Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology

The ethical-political role of the Community Health Workers' job in a Vulnerable Territory: contributions of participatory research

Carlos Roberto Castro-Silva — 2023-12-22

The consolidation of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) principles requires innovative interventions and strategies, highlighting the proposal of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) as reorganizer of the health system. Although it is important to emphasize the mediation position occupied by Community Health Workers (CHW), such a position must be problematized considering the sociohistorical and cultural context in which these professionals work, especially when faced with the social determinations of health. The objective of this study was to reflect on the role of affectivity and ethical politics in the practices of the CHW. Based on participatory research, made feasible by a management group, participant observation recorded in field diaries and interviews, we point out aspects of intersubjectivity developed in the territory. According to the results, the potential for action of these professionals is related to the construction of spaces for welcoming and listening, which promote a critical and reflective awareness, capable of denaturing the suffering triggered by social exclusion. The main challenge is to value the friendship developed in the territory as a political exercise.

Environmental Psychology in Latin America: an analysis of open access scientific production

Raquel Farias Diniz — 2023-12-22

In order to elucidate the scenario of development and consolidation of Environmental Psychology in Latin America, we intend to discuss the dynamics and evolution of the area, through the characterization of scientific production in the format of scientific articles published in open access journals. Therefore, a bibliometric study was carried out, using the SciELO, PEPSIC and RedALYC databases and the descriptor: environmental psychology. In total there were 304 articles, published between 1994 and 2021, that met the inclusion criteria. As main results, the leading role of Brazil in Latin American psycho-environmental production was evidenced, since the most frequent language in publications is Portuguese (51.8%), the most used magazines (58.7%) and the institutions that concentrate the largest number of authors (52.8%) are Brazilian. Next, Mexico stood out, also pointed out as a pioneer pole of EP in LA. Among the other countries, the third precursor center of the continent -Venezuela- had a smaller participation compared to Colombia, Argentina and Chile, which have been gaining ground in scientific production in the area. From the findings, considerations are made on the factors associated with these variations and notes on the BP in the region.

Assessing the relative contribution of Moral Foundation Theory, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Social Dominance Orientation in the prediction of political orientation

Mouhamad Houssein Ballout — 2023-12-22

Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) are two constructs which have been demonstrated to explain differences in political orientation as well as opinions concerning how society should be structured. More recently, Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) has demonstrated its ability to also delineate between political and social groups. Past research, however, has presented an unclear image of how RWA, SDO, and MFT interact with their influence on political orientation. In order to provide firmer grounding, this study examined the relationship between these three constructs as well as their ability to predict political orientation and perceived threat towards immigrants in a student sample (N = 300). Large correlations were found between SDO, RWA, and MFT. A path analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between political orientation, perceived threat towards immigrants with SDO, RWA, and MFT. Basic demographics were also considered. Several models were assessed, the model containing SDO, RWA, as well as MFT best fit the data. Furthermore, MFT demonstrated significant pathways with both political orientation and perceived threat towards immigrants. Our finding suggest that MFT contributes to the explanation of political orientation beyond the variance accounted for by SDO and RWA.

Cannabis Tolerance: A Scope Review

Esperanza Ibáñez-Jiménez — 2023-12-22

Cannabis is a widely consumed drug, so studying the effects of its chronic consumption becomes relevant. Regarding chronic consumption, the phenomenon of tolerance has been described in several drugs, including cannabis. Currently, multiple studies have addressed this phenomenon, with high heterogeneity in terms of methodology, evidence, and results. Our goal is to describe and analyze the literature on cannabis tolerance evaluated in physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and subjective responses, incorporating a critical perspective to account for some gaps and controversies in its study. Cannabis tolerance show a disparity between the effects produced after a first administration compared to its chronic use. Each of them incorporates heterogeneity of cannabinoids, doses, and routes of administration. Also, there is diversity in the regularity and temporal extension of consumption, as well as in its effects at the different response levels. Even when the heterogeneity of measurements allows for incorporating different perspectives, this results in poor standardization and a lack of rigor in what is understood as cannabis tolerance. Furthermore, there is no consideration of the stimuli present at drug administration, which have been relevant in the understanding of tolerance to other drugs as a learning process. Cannabis tolerance should be further studied, incorporating rigorous definitions and measurements that allow the phenomenon to be addressed in a global and standardized manner.

Cohesion, Flexibility and Family Support in Relation to the Psychological Wellbeing of Individuals with Obesity Issues

Roxana González Sotomayor — 2023-12-22

Obesity is a multi-causal disease which is increasing worldwide and fosters multiple maladjustments in the biological, psychological, family and social wellbeing in obese people. There are several family related factors, such as family interaction and support, which are directly related to the increase or decrease of obesity and wellbeing. Thus, the objective of this investigation was: analyze the incidence of BMI, cohesion, family flexibility and socio-family support, towards the psychological wellbeing in obese people. Scale of Wellbeing, Faces III Test, Scale of Perceived Family and Friends Social Support were the tools applied to 350 people presenting obesity issues. Results showed a tendency for extreme scores in the factors of cohesion and flexibility related to dysfunctional family relations. Acute differences were noticed between men and women in regards to family cohesion, family support and social-family support; obese men scored much higher than women. Predictive models indicate that family cohesion in women and social support in men, have a direct effect on their psychological wellbeing. This results could be of great help in intervention programs which focus on a specific sex and include family and social factors

Old Age and Their Conceptions in the Political Field: A Psychosocial Analysis of LGBTQI+ Old Age from the social representations of municipal parliamentarians

Mateus Egilson da Silva Alves — 2023-12-22

This article aimed to apprehend the social representations of LGBTQI+ old age among municipal legislative managers. Participated 10 parliamentarians, with an average age of 47.6 years (Dp 8.48). Sociodemographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used, later transcribed and analyzed using Bardin's content analysis method. Two empirical categories resulted from the analyzes: (1) Aging and Old Age: paradigms surrounding public practices (2) (In) equality in the political arenas about LGBTQI+ Old Age. It’s argued that the representations are anchored in the overlap between aging and old age as similar processes, justifying how they aim at public attitudes and underline elderly LGBTQI+ people involved in (in) equality. Expected to contribute to the expansion of knowledge about the psychosocial aspects of old age LGBTQI+, as well as giving rise to a debate about the need for greater attention to the plurality of gender, sexuality, and old age in the political field.

Predictive and incremental validity of Students’ Learning Approach Test (SLAT-Thinking)

Cristiano Mauro Assis Gomes — 2023-12-22

SLAT-Thinking is the only test that evaluates and distinguishes stages of approaches through performance. Although SLAT-Thinking shows evidence of internal validity, its external validity has not yet been examined. In this paper we study the predictive and incremental validities of SLAT-Thinking. Two models were tested. The predictors were inductive reasoning, SLAT-Thinking approaches and Learning Approaches Scale (EABAP) approaches. The outcome was the Brazilian large-scale exam that evaluates the students that finish secondary education. In both models, the superficial approach of SLAT-Thinking was the main predictor, followed by inductive reasoning. The deep and superficial approaches of SLAT-Thinking were positively associated with academic achievement. While the deep intermediate approach was negatively associated to outcome. Non-linear relationships (positive and negative associations) were found in the two EABAP approaches and inductive reasoning with the outcome. This study shows evidence of predictive and incremental validity of SLAT-Thinking.

Community psychosocial practices carried out by victims of Colombian armed conflict. Literature Review

Paula Vanessa Sánchez Agudelo — 2023-12-22

The article presents a literature review on community psychosocial practices undertaken by victims to face the damages within the framework of the Colombian armed conflict, documented since 2011. The literature review was conducted through the SCOPUS, CEPAL, DIALNET, JSTOR databases, where 110 documents were found, of which were analyzed using the coding process suggested by Grounded Theory. The results are presented into three major trends, as a result of selective coding. The first trend is the relational dimension that underlies all psychosocial action processes, the second is the identification of the most frequent and infrequent audiences of these processes and the consequences thereof, and the third is a constant interrogation of the institutional role in psychosocial action processes. These results are critically reflected upon in the discussion, highlighting the importance of collective coping, and suggesting a narrative perspective as an approach to address the identified issues.

English System Justification in the Social Explanation of the Violence against Minoritized Groups

Karla Santos Mateus — 2023-12-22

Violence against minoritized groups continues to be pervasive despite social norms prescribing nonviolence because it is legitimized in democratic societies. It is likely that, when individuals are faced with the occurrence of violence within their social environment, they justify it because the individuals tend to perceive and defend all social events as just, legitimate, and necessary. We addressed this possibility in two experimental studies in which we manipulated the minoritized group victim of violence (black vs. women vs. gays vs. control). In Study 1 (N= 104), participants blamed more women for their own victimization; blamed the perpetrator less when the victim was black people and depicted homophobic violence as a social issue similar to general violence in society. Study 2 (N = 217) went further by showing that these effects occur especially when participants were asked to respond as thought by society. We discuss explanations for violence as examples of individuals’ tendency to justify the social system and provide new insights for the secondary victimization research.

Herbert C. Kelman and Peace Psychology

Walter Lizandro Arias Gallegos — 2023-12-22

This article reviews the life and work of Herbert Kelman (1927-2022), one of the most influential social psychologists of the 20^th century and of the present century. His theories have had a favorable impact on the resolution of international conflicts, based on experimental evidence and his intervention in various international events in the Middle East and other parts of the world. In addition, he was one of the leading promoters of the psychology of peace and published a wide variety of a well-received articles, book chapters, and books in the field of social psychology. He also was president of the Interamerican Society of Psychology (ISP) between 1976 and 1979, with a display of functions that are the object of our analysis. For all these reasons, Kelman is an author, whose work deserves to be reviewed and analyzed on the occasion of his recent death, to give continuity to his ideas and his contributions in the field of conflict resolution.