This study measured the prevalence of cases of domestic violence against women and some associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Data were collected through a remote survey during 2020. The sample included 47,819 women aged 15 years and older. Jointpoint regression and logistic regression models were used. The prevalence of violence was 11.5%, which decreased in July and subsequently increased. The associated factors were being unemployed (OR = 2.01; 95%CI 1.89–2.16); being partially and totally quarantined (OR = 1.58; 95%CI 1.43–1.75 and OR = 1.47; 95%CI 1.32–1.63); being a caregiver of children; being a caregiver of elderly and/or suffering from a chronic illness (OR = 1.27; 95%CI 1.19–1.36; OR = 1.42; 95%CI 1.33–1.53; OR = 1.59; 95%CI 1.47–1.73); losing a family member to COVID-19 (OR = 1.26; 95%CI 1.13–1.41); and binge drinking (OR = 1.94; 95%CI 1.78–2.12). The confinement measures increased gender inequalities, economic problems and workload which further evidenced violence against women.

Background: Young people have the highest rate of drug use worldwide. Recent data from Mexico in this population show that the prevalence of illicit drug use doubled between 2011 and 2016 (2.9%-6.2%), with marijuana being the one with the highest increase (2.4%-5.3%), but also point out that alcohol and tobacco use have remained steady or decreased. Mexican adolescents are at high risk for drug use owing to a low perception of risk and the availability of drugs. Adolescence is an ideal period to reduce or prevent risky behaviors using evidence-based strategies. Objective: In this study, we aimed to test the short-term effectiveness of a mobile intervention app (“What Happens if you Go Too Far?” [“¿Qué pasa si te pasas?”]) that seeks to increase risk perception of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use in a sample of Mexican high school students. Methods: A nonexperimental evaluation based on pretest-posttest design was used to measure the effectiveness of a preventive intervention using a mobile app, “What Happens If You Go Too Far?” The dimensions analyzed were knowledge of drugs and their effects, life skills, self-esteem, and risk perception. The intervention was conducted on a high school campus with 356 first-year students. Results: The sample included 359 first-year high school students (mean 15, SD 0.588 years; women: 224/359, 62.4% men: 135/359, 37.6%). The intervention increased the overall risk perception of tobacco (χ24=21.6; P<.001) and alcohol use (χ24=15.3; P<.001). There was no significant difference in the perception that it is dangerous to smoke 5 cigarettes, and there was a marginal difference in the perception that it is very dangerous to smoke 1 cigarette or to use alcohol or marijuana. We used a generalized estimating equation method to determine the impact of the variables on risk perception. The results showed that knowledge about smoking increased the risk perception of smoking 1 cigarette (odds ratio [OR] 1.1065, 95% CI 1.013-1.120; P=.01), and that knowledge about marijuana use (OR 1.109, 95% CI 1.138-1.185; P=.002) and self-esteem (OR 1.102, 95% CI 1.007-1.206; P=.04) produced significant increases in the risk perception of consuming 5 cigarettes. Resistance to peer pressure and assertiveness also increased the perceived risk of using tobacco and alcohol. Conclusions: The intervention has the potential to increase the perception of risk toward drug use in high school students by providing knowledge about the effects and psychosocial risks of drug use and by strengthening life skills that are associated with increased risk perception. The use of mobile technologies in intervention processes may broaden the scope of preventive work for adolescents.

Introduction. Life skills help young people resolve problems assertively and manage their lives healthily to cope with everyday challenges and are a key resource for enhancing their psychosocial development. Objective. To measure construct validity through the implementation of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and to prove the reliability and concurrent validity of a brief scale for assessing life skills in Mexican adolescents. Method. The Brief Life Skills Scale for Adolescents (Spanish acronym EHV-A) measures planning for the future, assertiveness, expression of emotions, taking responsibility, decision-making, and resistance to peer pressure. Designed using psychometric tests previously validated for Mexican adolescents, it only includes the items with the best psychometric values. It was administered to 3,787 male and female students. The internal structure of the test was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation and confirmatory factor analysis to corroborate the theoretical consistency of the model. Reliability was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha. Concurrent validity was measured with a brief version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) Scale. Results. The exploratory factor analysis model yielded a six-factor structure (planning for the future, assertiveness, expression of emotions, resistance to peer pressure, decision making, and taking responsibility) that explained 76% of the variance, with Cronbach’s alpha ranging between .82 and .92 for each factor, and .96 for the whole scale. This structure was corroborated by confirmatory factor analysis. The model had adequate fit indices, and the concurrent validity test of the EHV-A was acceptable and theoretically consistent (with correlations between .66 and .72 with the RSE). Discussion and conclusion. The results show satisfactory psychometric properties and the convergent validity of the EHV-A, indicating that it is a potentially useful tool for assessing life skills in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To psychometrically validate the Spanish version of the Paykel Suicidal Behavior Scale in the Mexican adolescent population, and to establish an optimal cut-off point to identify risk of suicidal behavior in school contexts. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 with a non-probabilistic sample of 1,407 students from eight public high schools in the state of Morelos, Mexico. The mean age was 17 years, 58.7% were female and 41.3% were male. The students completed an online questionnaire that included the Paykel Suicidal Behavior Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. A confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, factorial invariance analysis (by sex, gender identity, and school grade), divergent validity analysis, and ROC curves were applied in this study. RESULTS: The confirmatory factor analysis was found to be acceptable. The factor loadings ranged from 0.799 to 0.938. Item discrimination parameters were elevated (2.33 to 6.63), with difficulties ranging from 0.17 to 1.11. Factor invariance was confirmed in all subgroups. The divergent validity of the Paykel Suicidal Behavior Scale was satisfactory, as evidenced by its moderate correlations with the Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (r = 0.507), depression (r = 0.644), anxiety (r = 0.570), and stress (r = 0.541). ROC analysis identified an optimal cutoff point of ≥ 1.0, with sensitivity of 75.93% and specificity of 76.54%. CONCLUSION: The Mexican version of the Paykel Suicidal Behavior Scale demonstrates robust psychometric properties, including validity, reliability, and factorial invariance in the adolescent school population. The scale's brevity, clarity, and ease of application make it an effective tool for school screening, allowing for timely detection and referral to mental health services. Its use is recommended in adolescent suicide prevention programs in educational contexts in Mexico.

Introduction. Adolescence is a vulnerable stage, but also a key time to prevent risky behaviors like drug use. It is important to address risk factors that can become protective factors by enhancing life skills (LS) and increasing the risk perception of psychoactive drug use. Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of an online intervention to increase knowledge of the effects of psychoactive drug use, improve LS, and increase the risk perception of psychoactive drug use among Mexican middle school students. Method. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest study with middle school students using an online version of the intervention. Results. A comparison of the scores of the experimental and control groups on the post-test yielded significant differences in knowledge of the effects of tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, and ecstasy use, and in planning for the future, assertiveness, decision-making, and taking responsibility. It also revealed differences in the perceived risk of marijuana, inhalants, alcohol, and tobacco use. Discussion and conclusion. The results show that this online intervention modifies middle school students’ risk perception of psychoactive drug use, increases knowledge of its effects, and improves LS. Its online design reduces implementation costs and increases the likelihood of its use as a psychosocial tool to prevent psychoactive drug use.