Salud mental y capital social en Cali Colombia

Trudy Harphama
Emma Grant
Carlos Rodriguez

Revista Social Science & Medicine
Volumen 58
Año 2004
Págs 2267–2277

Presenta Aura Ruiz - Magíster en Salud Pública - U de A

Mental ill health forms an increasingly significant part of the burden of disease in developing countries. The growing interest in social risk factors for mental health coincides with the development of social capital research which may further inform the social model of mental health. The objective of the study reported here was to discover if there is an independent association between social capital and mental health when taking into account an array of demographic and violence variables.

A total of 1168 youth (15–25 years) in a low income community in Cali, Colombia were surveyed. Mental health was measured by a 20 item self-report questionnaire. The instrument used to measure social capital covered structural and cognitive social capital. Twenty-four per cent of the sample were probable cases of mental ill health. Females had a prevalence rate three times higher than males. Using a model which considered demographic and social capital measures as potential risk factors for mental ill health, the significant risk factors emerged as being female, having limited schooling, working in the informal sector, being a migrant, and having low trust in people. The ‘classic’ poverty type variables (poor education and employment) were more important than social capital, as was the commonly dominant risk factor for mental ill health being a woman. When violence factors were added to the model, the ‘trust’ factor fell out and the most important risk factors became (in descending order of importance): being female; no schooling/incomplete primary; and being a victim of violence. The dominance of poverty related factors, as opposed to social capital, prompts renewed attention to the explanatory mechanisms that link income inequality and poor mental health.

Keywords: Mental health; Social capital; Youth; Colombia; Violence

Confiabilidad, validéz y punto de corte para Escala de Screening de Suicidalidad en Adolescentes

Lilian Salvo G
Roberto Melipillán A.
Andrea Castro S.

Revista Chilena de Neuropsiquiatría
Año 2009
Volumen 47 (1)
págs 16-23

Presenta Álvaro Olaya - Magíster en Salud Pública - U de A

With the object to obtain a screening scale of suicidality, assesses the reliability and validity of the suicidality scale of Okasha et al and determine the cutoff point to identify a suicide attempt. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted in high school students (n = 763, N = 13.825). The reliability was evaluated with analysis of internal consistency and homogeneity of the items. For the validity logistic regression and Pearson coefficient of correlation were used. The cutoff point was determined with Characteristic of Operation of the Receiver (ROC) curve and the area under the curve for the level of discriminatory exactitude. Results: The scale obtained a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0,89 and adecuate homogeneity (item-total correlations corrected: r = 0.76 items 1 and 3; r = 0.82 ítem 2); discriminate between adolescents who have attempted suicide and tose who did not (Wald de χ2 (1) = 1.53, p < 0.001; coefficient b = 0.66; odds ratio = 1.94 (IC 95%: 1.75-2.16)). The area under ROC curve was of 0.89. The cutoff point corresponded to 5 point, sensitivity = 90% and specificity = 79%. The scores of the scale correlated significantly with low self-esteem (r (761)= -0,52, p < 0.001), lower perceived social support (r (761) = -0,37, p < 0.001) and higher impulsivity (r (761) = 0,29, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The evaluated scale presents high internal consistency and homogeneity, with statistical of validity strongly significant and cutoff point adecuate sensitivity and specificity.
Key words: Screening suicidality, suicidality scale, suicide ideation, attempted suicide.