In the face of the psychological crisis of fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is relevant to know the positive impact of hope and resilience during this context. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between hope and resilience with fear of COVID-19 in young people. The design was non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational. The sample consisted of 192 young people living in Metropolitan Lima, Peru. We used the Hope-Despair Questionnaire, the Resilience Scale, and the COVID-19 Fear Questionnaire. The results show that there is a significant correlation between hope, resilience, and fear of COVID-19 in young people. On the other hand, a significant difference was found in resilience according to gender. Likewise, it was found that the variables hope and resilience explain 81% (R² adjusted) of the fear of COVID-19 (F test = 21.53; p < 0.01). Hope and resilience are protective factors that have a positive impact when facing the fear of COVID-19. Thus, policies, programs, and public health strategies related to positive mental health should be promoted, with emphasis on hope and resilience.

The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between academic self-efficacy and digital competence in a sample of undergraduate university students in Peru. The design was nonexperimental, cross-sectional, and correlational. The non-probabilistic sample consisted of 98 students from a private university in Peru. Academic self-efficacy single-item scale and digital competence questionnaire were used. Spearman correlation coefficient, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. The statistical program used was SPSS v. 25. The average academic self-efficacy obtained was 3.73 (standard deviation [SD]=0.73). Regarding digital competence, the mean recorded was 72.34 (SD=11.57). Additionally, it was found that there were no significant differences in academic self-efficacy and digital competence according to gender (p>0.05). Similarly, it was found that there is a significant correlation between academic self-efficacy and digital competence in students (rho=0.438; p<0.001). Similarly, it was found that there is a correlation between academic self-efficacy and the five dimensions of digital competence (information, communication, content creation, technological security and problem-solving) in university students (p<0.05). This research could contribute to the development of programs, courses, or psychoeducational strategies for the development of academic self-efficacy and digital competence in university students.

Objective The scientific literature indicates that there is a correlation between spiritual well-being and stress. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about the interrelationships between these two factors within the context of a Christian community. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between spiritual well-being and stress in a sample of Peruvian Christians.Methods This was a cross-sectional and correlational study. The sample consisted of 250 members of a Christian community in southern Peru. The sample was selected by nonprobabilistic purposive sampling. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) and the Stress Scale (SS-7) were used.Results Negative and statistically significant correlation were found between spiritual well-being religious well-being and existential well-being with stress (p<0.001). The multiple regression analysis showed that spiritual well-being and sex accounted for 27.8% of the variance in stress levels (adjusted R2=0.278). Spiritual well-being (β=-0.512, p<0.001) has a significant negative effect on stress, while being female (β=0.114, p=0.035) is associated with higher stress levels compared to being male. The moderation effect was not significant, indicating that spiritual well-being influences stress similarly across both sexes (b=-0.0303, standard error=0.0405, t=-0.7469, p=0.456).Conclusion These findings support the integration of spiritual well-being into interventions for mental health promotion and prevention with an emphasis on stress; and confirm that the spirituality component of Christians can play an important role in lowering stress levels.

Introduction and objective: A sedentary lifestyle and obesity are important risk factors in university students. Physical activity is one of the strategies to prevent these health problems. The correlation between physical activity, body fat percentage (% BF) and body mass index (BMI) was determined in university students from Tarapoto, San Martin, Perú. Materials and methods: A non-experimental, cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out. The non-probabilistic sample was made up of 192 students from the faculties of health sciences, business sciences and engineering and architecture of the Universidad Peruana Unión (Subsidiary: Tarapoto), San Martin, Peru. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used. Likewise, the evaluation of% BF and BMI was carried out following the protocol of the International Society for the development of kineanthropometry (ISAK). Results: It was found that there is a statistically significant and indirect correlation between physical activity and there is a statistically significant difference in the percentage of body fat and BMI according to gender (p <,001). However, no difference was found in physical activity according to gender (p= ,808). Conclusions: A correlation was found between physical activity with% BF and BMI in university students. These results show the need to promote nutritional education and health promotion programs to improve physical activity and prevent obesity in university students.

Background: The literature highlights that both mental wellbeing and emotional eating are closely related to BMI, but little is known about how these variables interact similarly or differently. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the predictive role of mental wellbeing and emotional eating on body mass index (BMI) in Peruvian adolescents.Methods: This research used a non-experimental and predictive design. The sample consisted of 270 students aged 12–18 years from a public educational institution in the province of Tocache, Peru. The sample was selected through non-probability purposive sampling. The study employed the Mental Health Inventory (R-MHI-5), the Emotional Eating Scale (EES), and BMI was calculated using Quetelet’s formula.Results: Correlations revealed that mental wellbeing was negatively associated with BMI (r = −0.277, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [−0.384, −0.163]), whereas emotional eating was positively associated with BMI (r = 0.274, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [0.160, 0.381]). In the multiple regression analysis, Model 2 emerged as the most suitable (adjusted R² = 0.112, F = 17.953, p < 0.001, BIC = 1,318), explaining 11.2% of the variance in BMI. Standardized coefficients indicated that mental wellbeing had a significant negative effect on BMI (β = −0.217, 95% CI = [−0.3353, −0.0997], p < 0.001), while emotional eating had a significant positive effect (β = 0.213, 95% CI = [0.0952, 0.3308], p < 0.001). Moreover, both coefficients showed similar magnitudes.Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm that mental wellbeing and emotional eating exert opposing yet similarly sized influences on BMI in Peruvian adolescents. These results underscore the importance of addressing both variables equitably in interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ nutritional status.

In recent decades, anxiety has increasingly affected the mental health of university students; however, few predictive studies have compared two countries in the Americas. This study examined stress and self-efficacy as predictors of anxiety among university students in Peru and Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2,167 university students, including 1,160 from Peru and 1,007 from Mexico. The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Communicable Disease Stress Scale (CDSS), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were utilized. Predictive analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression. The results indicated that Mexican students reported significantly higher levels of stress (M = 9.81, SD = 9.81, d = 0.277, p < 0.001) and anxiety (M = 9.46, SD = 9.46, d = 0.212, p < 0.001) compared to Peruvian students (stress: M = 8.89, SD = 3.04; anxiety: M = 8.39, SD = 4.86). In the regression analysis for Peruvian students, stress (β = 0.6072, CI [0.5602, 0.6541], p < 0.001) was the primary predictor of anxiety, followed by self-efficacy (β = −0.0765, CI [−0.1230, −0.0299], p < 0.001), sex (β = −0.0462, CI [−0.0907, −0.0018], p = 0.042), and age (β = −0.0906, CI [−0.1344, −0.0468], p < 0.001). For Mexican students (Model 2), stress (β = 0.685, CI [0.640, 0.7301], p < 0.001) and self-efficacy (β = −0.103, CI [−0.148, −0.0575], p < 0.001) remained significant predictors of anxiety, with stress having the greatest impact. The model explained 42.9% of the variance in anxiety among Peruvian students (adjusted R² = 0.427) and 52.7% among Mexican students (adjusted R² = 0.526). These findings underscore the need for interventions focused on enhancing self-efficacy and stress management, taking cultural factors into account, to reduce anxiety among university students.