Marina del Rocío Ramírez Zhindón

Background/Objectives: Evidence concerning emotional exhaustion among nursing assistants in Ecuador remains limited. This exploratory cross-sectional study examined associations of sleep quality, psychological inflexibility, and study-specific work–private-life interference with emotional exhaustion. The focus on emotional exhaustion as the sole outcome was selected during manuscript revision and was not prospectively prespecified. Methods: This analysis included 314 nursing assistants recruited through convenience sampling; 290 had calculable Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores and contributed to PSQI-dependent regression models. Emotional exhaustion was assessed using the nine-item Maslach Burnout Inventory subscale, psychological inflexibility using the AAQ-II, and work–private-life interference using three study-specific binary items. Ordinary least squares regression with HC3 heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors was evaluated using Python (statsmodels). Results: Of 290 participants with valid PSQI scores, 144 (49.7%) had scores above five. In the main model (R² = 0.432), poorer sleep quality (B = 0.915, 95% CI 0.599–1.231), higher AAQ-II scores (B = 0.196, 95% CI 0.054–0.338), and greater work–private-life interference (B = 3.386, 95% CI 2.454–4.317) were associated with higher emotional exhaustion. Associations persisted after adjustment for age, sex, and shift work. In an exploratory model additionally accounting for concurrent depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, the AAQ-II association was no longer statistically significant (B = 0.058, p = 0.400). Conclusions: Sleep quality and study-specific work–private-life interference were consistently associated with emotional exhaustion. The cross-sectional design, non-probability sampling, and exploratory analyses preclude causal or population-level inferences.

Background/Objectives: Burnout is a multidimensional occupational-health concern in nursing, yet post-pandemic evidence from Ecuador remains limited. This exploratory study aimed to identify sociodemographic and work-related characteristics independently associated with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment among nursing professionals, using separate adjusted models. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed primary data from 462 nursing professionals participating in a national Ecuadorian research project. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). Separate multivariable ordinary least-squares models with HC3 robust standard errors were fitted for each dimension, with Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) correction across 24 non-intercept coefficients. Results: Mean scores were 17.09 (SD = 11.28) for emotional exhaustion, 6.61 (SD = 6.06) for depersonalization, and 30.99 (SD = 11.61) for personal accomplishment; using historical descriptive thresholds, 19.0% scored in the high emotional-exhaustion range, 32.2% in the high depersonalization range, and 52.7% in the low personal-accomplishment range. Older age was associated with lower emotional exhaustion (B = −0.211; 95% CI, −0.347 to −0.074; p_adj = 0.012), lower depersonalization (B = −0.122; 95% CI, −0.191 to −0.054; p_adj = 0.005), and higher personal accomplishment (B = 0.238; 95% CI, 0.098 to 0.377; p_adj = 0.005). Male sex was associated with higher depersonalization (B = 3.068; 95% CI, 1.499 to 4.637; p_adj = 0.003). Moderate (B = 4.134; p_adj = 0.014) and little/none (B = 6.958; p_adj = 0.005) institutional resource availability were associated with higher emotional exhaustion compared with full availability. Conclusions: Older age was associated with lower emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and higher personal accomplishment; male sex was associated with higher depersonalization, and lower perceived institutional resource availability with higher emotional exhaustion. These cross-sectional associations do not establish causation. Longitudinal research directly measuring organizational demands and resources is warranted.

Evidence on professional quality of life among psychologists in Latin America remains limited. This multicenter cross-sectional study examined compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among 1078 Ecuadorian psychologists nested within 92 institutions using nonprobability sampling. Participants completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale, Version IV (ProQOL-IV), and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Random-intercept linear mixed-effects models were estimated. Unconditional ICCs were 0.086, 0.097, and 0.139, respectively. Greater psychological distress was associated with lower compassion satisfaction (B = −0.605, 95% CI [−0.674, −0.535]) and higher burnout (B = 0.407, 95% CI [0.354, 0.461]) and secondary traumatic stress (B = 0.906, 95% CI [0.843, 0.969]); all p < 0.001. No secondary sociodemographic or occupational association survived the Benjamini–Hochberg correction (minimum q = 0.163). Findings support cautious, non-diagnostic monitoring and longitudinal research directly assessing institutional job demands and resources. Cross-sectional design and nonprobability sampling limit causal inference and generalizability.

Introducción: La apreciación subjetiva del estrés constituye un factor relevante para la comprensión de la salud mental en adultos jóvenes. Objetivo: Analizar la relación entre el estrés percibido y la sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa en adultos en su mayoría jóvenes de la Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Ecuador. Método: Se desarrolló un estudio cuantitativo, no experimental, transversal y correlacional con 100 personas de 18 a 48 años (M = 22.86; DE = 4.17), seleccionadas mediante muestreo intencional. Se aplicó la Escala de Estrés Percibido (PSS-10) y el Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Resultados: Se evidencia que, un 66% de solteros, las medias de estrés (18.69/36) y sintomatología (4.35/12) son moderadas, pero con alta variabilidad, indicando casos extremos. La correlación positiva, fuerte y significativa entre el estrés percibido y la sintomatología emocional (rho = .707, p < .001), compartiendo el 50% de la varianza respalda la detección temprana de estrés como objetivo clave en salud mental. Conclusión: Los hallazgos mostraron que, mayores niveles de estrés percibido se vinculan con mayor sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa, lo que destaca la necesidad de fortalecer las estrategias de afrontamiento en esta población.

Se analizó el burnout y el tecnoestrés en docentes de bachillerato del Ecuador durante la pandemia, mediante un enfoque cuantitativo, con diseño transversal y descriptivo, de tipo no experimental; con una muestra no probabilística de 456 docentes. Se aplicó el Inventario del Estrés Laboral Crónico y el Cuestionario de Tecnoestrés. Los resultados revelaron que el 23.5% de docentes presentan niveles altos de agotamiento emocional y despersonalización con un 24,6%, y una baja realización personal en un 28,1%. En cuanto al tecnoestrés, una media de 1.7 en fatiga, en ansiedad 1,6, en escepticismo 1,4 y en ineficiencia una media de 1,2; sobresaliendo la ansiedad y fatiga.

La ansiedad y la depresión representan problemas de salud mental frecuentes en la población universitaria. El estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la contribución del capital psicológico y la inflexibilidad psicológica sobre la sintomatología ansioso-depresiva en estudiantes universitarios ecuatorianos como fundamento para el diseño de estrategias de intervención preventiva en el contexto de la educación superior. Se utilizó un diseño cuantitativo, no experimental, transversal, con 470 estudiantes como muestra. Se aplicaron el Psychological Capital Questionnaire-12, el Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II y el Patient Health Questionnaire-4. Los resultados mostraron que el capital psicológico se asoció de forma negativa con la sintomatología ansioso-depresiva (r = -.414), mientras que la inflexibilidad psicológica mostró una asociación positiva de mayor magnitud (r = .686). Ambas variables explicaron el 49.0 % de la varianza (R² = .490). Se concluye que la inflexibilidad psicológica constituye el factor de mayor peso explicativo, mientras que el capital psicológico actúa como recurso protector complementario en estudiantes universitarios ecuatorianos.

Background: Physician burnout is a growing issue that affects both the quality of healthcare and the mental well-being of medical professionals. However, research on this phenomenon in Ecuador is limited and methodologically deficient. The objective of this study was to examine the national prevalence of burnout among Ecuadorian physicians, its associated factors, and its impact on mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1976 physicians from all provincial capitals of Ecuador (51.8% women; mean age: 37.1 years). Results: It was found that 25.3% of physicians had high levels of emotional exhaustion and 23.8% had high levels of depersonalization. Factors associated with the higher levels of emotional exhaustion among physicians included part-time jobs, long working hours, work–family conflicts, psychological inflexibility, and perceived loneliness. Higher levels of depersonalization were associated with working shifts, having work–family conflicts, exhibiting psychological inflexibility, and perceived loneliness, while lower levels of depersonalization were associated with being female. Experiencing higher levels of depersonalization were associated with suffering from higher levels of depression, while having higher levels of emotional exhaustion were associated with suffering from higher levels of stress. Conclusions: A considerable proportion of Ecuadorian physicians suffer from burnout. Preventive programs and psychological interventions tailored to their specific needs should be developed.

Background/Objectives: Although burnout among physicians is a serious and growing problem in healthcare, research on this issue in Ecuador is scarce and suffers from methodological limita-tions. This study examined the prevalence of burnout among Ecuadorian medical professionals at the national level, as well as its correlates and consequences on their mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1,976 physicians (51.8% women, mean age 37.1 years) from all provincial capitals of Ecuador. The presence of burnout was assessed, as well as sociodemographic, organizational, and psychological variables (including psychological in-flexibility, perceived loneliness, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress). Results: Notably, 9.0% of physicians exhibited burnout syndrome. Working in shifts for more than eight hours a day, having work-family conflict, psychological inflexibility, and perceived loneliness were associated with an increased risk of suffering burnout. Meanwhile, being a woman was associated with a decrease in risk. The presence of burnout significantly increased the risk of experiencing depressive and stress symptoms. Conclusions: Clearly, a significant number of medical professionals suffer from burnout. As such, stakeholders should promote the develop-ment of prevention programs that incorporate the insights from this and other studies to design effective psychological interventions for burnout adapted to the specific needs of this population.

Nowadays, employees in the higher education sector are faced with an increasingly demanding environment, which can lead to high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion. In this context, the Demand-Resource Model can explain the different variables that influence the emotional exhaustion of professors. However, although the model has been tested on different samples of workers, there is a lack of literature on other variables that may mediate this relationship. In this sense, this research aims to investigate the mediating effect of psychological capital, a positive psychological construct, on the relationship between job demands and resources and its impact on emotional exhaustion. To this end, we conducted a survey of 205 professors from different Ecuadorian universities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to the data collected. The results showed that high work resources had a direct impact on emotional exhaustion, as suggested by the model, and that this relationship was mediated by psychological capital. Similarly, high job demands (high work rhythms and emotional demands) were another source of emotional exhaustion, although in this case the relationship was not significantly mediated by psychological capital. The study shows that high job demands significantly increase emotional exhaustion, whereas an adequately resourced work environment, such as fair leadership and supervisor support, promotes psychological safety and reduces emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, psychological capital positively modulates the influence of resources on emotional exhaustion but shows no significant mediation with job demands.

A nivel mundial, el divorcio es un fenómeno frecuente en la vida matrimonial de las parejas. Como resultado, muchas parejas divorciadas y sus hijos enfrentan problemas económicos, sociales y de salud después de la disolución. Existe poca información sobre la magnitud y los factores determinantes del divorcio en los países en desarrollo, incluido Ecuador. Como lo señala el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo (INEC), en Ecuador se evidencia durante el 2020 un índice de 38,938 matrimonios y 14,568 divorcios. El divorcio se constituye en una práctica que aumenta cada día y, como consecuencia, tribunales de familia se encuentran saturados y con resultados insatisfactorios de muchos casos. En virtud de esto, el objetivo fue estudiar la probabilidad de divorcio según datos de Ecuador (de acuerdo con los datos del INEC periodo 1976-2019, la muestra contemplada fue de 14,099 individuos, de los cuales 2,327 son divorciados o separados). Los hallazgos brindan cierto apoyo empírico para una interpretación estructural del divorcio en el país. Entre los resultados más relevantes está el hecho de que residir en zona urbana incrementa las probabilidades de divorcio/separación tanto en hombres como en mujeres. Lo mismo ocurre con el aumento de edad, pues la probabilidad se incrementa en ambos sexos. Lo contrario sucede con los hombres mestizos o indígenas, es decir, las probabilidades de divorcio/separación se reducen; en mujeres las probabilidades también se reducen al autodefinirse indígenas. El divorcio se convierte en un acontecimiento clave en el curso de la vida, pero sus consecuencias pueden propagarse con el tiempo.