El objetivo de esta investigación consistió en comparar los perfiles de burnout percibido de mujeres y hombres universitarios en la Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, México. La muestra total fue de 1180 participantes; 598 mujeres y 582 hombres, con una edad media de 20.50 años y 20.84 años, respectivamente. El abordaje adoptado en la investigación se enmarcó dentro de un enfoque cuantitativo con un diseño descriptivo tipo encuesta. Todos los participantes contestaron el Inventario de Burnout para Estudiantes de Maslach. Los resultados del análisis multivariante de varianza, seguido por los análisis de varianza univariados, muestran que las mujeres en comparación con los hombres reportan mayores niveles de burnout académico en las tres dimensiones estudiadas (Agotamiento, Cinismo y Eficacia). Las diferencias encontradas entre hombres y mujeres con respecto a su percepción de burnout académico, sugieren que al diseñar cualquier tipo de intervención que tenga como objetivo la disminución del burnout percibido habrá que tomar en cuenta a la variable género.

The evaluation of quality of life may enable researchers to produce information that may improve health care and the quality of older people’s lives. This research has two main goals: the first is to assess the psychometric properties of the SF-36 Health Questionnaire (construct validity and internal consistency), and the second, to calculate the factorial invariance of the questionnaire in two random, independent samples (i.e., cross-validation). The total sample consisted of 970 elderly subjects from the cities of Chihuahua and Monterrey, Mexico, with an average age of 71.18 (SD = 7.69). The factor structure of the SF-36 was analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The analyses show an adequate four-factor structure. The four-factor structure (Physical Function, Body Pain, Physical Role and Psychological Health) shows adequate reliability and validity indices. In addition, the results from the CFA analyses for the subsamples provide strong evidence of the stability of the four-factor structure. Future research should consider replicating the present findings in larger samples.

El bienestar psicológico, la imagen corporal y la actividad física son tres constructos de gran importancia, debido al efecto en diferentes ámbitos de la vida de los estudiantes universitarios. Por lo que, el objetivo principal del presente estudio fue examinar el efecto de la práctica regular de actividad física y la imagen corporal sobre la percepción de bienestar psicológico en estudiantes universitarios mexicanos mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales. Un total de 900 estudiantes universitarios mexicanos (509 mujeres y 391 hombres) de 18 a 26 años cumplimentaron el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física y las versiones reducidas de los cuestionarios Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire y Bienestar Psicológico de Ryff. Los resultados del modelo de ecuaciones estructurales mostraron que el género y la práctica de actividad física, a través de la importancia subjetiva de la forma y la apariencia física, tiene un efecto indirecto positivo sobre la percepción de bienestar psicológico en la dimensión de autoaceptación y ésta, a su vez, ejerce un efecto directo positivo sobre el crecimiento personal. El modelo propuesto obtiene un ajuste satisfactorio, explicando el 48% de la varianza en la percepción de bienestar psicológico en la dimensión de crecimiento personal (variable criterio), lo que parecen revelar la importancia del conjunto de variables en la predicción/explicación del bienestar psicológico de los universitarios y, por consiguiente, la necesidad de incluir su optimización y desarrollo en los currículos escolares. Palabras clave: Hábitos de actividad física, imagen corporal, autoaceptación, crecimiento personal, SEM. Psychological well-being, body image and physical activity are three constructs of great importance, because of the effect on different areas of university students’ life. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to examine the effect of regular practice of physical activity and body image on the perception of psychological well-being in Mexican university students through a structural equation model. A total of 900 Mexican university students (509 women and 391 men) between the ages of 18 and 26 completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the reduced versions of the Ryff Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire and Psychological Well-being questionnaires. The results of the structural equation model showed that gender and the practice of physical activity, through the subjective importance of physical form and appearance, have a positive indirect effect on the perception of psychological well-being in the self-acceptance dimension and this in turn has a direct positive effect on personal growth. The proposed model obtains a satisfactory fit, explaining 48% of the variance in the perception of psychological well-being in the personal growth dimension (criterion variable), which seems to reveal the importance of the set of variables in the prediction/explanation of psychological well-being of university students and, consequently, the need to include their optimization and development in school curricula. Keywords: Physical activity habits, body image, self-acceptance, personal growth, SEM.

El objetivo de esta investigación consistió comparar los perfiles de barreras para la práctica de ejercicio físico de estudiantes de universitarios mexicanos. La muestra total fue de 897 participantes, 490 mujeres y 407 estudiantes universitarios de la ciudad de Chihuahua, México, con edades entre los 18 y 36 años. El abordaje adoptado en la investigación se enmarcó dentro de un enfoque cuantitativo con un diseño descriptivo tipo encuesta. Se utilizó un análisis de varianza múltiple (MANOVA) para examinar las diferencias entre mujeres y hombres universitarios en cuanto a la percepción de barreras para la práctica de ejercicio físico. Los resultados del MANOVA mostraron diferencias globales estadísticamente significativas de acuerdo a la variable género en las puntuaciones promedio de los factores del Autoinforme de Barreras para la Práctica de Ejercicio Físico (Wilks’ λ = .884; p < .001). Posteriormente, los resultados de los ANOVAs mostraron que las mujeres reportan mayor presencia de barreras en las cuatro dimensiones estudiadas; ansiedad física y social (F = 40.281, p < .001), fatiga o pereza (F = 94.004, p < .001), obligaciones y falta de tiempo (F = 66.774, p < .001) e instalaciones (F = 20.925, p < .01). Las diferencias encontradas parecen indicar que las mujeres perciben mayor probabilidad en la presencia de barreras para la práctica de ejercicio físico, dificultándoles la práctica de actividad física en mayor medida que a los hombres. The aim of this research was to compare the profiles of barriers for practicing physical exercise in Mexican university students. The total sample was composed by 897 subjects, 490 female and 407 male university students from Chihuahua, Mexico, with a mean age of 18 and 36 years old. The research is framed within a quantitative approach with a survey descriptive design. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine the differences between university men and women regarding the perception of barriers for practicing physical exercise. Results from the MANOVA showed statistically significant global differences according to gender in the average factor scores of the Self-Report of Barriers for Practicing Physical Exercise (Wilks' λ = .884; p <.001). Subsequently, the results of the ANOVAs showed that women report a greater presence of barriers in the four dimensions studied; physical and social anxiety (F = 40.281, p <.001), fatigue or laziness (F = 94.004, p <.001), obligations and lack of time (F = 66.774, p <.001) and facilities (F = 20.925 , p <.01). The encountered differences seem to indicate that women have greater probability of perceiving barriers for the practice of physical exercise, making it more difficult for them to practice physical activity than for men.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the profiles of physical self-concept between men and women primary and secondary Mexican school students. A total sample of 1146 participants, 550 women and 596 men, aged 11-16 years participated in this study. A quantitative approach with a descriptive and transversal survey design was used. All the participants completed the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire. The results of the one-way multivariate analysis of variance, followed by the one-way univariate analyses of variance, showed that compared with the women, the men obtained higher scores on the subscales health, coordination, activity, sports competence, strength, flexibility, endurance and global physical self-concept. However, in the body fat, appearance and global self-esteem subscales statistically significant differences were not found. Because of the differences between men and women in their perception of physical self-concept found, these findings suggest that in order to design any intervention for improving the perceived physical self-concept of the students, the variable sex should be taken into account. Keywords: physical self-concept, student´s beliefs; sex differences; self-perception, adolescents.

Mental health is currently highly relevant in society and one of the factors that could contribute to its improvement is psychological well-being, hence the importance of conducting studies that focus on analyzing variables that predict psychological well-being. Therefore, the goal of this research is to use models of structural equations to analyze the relationships among the variables of sex and resilience for psychological well-being. The total sample was 1190 Mexican university students, with an average age of 20.66 years (SD = 1.89). The results indicate that the resilience factors (strength and confidence, family support, and social support) are the variables with the greatest explanatory power on psychological well-being. It also highlights the mediating capacity of the strength and confidence factor between the other two resilience factors (family support, social support) and perceived psychological well-being. The implications of the study are that sex and two of the dimensions of resilience (family support and social support) show an indirect and positive effect on the perception of psychological well-being through the strength and confidence factor. Therefore, when implementing interventions to improve psychological well-being, these factors should be considered in order to have a greater positive impact on the population that is being studied. Future research should replicate these findings in larger samples.