In recent years, applications of advanced technologies have led to the emergence of a research line in the behavioral sciences. The growing body of publications that report the efficien- cy and effectiveness of intervention programs that address a range of psychological disorders raises the need to strengthen them, assessing their generalizability to other cultures in order to assess the external validity. Through the collaboration of two research groups, a cross-cultural validation was carried out in Mexico, assessing two treatment programs using virtual reality to treat fear of flying, agoraphobia and fear of public speaking with a self-applied program, which previously demonstra- ted efficacy in Spain. In this paper we report the results of effectiveness and efficiency in the Mexican population. It is discussed the relevance to assess external validity of treatment programs incorporating technology, that might contribute to optimize treatment and psychological evaluation systems that will benefit mental health services