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The incorporation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in educational environments has generated diverse effects. The literature has established that the use of ICT can generate techno-distress in both teachers and students. However, the techno-distress and burnout caused in parents who help their children to use technological platforms have not been analyzed in depth. To contribute to closing this theoretical gap, we conducted a study with 131 parents who helped their children to use technological platforms, considering two antecedents of techno-distress and its effect on parental burnout. Our results demonstrate that both the home facilitating conditions and the system quality influence parental techno-distress. Additionally, it was possible to demonstrate that techno-distress has a significant effect on parental burnout. The use of technology in educational environments is increasing at all educational levels. Therefore, the present study provides relevant information that schools can use to reduce the impact of the negative effects generated by technology.

This study presents the formulation of a quantitative and qualitative index of quality for accredited institutions based on their performance in five components related to institutional quality: research, students' performance, dropout rates, employability, and accreditation. This index will allow each accredited institution to identify its competences and shortcomings in contrast to the rest, not with the intention of establishing a stiff metrics and positioning system, but of generating information inputs that are flexible and relevant and that allow the revision of each university's status, thus constituting the foundations for a Colombian accreditation observatory for the purpose of continuous improvement.

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The aim of this paper is to study differences in the adoption of e-commerce associated with the level of managers/owners' innovativeness. The background utilized to estimate the respondents' favorable reception of e-commerce is a model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, which has been extended to include perceived drivers and obstacles as antecedents of attitude toward e-commerce acceptance. Small and medium enterprises in Chile participated in the study. A Partial Least Squares multi-group test was employed to note differences between groups. The main conclusions of the study are: (1) the level of managers/owners' innovativeness differentiates between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce of small and medium enterprises in Chile; (2) the Theory of Planned Behavior has been successfully used to explain the process of adoption of e-commerce among Chilean managers/owners; (3) there are significant relationships between both drivers and obstacles and attitude toward using e-commerce; (4) a strong and significant relationship exists between attitude and intention to use e-commerce. Results can be used by small and medium enterprises in developing countries to boost e-commerce adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We look at dark energy from a biology inspired viewpoint by means of the Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) and late time cosmological observations. We find that dynamical dark energy comes out on top, or in the ABC language naturally selected, over the standard Λ CDM cosmological scenario. We confirm this conclusion is robust to whether baryon acoustic oscillations and Hubble constant priors are considered. Our results show that the algorithm prefers low values of the Hubble constant, consistent or at least a few standard deviation away from the cosmic microwave background estimate, regardless of the priors taken initially in each model. This supports the result of the traditional MCMC analysis and could be viewed as strengthening evidence for dynamical dark energy being a more favorable model of late time cosmology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study dark energy through the viewpoints of parametric and nonparametric analyses of late-time cosmological data. We consider four Hubble parameter priors reflecting the Hubble tension and make use of two phenomenological functions, namely, a normalized dark energy density and a compactified dark energy equation of state. We predict the shape of both functions and present new constraints on the dark energy equation of state. The results hint at dark energy evolution regardless of the choice of the method and of the priors. The fact that similar evolutions for the dark energy densities are found through drastically different approaches suggests that the features found in this paper are driven by the data, and are not artifact of the reconstruction methods applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

● Technology Readiness Index 2.0 was validated in Chile. ● Using the latent class analysis, we obtained 5 groups of technology Chilean users. ● The groups were named: Pioneers, Hesitators, Avoiders, Explorers, and Skeptics. ● The groups are different from other studies in their importance classification. We set two main objectives in this study. First, to validate the Technology Readiness Index 2.0, which originated in the USA and measures technology adoption, in a less technologically mature country, Chile. Second, to explore the perceptions of Chilean users of new technologies to classify and compare them with users from the USA. Data were collected in two Chilean regions through a face-to-face survey with a final sample size of 788 respondents. Latent class analysis was used as a segmentation tool. We obtained five groups of users: pioneers, hesitators, avoiders, explorers, and skeptics. The clusters found in this current study are to some extent similar to those obtained in the pioneering research conducted in the USA, although there are differences in their order of importance. These findings can help companies to adopt innovations to specific market segments. As a result, the rate of success of these innovations would improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter points up the role of gender on the measure of the social distance toward schizophrenia in university students. We discuss what implies a preference for greater social distance towards the person in the vignette if identified as a male. A male with schizophrenia may suffer more stigma than a woman and therefore the assessment of stigma should take this into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research aimed to determine the stigma toward people with mental illness among mental health personnel and identify individual, professional, and contextual predictors., Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational design was used. The sample consisted of 218 mental health personnel working in Outpatient Psychiatric Units belonging to hospitals and Community Mental Health Centers in Chile. Stigma was evaluated using a scale of humanized treatment, a scale of social distance, and a scale of attitudes in health personnel. In addition, sociodemographic and professional information was collected from mental health personnel and contextual information, particularly the type of outpatient mental health center and the technical-administrative unit that groups all the health centers in a territory., Results: It was found that mental health personnel, in general terms, present low levels of stigma expressed in behaviors of comfort and support toward users, a desire for closeness and social interaction, and reduced stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes of infantilization toward individuals with MHPs. However, intimacy and trust were lower than expected.Only educational levels and health centers were related to stigma., Conclusions: The low levels of stigma may be due to the evolution of this phenomenon and the country's mental health policies., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: In the literature on stigma, authors often use self-stigma or internalized stigma interchangeably to refer to this type of stigma. This results in a lack of conceptual clarity with negative repercussions for measurement and intervention., Aims: To identify how internalized stigma and self-stigma are conceptualized in people diagnosed with a mental disorder and establish similarities and differences between both concepts., Method: A scoping review was conducted. Thirty-five studies that conceptualized internalized stigma or self-stigma were selected., Results: It was identified that the concepts are defined from nine components, and there are more conceptualizations that have points in common than those that consider some component of their own. To gain conceptual clarity, the use of the term internalized stigma is recommended, being a process made up of stages: acceptance of stereotypes and prejudices by people with mental disorders and their subsequent internalization. The latter leads to negative consequences for those affected, which can be understood as the personal impact of this process, which has a crucial socio-cultural component. Lines of research are proposed to provide solidity to studies on this type of stigma., Conclusions: The term internalized stigma should be used when referring to the type of stigma that includes acceptance, internalization and personal impact for the subjects of the stigma. In contrast, self-stigma should be reserved to refer to stigma that is directed toward the 'self' and includes subtypes of stigma.

Students in healthcare careers present stigma towards people with psychiatric diagnoses, so the development of interventions to reduce it is essential. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce stigma towards people diagnosed with mental disorders in healthcare students in Chile. A randomized clinical trial with a before and after measurement was carried out. The intervention was part of a compulsory course and combined educational and contact strategies. A total of 244 fourth-semester students of medicine, nursing, dentistry, obstetrics, psychology, and social work participated. The intervention was effective in reducing stigmatizing attitudes and the desire for social distance. For almost all variables, the magnitude of the stigma reduction depended on the initial level of stigma, not on the profession. The intervention had positive effects on all careers. In conclusion, incorporating a stigma reduction intervention into mandatory professional training, with the active participation of the teacher in charge and experts by experience, can be a valuable tool to promote humanized and non-stigmatizing treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The mass media are relevant in shaping the population's attitudes towards mental disorders. In low- and middle-income countries there is little information about the portrayal of people with mental disorders in the mass media., Aim: The general objective of the study was to assess the tone and content of Chilean newspaper articles about mental disorder from 2000 to 2019., Method: The digital editions of four national circulation Chilean newspapers were intentionally selected. The search engine Google News was used to identify and retrieve the news. To evaluate the news, a standardised codebook was administered. A total of 385 news were evaluated., Results: The results show that a large proportion of the news items has an overall positive/optimistic tone 43.5% and 57.5% does not stigmatise; however, only 18.4% emphasises recovery as part of the content. The highest percentages of news stigmatising in tone and content are observed for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Furthermore, the experts are quoted much more frequently than people diagnosed with mental disorders or their families and/or friends. When comparing by years there is a trend towards general decrease in stigmatisation, moving towards a more positive or optimistic view of mental health., Conclusions: In general, low stigmatisation towards mental disorders was found in the news and this was reduced steadily over time. Although there are aspects to improve in some particular areas, suggesting that manifest stigma has diminished, but more subtle forms still remain.

To understand how stigmatization of people diagnosed with a mental disorder occurs in secondary mental healthcare staff in mental healthcare centers in Chile was the objective of the study. A descriptive qualitative and interpretative design with an ethnographic approach was used. Participants' observations, ethnographic, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals at three secondary mental health centers. Qualitative descriptive and interpretative content analysis was used. Stigmatization of users is shaping up in their trajectory in the health center. Identity changes from person to "patient," which generates dependence on the expert role of healthcare professionals. Stigma is expressed in the interactions between a health institution, a professional team, and a user, reproducing power and control relationships associated with the biomedical model and reinforcing a cycle of chronification in the user. Health teams are stressed by discrepancies between the current mental health policy and the user's biomedical understanding., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This study assessed the effectiveness of a program (called Igual-Mente, Equal-Mind) designed to reduce stigma in primary health care personnel. A random clinical trial was performed (ISRCTN46464036). There were 316 primary care professionals and technicians who were randomized and assigned to the experimental or control group. The program considered as strategies the education, the contact and the development of skills. There were six sessions with the primary care staff and two sessions with the managers of the health centers. It was executed by two facilitators, a professional psychologist and an expert by experience, i.e., a person diagnosed with a severe mental disorder (SMD). Attitudes, social distance, and humane treatment behaviors toward people with SMD were assessed. The intervention was effective in reducing stigma attitudes y social distance towards people diagnosed with SMD. The magnitude of the changes ranged from moderate to high in all these variables and the effects were maintained for four months after the end of the program. Regarding humane treatment behaviors, the effects were less clear. This study shows good results indicating that well-designed interventions can effectively reduce stigma towards people diagnosed with SMD, which is one of the main challenges of health systems., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Parenting training is a proven strategy for the promotion of positive parenting practices and for the prevention and treatment of behavior problems in children. The processes that explain this efficacy are less clear. The aim of this study was to assess the mediating role of parenting practice modification, encouraged through the implementation of a universal parenting training program, for the decrease of behavior problems in 3- to 6-year-old children., Method: A cluster randomized trial was carried out in 19 educational centers in low and middle socioeconomic areas. A total of 178 families received the program and 154 of them were the control group. The following parenting practices were assessed: positive reinforcement, involvement, inconsistency, unsuitable treatment behaviors and physical punishment, as well as hostility and humiliation behaviors. Parent-child interaction was also assessed using an observational instrument. A multiple mediation analysis was carried out, identifying the indirect effects., Results: Reduction of harsh discipline and physical punishment, and parental inconsistency mediated the effects observed in the reduction of child behavior problems during the program., Conclusion: Within Chilean families, harsh discipline, physical punishment, and parental inconsistency are important aspects to be considered in the implementation of universal parenting training programs.

Background: People with severe mental disorders (SMDs) have higher disease and death rates than the general population. Stigma (negative attitudes and perceptions) contributes to limited access to health services and a lower quality of medical assistance in this population, and it is manifested as negative attitudes, social distance, and discrimination toward this social group. For these reasons, healthcare workers are a priority group for anti-stigma interventions. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a program specifically designed to decrease negative attitudes and social distance and increase inclusive behaviors in healthcare workers toward people with SMD. Methods: The study will be a randomized clinical trial. A minimum of 210 healthcare workers from 11 primary care centers in the province of Concepción, Chile, will be randomly chosen to receive the program or be part of the control group. There will be a pre-, post-, and 4-months evaluation of social distance, attitudes, and behaviors of participants toward people with SMD using standardized scales such as the social distance scale, which is a scale of clinician attitude toward mental illness adapted from attitudes of clinicians toward mental illness, and self-reports. The intervention program will consist of education strategies, direct, and indirect contact with people diagnosed with SMD, and skill development. There will be six face-to-face sessions directly with the participants and two additional sessions with the directors of each healthcare center. The program will involve a facilitator who will be a healthcare professional and a co-facilitator who will be a person diagnosed with SMD. Discussion: This study will evaluate an intervention program especially designed to reduce stigma in healthcare workers toward people with SMD, a topic on which there is little background information, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It is important to have interventions with proven effectiveness for this purpose to ensure equity in healthcare services. Trial Registration: This study was registered under ISRCTN.com (ISRCTN46464036).

Background: Evidence for the effectiveness of parental training as a strategy for promotion of positive parental practices and prevention of child behavior problems in low and middle income countries is not conclusive. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a universal positive parental training program designed for this context, "Día a Día" UdeC © ("Day by Day" University of Concepción), in Chilean preschoolers' families (3-6 years old children). Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) was carried out in 19 preschool education centers. There were two treatment arms: 10 centers (including 178 families) were randomly assigned to the intervention group and nine centers (including 154 families) were assigned to the waiting list control condition. Intervention groups received Day by Day UdeC, a six group sessions program for parents, including two group sessions for preschool educators, focused in affective communication; daily and child-directed play; directed attention; routines and transitions; reinforcement and incentive programs; planned inattention-ignore and time out; and logical consequences. Parental practices, parental satisfaction, and presence of children behavioral problems were examined at two-time points: T1 (4 weeks before intervention) and T2 (5-6 weeks after intervention). Results: Intention-to-treat analysis shows a reduction in physical punishment and an increase in parental involvement, as well as a reduction in children behavioral problems. A per-protocol analysis revealed an additional effect: increase in observed parental practices. Conclusion: This cRCT provided evidence for the effectiveness of a parental training program for the promotion of positive parental practices in low and middle income countries. The observed effects of the program in decreasing physical punishment and children's behavioral problems make it a promising strategy for prevention purposes. Trial Registration: This study was registered under ISRCTN.com (ISRCTN90762146; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN90762146).

Introduction: Social stigma is the assigning of negative stereotypes to people with schizophrenia. Different measurement tools have been used to evaluate this, including knowledge scales. The aim of this study was to evaluate the public stigma by measuring this knowledge and relate the degree of information with variables that have shown to influence on stigma presented by the affected population., Methods: The sample was composed of 399 people and the inclusion criterion was being between 18 and 65 years of age. The "Questionnaire of knowledge on schizophrenia" was applied, as well as a questionnaire to collect sociodemographic information. Participants were recruited in places with large crowds. The following analyses were performed: multiple correlations, non-parametric bivariate and hierarchical clusters., Results: The questionnaire had two dimensions: "Beliefs on the knowledge of schizophrenia" and "Attitudes towards schizophrenia". There are significant differences between them, and the contact with people with SMI. In the analysis of clusters, there was difference in the two groups according to the combination of the two dimensions of the tools., Conclusions: It is highlighted that none of the dimensions measures true knowledge, and the questionnaire has an attitudinal dimension. More than contact itself, it is the type of interaction of a relevant variable at the level of stigma that questions the traditional hypothesis of contact. Further research is required on the characteristics of the tool and the aspects of the contact associated to a lower level of stigma in the population., (Copyright © 2017 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)