Background: The COVID-19 disease has changed people’s work and income. While recent evidence has documented the adverse impact of these changes on mental health outcomes, most research is focused on frontline healthcare workers and the reported association between income loss and mental health comes from high-income countries. In this study we examine the impact of changes in working conditions and income loss related to the COVID-19 lockdown on workers’ mental health in Argentina. We also explore the role of psychological detachment from work and work-family interaction in mental health. Methods: A total of 1049 participants aged between 18 and 65 who were working before the national lockdown in March 2020 were recruited using a national random telephone survey. Work conditions included: working at the usual workplace during the pandemic, working from home with flexible or fixed schedules, and being unemployed or unable to work due to the pandemic. Measures of financial hardship included income loss and self-reported financial problems related to the outbreak. Work-family interface included measures of work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC). Mental health outcomes included burnout, life satisfaction, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Data were collected in October 2020. Results: Home-based telework under fixed schedules and unemployment impact negatively on mental health. Income loss and particularly self-reported financial problems were also associated with deterioration of mental health. More than half of the participants reported financial problems, and those who became unemployed during the pandemic experienced more often financial problems. Finally, psychological detachment from work positively influenced mental health; WFC and FWC were found to negatively impact on mental health. Conclusions: Countries’ policies should focus on supporting workers facing economic hardships and unemployment to ameliorate the COVID-19’ negative impact on mental health. Organisations can protect employees’ mental health by actively encouraging psychological detachment from work and by help managing work-family interface. Longitudinal studies are needed to more thoroughly assess the long-term impact of the COVID-19-related changes in work and economic turndown on mental health issues.

Bifactor models have gained increasing popularity in the literature concerned with personality, psychopathology and assessment. Empirical studies using bifactor analysis generally judge the estimated model using SEM model fit indices, which may lead to erroneous interpretations and conclusions. To address this problem, several researchers have proposed multiple criteria to assess bifactor models, such as a) conceptual grounds, b) overall model fit indices, and c) specific bifactor model indicators. In this article, we provide a brief summary of these criteria. An example using data gathered from a recently published research article is also provided to show how taking into account all criteria, rather than solely SEM model fit indices, may prevent researchers from drawing wrong conclusions.

Over the past three decades research on job resources has consistently shown their influence on employees' well-being and performance. However, recent studies indicate that such outcomes are more strongly related to satisfaction with job resources than to perceived job resources. Accordingly, and based on HERO model, we developed a new measure to assess satisfaction with job resources. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic-results based on two independent samples consisting of 492 and 508 employees supported the four proposed dimensions: satisfaction with task resources, satisfaction with team resources, satisfaction with leader/supervisor resources, and satisfaction with organizational resources. Reliability analyses showed good internal consistency and construct reliability for the dimensions, and relations with burnout and work engagement scales supported for criterion validity. Practical implications of the new measure are discussed, and we also made some suggestions to examine the psychometric properties of the scale in a more substantial degree.

The main objective of this research was to investigate the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language version of the Attitudes toward Traffic Safety Scale (ATTS) for the assessment of risky driving attitudes among Spanish-speaking populations. Five hundred and fifty-eight drivers from Argentina participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the ATTS three-factor structure: Attitude towards violations and speeding, attitude towards the careless driving of others and attitude towards drinking and driving, χ²(87) = 205.91, p < .001; χ²/df = 2.36; GFI = .94; CFI = .93; TLI = .91; RMSEA = .05; 90% CI [.04, .06]. A model with one higher-order factor (overall attitude toward risky driving) also fits the data. Reliability estimates were acceptable for the total scale (α = .81) and for all subscales (with α values ranging from .74 to .84), and concurrent validity was supported by theoretically expected correlations with self-reported risky driving behavior (r ranging from .27 to .45, ps < .01). Subsequent comparison between zero-order correlation and partial correlation (controlling for Driver Impression Management) between ATTS subscales and self-reported risky driving behavior revealed minor or no effects of social desirability bias. Implications for road safety intervention are discussed.

Academic engagement plays a crucial role in students’ learning and performance. One of the most popular measures for assessing this construct is the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S), which is based on a tridimensional conceptualization consisting of dedication, vigor, and absorption. However, prior research on its factor structure has yielded inconsistent results, and the substantial correlations between dimensions raise doubts about their empirical distinctiveness. Thus, questions remain whether academic engagement is experienced as a global construct, or as its three components. The present study addressed this issue by examining the dimensionality of both UWES-S17 and UWES-S9 using a comprehensive factor-analytic framework. One- to four-factor CFA and ESEM models, along with corresponding bifactor-CFA and bifactor-ESEM models, were tested using data from 453 Ecuadorian university students. The results indicated that ESEM yielded superior fit indices and less correlated factors compared to CFA. However, discriminant validity test did not support the distinctiveness of UWES-S factors, and bifactor analyses consistently demonstrated a strong general factor and weak or collapsed specific factors. These findings were remarkably consistent across both UWES-S versions. Collectively, the results suggest that academic engagement, as currently operationalized by the UWES-S, can be considered as a unidimensional rather than a multidimensional construct. Implications for conceptualization, measurement, and research on academic engagement are discussed.

La percepción de riesgo constituye uno de los principales factores que afectan el comportamiento humano y las decisiones en la conducción. El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar las propiedades psicométricas de la Aversion to Risk Taking Scale en una muestra accidental de 447 conductores (54,4% hombres; edad: 18-78 años) de Córdoba, Argentina. Se aplicó la escala junto con medidas de deseabilidad social, autoeficacia para la conducción y conducción riesgosa. Análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio sustentan la estructura unidimensional de la escala, en consonancia con la versión original. La consistencia interna de la escala fue aceptable (alfa ordinal = 0,77) y se obtuvo evidencia de validez concurrente. Se correlacionaron los puntajes de la escala con una medida de deseabilidad social del conductor, obteniéndose correlaciones nulas o muy débiles. En conjunto, los resultados son satisfactorios y avalan el uso de la escala en el contexto argentino. Se discuten las implicaciones de este trabajo para la investigación psicológica aplicada al tránsito y se proponen recomendaciones tendientes a mejorar el contenido de la escala a partir de la inclusión de nuevos ítems.