Ricardo Espinoza-Tapia

Digital victimization has been increasingly linked to adverse mental health outcomes during adolescence; however, less is known about its association with depressive symptoms when accounting for other forms of peer victimization and underlying psychological mechanisms. This study examined the relationship between lifetime digital victimization and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of Chilean adolescents (N = 11,439) and tested the mediating role of self-esteem. Lifetime exposure to digital victimization, emotional bullying, and harassment were assessed using dichotomous indicators. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale, and self-esteem with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Overall, 27.2% of Chilean adolescents reported lifetime digital victimization. The proposed model showed an adequate fit to the data (CFI = 0.992; TLI = 0.942; RMSEA = 0.065; SRMR = 0.012). Lifetime exposure to digital victimization was directly associated with higher depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem, and self-esteem significantly mediated this association after controlling for age and in-person peer victimization. These findings highlight the importance of self-esteem as a key mechanism linking digital victimization and depressive symptoms in adolescents.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the confinement measures adopted by most countries have impacted global mental health, with particular interest in the effects on adolescents due to the tension between lockdown measures and the challenges of their developmental stage. Therefore, this study examined the distress and positive experiences reported by adolescents in northern Chile during the pandemic. A comprehensive study was conducted among adolescents in northern Chile. Discussion groups were utilized to investigate their experiences during the pandemic. The discussions were transcribed, and their content was analyzed by thematic analysis to create emerging categories and subcategories. Eleven discussion groups were conducted with a total of 51 adolescents. The findings were organized into two categories: distress and positive experiences during the pandemic. The distress experiences category included experiences related to confinement, educational tensions, risk of contagion, being an adolescent, and anxious–depressive emotions and symptoms. Meanwhile, the positive experiences category highlighted experiences related to interpersonal relationships through social networks, hobbies, activism, and pets. This research provides guiding results for policymakers and mental health authorities to incorporate this information when creating initiatives for working with the adolescent population. It considers the impact on them, but also incorporates the reported positive experiences as coping mechanisms for other difficulties.

The present study aimed to identify the proportion of victimization, types of victimization, and risk factors associated to children and adolescents who were admitted into an outpatient protection center for children and adolescents in northern Chile during the years 2016 and 2017. Secondary data from the database pertaining to the protection center was used. The sample was non-probabilistic and included 6,499 cases. The research was descriptive-comparative with a non-experimental retrospective cross-sectional design. The results showed a higher percentage of victimization by neglect, followed by witnessing domestic violence and child sexual abuse. The sociodemographic variables showed a higher percentage of victimization at the age of 6 to 9 and 14 to 17 years old, in children and adolescents who were in the first and second cycle of elementary school and were Chilean. It was found that children victimized by child sexual abuse and bullying also had a drug diagnosis record. Logistic regression analyses showed that gender, age, schooling, nationality, and a drug diagnosis record increase the probability of occurrence of certain types of victimization. The results showed the magnitude of the problem concerning victimizations experienced by children and adolescents in northern Chile and the need to generate prevention strategies for this population.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world population; however, there is limited knowledge about its impact on adolescents. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors associated with mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in young people in northern Chile. The sample consisted of 1315 young people between the ages of 14 and 18. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression were performed to identify the risk factors associated to the considered symptomatology. Depressive symptomatology was reported at 36.3%, anxiety at 6%, and social phobia at 27.8%. Adolescent females reported a higher probability of presenting depressive (OR, 3.409), anxious (OR, 3.949), and social phobia (OR, 3.027) symptomatology. Young women between the ages of 17 and 18 were more likely to present anxiety (OR, 2.172); moreover, being a migrant was related to lower odds of presenting anxiety (OR, 0.259) and depression (OR, 0.662). Having a family member diagnosed with COVID-19 was associated with depressive symptomatology (OR, 1.369). The COVID-19 pandemic can have serious repercussions on the mental health of adolescents. It is important to generate interventions to meet the needs of youth during the post-confinement period.

La Escala de Intimidad Emocional (EIE) es un instrumento de auto-informe que evalúa la intimidad emocional en relaciones cercanas. El objetivo de esta investigación fue examinar las propiedades psicométricas de la EIE para su uso en personas heterosexuales, gais y lesbianas involucradas en una relación de pareja. La muestra incluyó 883 personas chilenas (404 hombres y 479 mujeres; 565 heterosexuales y 318 homosexuales), entre 18 y 72 años. Mediante un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio, se replicó la estructura unidimensional de la escala logrando un buen nivel de ajuste a los datos, mientras que el análisis multigrupo reveló que la EIE-E (versión en español) es invariante según sexo y orientación sexual. Los índices de consistencia interna mediante el alfa de Cronbach y McDonald Omega fueron apropiados y se observó una asociación positiva entre la intimidad emocional y la satisfacción con la relación de pareja. Finalmente, se identificó que las mujeres lesbianas evidencian mayores niveles de intimidad que el resto de los grupos. Se concluye que la EIE-E es un instrumento apropiado para el estudio de la intimidad emocional en personas que se encuentran en una relación de pareja, sean estas hombres o mujeres heterosexuales, gais o lesbianas.

Gender differences in sexuality-related dimensions have long been investigated in close relationship research. An important assumption when comparing values across gender in dyadic research is that both partners conceptualize the construct under investigation in the same way. Thus, issues of measurement invariance should be considered when working with dyadic data. The aim of the present study was to test the dyadic invariance of the Positive Sexuality Scale (PSS) to assess an individual’s sense of happiness and fulfillment with his/her sexual expression. The PSS was completed by 166 Chilean heterosexual couples, and measurement invariance was tested using confirmatory factor analysis within a dyadic framework. Configural, metric, scalar, and partial strict measurement invariance were supported for the PSS original one-factor model. No between-partner difference was found in the PSS latent factor mean. The functioning of the PSS and the meaning attributed to positive sexuality were the same for both partners. Hence, variations in the PSS levels between both partners in heterosexual couples can be interpreted as true mean differences rather than measurement artifacts.

En el presente artículo se analiza el proceso de subjetivación de la masculinidad de un hombre joven del norte de Chile. El caso de “Hombre Constelación” se inserta en una investigación que buscó conocer cómo significan sus masculinidades jóvenes de 15 a 23 años socializados en un escenario cultural androcéntrico, patriarcal y heterosexista. La investigación es de tipo cualitativa y utiliza el modelo de mapas corporales. Este modelo se inscribe en el enfoque biográfico, utilizando análisis intertextual desde supuestos de la epistemología feminista para dar cuenta de la dimensión corporeizada de la socialización de género. Entre los hallazgos más relevantes se constata que el modelo de masculinidad de “Hombre Constelación” está dado por una compensación entre el rechazo hacia una corporeidad disminuida y la exaltación de atributos propios de una masculinidad heteronormativa tales como la racionalidad y la virilidad, no existiendo así apertura hacia un modelo transformador en cuanto a las relaciones de género. In this article it´s showed in depth a case about the process of subjectivation of masculinity of a young man in northern Chile. "Man Constellation" case is inserted in an investigation that sought to know how young men between 15 to 23 years old live their masculinities in an androcentric, patriarchal and heterosexist cultural scene. The research is qualitative and the methodological model used is body maps. This model is a biographical approach, it use intertextual analysis from feminist epistemology to account the embodied dimension of gender socialization. Among the most important findings is found that "Man Constellation´” model of masculinity is given by a tradeoff between the rejection of a diminished corporeality and the exaltation of heteronormative masculinity attributes such as rationality and virility, there being no opening to a transformer model in terms of gender relations.