Attitudes toward HIV/aids in students at secondary schools in Mozambique: A comparative study between Maputo and Niassa provinces

  O objetivo do estudo foi analisar as atitudes dos alunos das províncias de Maputo e Niassa frente ao vírus HIV-aids, nas escolas secundárias onde o programa Geração Biz está sendo implementado e em escolas onde não está sendo implementado. Participaram 391 alunos, sendo utilizado o Questionário Sociodemográfico e a Escala de Atitudes Frente ao HIV-aids (EAFAIDS). Os alunos de Maputo apresentaram valores mais positivos em todas as dimensões na EAFAIDS. Os alunos cujas escolas estão implementando o programa obtiveram atitudes mais positivas apenas na dimensão da relação com os soropositivos na EAFAIDS. Conclui-se que as ações de prevenção devem ter em conta as diferenças socioculturais do país.   Palavras-chave: HIV-aids; educação para a saúde; atitudes sociais.  The aim of this study was to analyze student’s attitudes from the provinces of Maputo and Niassa regarding HIV-aids in the secondary schools where the Generation Biz program is being implemented and in schools where it is not implemented. 391 students participated, using the Socio-demographic Questionnaire and the Scale of Attitudes towards HIV-aids (EAFAIDS). Students in Maputo showed more positive results in all scopes of EAFAIDS. Students whose schools are implementing the program had more positive attitudes only in relation to the size of the HIV positive people in EAFAIDS. It is concluded that prevention efforts must take into account the country's socio-cultural differences.   Keywords: HIV-aids; health education; social attitudes

Psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Abbreviated version in Portuguese-speaking adults from three different countries

To evaluate the validity, reliability and invariance of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-Bref) in Portuguese-speaking adults from three different countries.Objetivo: Avaliar a validade, a confiabilidade e a invariância do World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-Bref) em adultos de três diferentes países de língua portuguesa. Métodos: Um total de 4.020 indivíduos brasileiros, portugueses e moçambicanos participaram do estudo. A amostra total foi dividida em quatro amostras: pacientes brasileiros (n = 1.120), estudantes brasileiros (n = 1.398), estudantes portugueses (n = 1.165) e estudantes moçambicanos (n = 337). A validade fatorial do WHOQOL-Bref foi avaliada por meio de análise fatorial confirmatória. As validades convergente e discriminante do instrumento foram avaliadas utilizando a variância média extraída (VEM) e o quadrado do coeficiente de correlação de Pearson (r2), respectivamente. A confiabilidade composta e o coeficiente alfa ordinal foram utilizados como medidas de confiabilidade. As invariâncias métrica, escalar e estrita do WHOQOL-Bref foram avaliadas por análise multi-grupos em subamostras independentes (dentro de cada amostra) e somente entre Brasil e Portugal (transnacional), porque o modelo configuracional de Moçambique era diferente. Resultados: O modelo original do WHOQOL-Bref não apresentou bom ajustamento para as amostras. Diferentes itens foram excluídos para ajustar o instrumento em cada amostra (modelos diferentes para o WHOQOL-Bref entre amostras brasileiras, portuguesas e moçambicanas). A VEM e o r2 não foram adequados; entretanto, a confiabilidade do WHOQOL-Bref foi boa, exceto na amostra moçambicana. A invariância foi encontrada apenas em subamostras independentes. Conclusão: Os modelos ajustados do WHOQOL-Bref apresentaram adequada validade fatorial e invariância em subamostras independentes. A não invariância transnacional do WHOQOL-Bref revela a influência da cultura na operacionalização do construto qualidade de vida.FAPESP; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPqinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predictors of academic efficacy and dropout intention in university students: Can engagement suppress burnout?

In this study we modelled possible causes and consequences of student burnout and engagement on academic efficacy and dropout intention in university students. Further we asked, can student engagement protect against the effects of burnout? In total 4,061 university students from Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Finland, Serbia, and Macao SAR, Taiwan participated in this study. With the data collected we analyzed the influence of Social Support, Coping Strategies, and school/course related variables on student engagement and burnout using structural equation modeling. We also analyzed the effect of student engagement, student burnout, and their interaction, on Academic Performance and Dropout Intention. We found that both student engagement and burnout are good predictors of subjective academic performance and dropout intention. However, student burnout suppresses the effect of student engagement on these variables. This result has strong implications for practitioners and administrators. To prevent student dropout, it is not enough to promote student engagement-additionally, and importantly, levels of student burnout must be kept low. Other variables such as social support and coping strategies are also relevant predictors of student engagement and burnout and should be considered when implementing preventive actions, self-help and guided intervention programs for college students

Body weight concerns: Cross-national study and identification of factors related to eating disorders

Body weight concerns are common among individuals with eating disorders, and this construct can be assessed using psychometric instruments. The Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) is commonly used to assess body weight concerns.FAPESP; CAPES; CNPQinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social distance: a comparison between the screen and virtual environments

Social distance is one of the indicators of intergroup relations. It expresses the degree of intimacy, proximity or distance in relation to the members of specific social groups, making the concept an indirect form of referring to prejudice. The present study described in this article aims to evaluate the protocol for the use of an indirect measure of social distance, implemented by computers and specialized devices. We sought to assess the potential of the technique of virtual reality as a criterion for estimating social distance by comparing the results obtained in the virtual environment with the correlated measures obtained in a computer screen. This is an experimental study, developed to evaluate the pleasantness of four photographs and the registry of two classes of indirect measures. Social distance was chosen to evaluate the photographs and the response time was used to choose the estimate, in two modalities of data collection, one in a screen environment and the other in the virtual environment, in Brazil and Mozambique. A total of 150 university students participated in the study, 87 from Brazil and 61 from Mozambique. In the study, we show that the estimate for social distance is more associated with the response time than the attractiveness of the image, regardless of the country. When we introduce in the predictive models the variables sex and skin color of the individuals portrayed in the photographs, we note that the models obtained in the virtual environment present better indicators than those obtained in the screen, except for the predictive model for the evaluation of the distance of the Black woman portrait. The response time proved to be much more central in the model than the attractiveness of the image. In the screen environment, the increase in the image size was connected to the greater amount of time spent in decision-making while in the virtual environment the distancing from the image was connected to a greater amount of time spent making a decision. The country of origin had little influence over the final models. In conclusion, we may highlight that the effects of social distance, the response time and the attractiveness of the image were greater in the virtual environment, which inspires us to highlight the importance of using more sophisticated data collection procedures through the use of information technology

Skin color and perceived discrimination: a comparative study between Brazilians and Mozambicans

Despite the numerous efforts to reduce prejudice and social discrimination as well as their repercussions, such phenomena are still part of everyday life and mark individual life stories. The experiences of the target and the agent of discrimination were differents. The present study addresses a gap in the literature of social psychology: through a relational analysis, it explores the perceptions of the target of discrimination without leaving aside the perspective of the agent. Using a computerized version of a self-report instrument, we aimed to assess the relation between the experience of racial discrimination and skin color and to what extent this relation is modulated by psychosocial and sociodemographic variables in two national contexts, Brazil and Mozambique. A total of 150 university students participated in the study, 89 from Brazil and 61 from Mozambique. The results show that in both countries the participants report more experiences of discrimination coming from White than from Black people, with a larger difference for the Brazilian sample population. The study also verified that the darker the person’s skin color, the higher their perception of having been discriminated against. In the Brazilian group, the accounts of discrimination coming both from White and Black people are associated with darker skin color. In the Mozambican group, diversely, participants with lighter and darker skin color perceived being the target of discrimination, inflicted both by White and Black people. Finally, we identified that perceived discrimination is predicted by skin color. The discussion focuses on the perspective of the targets of discrimination and highlights the role of skin color in the process of perceiving racial discrimination, especially regarding the psychosocial variables motivation to control prejudice and social domination

Psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Abbreviated version in Portuguese-speaking adults from three different countries

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the validity, reliability and invariance of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-Bref) in Portuguese-speaking adults from three different countries. Methods: A total of 4,020 Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican individuals participated in the study. The total sample was divided into four samples: Brazilian patients (n = 1,120), Brazilian students (n = 1,398), Portuguese students (n = 1,165) and Mozambican students (n = 337). Factorial validity of the WHOQOL-Bref was assessed by confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent and discriminant validities of the instrument were assessed using the average variance extracted (AVE) and the square of Pearson's correlational coefficient (r2), respectively. Composite reliability and ordinal alpha were used as measures of reliability. The metric, scalar, and strict invariance of WHOQOL-Bref was evaluated by multi-group analysis in independent subsamples (within each sample) and only between Brazil and Portugal (transnational invariance), because the configural model of Mozambique was different. Results: The original model of the WHOQOL-Bref did not show a good fit for the samples. Different items were excluded to fit the instrument in each sample (different models for WHOQOL-Bref among Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican samples). AVE and r2 were not adequate; however, the reliability of the WHOQOL-Bref was good, except in the Mozambican sample. Invariance was observed only in independent subsamples. Conclusion: The WHOQOL-Bref fitted models showed adequate factorial validity and invariance in independent subsamples. The transnational non-invariance of the WHOQOL-Bref shows the influence of culture on the operationalization of the quality of life construct

Structural models (complete and refined) including the study variables (independents) and body weight concerns (dependent) of Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican college students.

<p>Structural models (complete and refined) including the study variables (independents) and body weight concerns (dependent) of Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican college students.</p

Characteristics of the Brazilian, Portuguese, Mozambican, and overall samples.

<p>Characteristics of the Brazilian, Portuguese, Mozambican, and overall samples.</p

Psychometric properties and invariance of the Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) in the overall, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican samples.

<p>Psychometric properties and invariance of the Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) in the overall, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican samples.</p