The influence of culture on parental styles in social vulnerability contexts

The objectives of this study are: (a) to analyze if the relationship between parenting dimensions and children adjustment regarding coping strategies are similar in Argentinian and Spanish samples within poverty contexts; (b) to compare parental dimensions in the two groups studied, and (c) to determine the efficiency of parenting through the study of their influence in children coping strategies. The Graffar-Méndez Castellano Scale (Méndez-Castellano & Méndez, 1994), that brings a socioeconomic description of the population; an Argentinian Scale of Children Perception of Parental Relationships for 8 to 12 years of age (Richaud, 2007a), and the Argentine Questionnaire of Coping for children (Richaud, 2006) were administered to a sample of 458 Spanish and Argentinian children from 8 to 12 years old. Correlations were carried out to analyze the relationships between parenting dimensions and children coping strategies in both groups, and MANOVA, to study if there were different parental dimensions in the two groups —Argentina and Spain—, and to analyze if there were differences in children coping strategies. The results indicate that correlational pattern is similar in both groups, but parental dimensions are different for each culture, being the Argentinian parents more neglectful than Spanish parents. At the same time, Argentinian children adopt coping strategies less efficient that the Spanish children ones, involving in that way a greater emotional conflict.

Conceptualization and therapeutic treatment of a compulsive gambling case by Functional Analysis and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

A clinical case of compulsive gambling is exposed in this article. The subject’s playing behaviour had both positive and negative consequences. The subject tried to practice control over the urge to play. As shown in the functional analysis, the failure to control the urge despite the best efforts worsened the problem due to its negative consequences. A variation of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) was applied in order to break down the fight-surrender vicious circle of the playing behaviour. Two treatment strategies were agreed upon: acceptance of the fact that both playing and not playing had negatives consequences and commitment to one of these options despite its disadvantages. Finally, it is proposed that this acceptance and commitment therapy is a useful therapeutic process as it decreases the suffering subject and eliminates the problem: playing bahaviour.

Relationship among children’s perception of parental relationship and parental empathy and prosocial behaviour during childhood

The objective of this work is to study if children’s perception of parental relationship and parental empathy can predict prosocial behaviour during childhood. The sample was composed of 934 Argentine children, aged 9 to 12, of middle socio-economical level. The participants completed Argentine scale of Children Perception of Parental relationship (richaud de Minzi, 2007), an Argentine adaptation of scale of Prosocial Behaviour (Caprara and Pastorelli, 1993) and a questionnaire to measure children’s perception of parental empathy (richaud de Minzi, 2006). structural equations modelling (sEM) analyses were conducted to explore our hypotheses. Six theoretical models fit the data very well. The results showed that parental styles of acceptance and pathological control impact on children prosocial behavior. Children’s perception of parental empathy was positively associated with children prosocial behavior. Finally, parental acceptance and pathological control were associated with children’s perception of parental empathy, but negligent parental behaviour did not.  

Predictors of Attitudes toward Cosmetic Surgery among U.S. and Colombian College Women: The Roles of Eating Behaviors and Demographic Variables

Cross-cultural studies on eating behaviors and related constructs can identify cultural and social factors that contribute to eating disorder symptomatology. Eating disorders (EDs) are a major cause for concern in the U.S., and recent studies in Colombia have shown growing rates among their female population. In addition, cosmetic surgery procedures have been increasing rapidly in both the U.S. and Colombia, and preliminary research suggests a positive relation between disordered eating and endorsement of plastic surgery. In samples of college women from Colombia and the U.S., we investigated patterns of association between disordered eating variables and cosmetic surgery acceptance. Our approach utilized separate analyses for various subcomponents of disordered eating (to determine their unique associations with cosmetic surgery acceptance) while adjusting for potentially relevant covariates and examining cross-cultural patterns. Participants were students at an urban, public college in the U.S. (n=163) and an urban, private college in Colombia (n=179). Overall, our findings suggested that participants from Colombia with greater disordered eating were more likely to endorse cosmetic surgery for social reasons, while those from the U.S. were more likely to consider undergoing cosmetic surgery for personal reasons. Differing findings between the two samples may be due to cultural and social factors, which we delineate. These findings also have potential implications for presurgical counseling of cosmetic surgery candidates.

Formas identitarias en la región fronteriza de Táchira (Venezuela) ‒ Norte de Santander (Colombia)

El presente artículo busca describir las formas identitarias en la región fronteriza de Táchira (Venezuela) ― Norte de Santander (Colombia). El diseño de la investigación se corresponde con la metodología cualitativa, y adopta como método la Teoría Fundamentada; se aplicó el muestreo teórico en combinación con la saturación teórica para analizar las entrevistas de un conjunto de informantes clave ubicados a ambos lados del límite internacional. Así mismo, se hizo una revisión de la literatura especializada sobre identidad y formas de identidad contemplando los aportes de diversas disciplinas científicas. Los datos son analizados siguiendo la línea de codificación teórica (abierta, axial y selectiva) y la inducción analítica para revelar conceptos emergentes y desvelar sus vinculaciones. Los resultados evidencian elementos comunes y divergentes en las formas identitarias: la “identidad personal” (elementos de autopercepción, parentescos, doble identidad y diferenciación identitaria), la “identidad fronteriza” (la región se percibe como diferente del resto), la “identidad nacional” (historia, conciencia del límite y símbolos), los cuales coexisten en los habitantes de frontera. Los “aspectos actitudinales” muestran aceptación y rechazo frente al desempeño de las principales instituciones presentes en la dinámica fronteriza. Las formas identitarias encontradas en la región confirman los estudios sobre identidad y fronteras, aunque es de destacar que la experiencia del límite internacional no alcanza a desdibujar las percepciones nacionales estereotipadas del otro.