vol. 13 núm. 21 (2017)

Introduction: Suicidal ideation has been considered as the first stage of the suicide spectrum and, therefore, the main predictor of future suicide attempts and even suicide, with an increased risk of suicide in the first year of suicidal ideation. Data reported, both globally and nationally, reflect a trend towards increased prevalence of suicidal behavior, thus becoming a public health problem. Objective: To know the findings related to suicidal ideation in the Colombian from the analysis of articles published between 2010 and 2016, retrieved from Redalyc, ScienceDirect, Medline, Mediclatina and Scopus information systems. Method: The search was carried out based on the abstracts found, linking psychology, medicine and social sciences. Results: A total of 22 articles were found in which suicidal ideation was studied independently or in relation to other variables, predominantly descriptive or correlational quantitative studies addressed mainly from clinical psychology, whose population group was adolescents and young adults. Conclusion: A strong academic and research interest in the clinical diagnosis of the cognitive component of suicide was identified, with a deficit in research related to the prevention or intervention of this risk factor, in spite of being considered a public health problem.

Objective: An Achievement Task Value Scale Spanish Language Adjusted Version, assessing task value items corresponding to importance, utility, interest and cost, was evaluated regarding its psychometric properties, in a sample of Argentine students. Method: In order to assess internal structure, exploratory and confirmatory strategies have been used. Besides, scale convergence was assessed by relating them with a one-dimensional task value scale. Evidences of criterion validity were supported by relating scales with enjoyment, achievement goals, and attention. Finally, internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach’s Alpha and Omega coefficients. Conclusions: Results allow to state that this version of the instrument makes it possible to assess, in a reliable and valid way, three components of task value: utility, interest, and cost.

Purpose: The article aims to assess the importance of the scientific study of suggestion, interpersonal perception and rumor as psychological phenomena that affect educational communication. Topic: The subject that is being addressed is the existence and influence of such subjective phenomena in different educational contexts in which interpersonal communication takes place. Development: A theoretical analysis is carried out on educational communication as an interdisciplinary concept, due to existing confluences between psychology and education as independent disciplines, with its respective contents and scope. Its general theoretical foundations reflect the different epistemological positions that support it, from which we infer the richness of existing particular conceptions that have led to the attainment of novel scientific results and are widely applicable to educational practice. However, researchers have not delved into the study of phenomena present in any communicative process (such as intrapersonal level, suggestion, perception and rumor, which are present in such communicative process in the educational field), but are considered to be not significant or improper. Conclusions: Based on the assessment made, the importance of these present and latent phenomena in different expressions of educational communication are emphasized, as well as the relevance of studying their peculiarities and potentialities to intentionally incorporate them in the improvement of communication in the educational field.

Introduction: Learning approaches allude to the predisposition to learn in different academic situations. Objective: These approaches (deep and superficial) are analyzed in university students from Buenos Aires. Methodology: 397 students between 18 and 36 years old from different schools (Exact and Natural Sciences, Psychology, Engineering, Law, and Medicine) participated. Results: The results showed differences according to sex in deep and superficial approaches, favorable to women in the first case, and to men in the second. With respect to the School variable, several differences were recorded in which Exact and Natural Sciences students stood out in the deep approach, and Engineering students in the superficial, in relation to the rest of schools. Subsequently, the relationship between approaches and academic performance in each school was analyzed, corroborating statistically significant associations for the Engineering and Medicine groups. Conclusions: Results show the effect that the School variable has on learning approaches, accounting for the relevance that teaching types have in shaping them. The observed correlations with academic performance highlight the importance of the type of approach for certain programs. It is expected that the information presented contributes to the planning of activities tending to improve students’ learning of contents.

Introduction: Academic performance (AP) is a relevant subject in educational research, but its operationalization is still subject to controversy since there is no unified opinion on considering weighted average (WA) or test performance (TP) as a measure of ap in research, especially with situation-dependent constructs such as test anxiety (TA). Objective: The objective was to analyze empirical equivalence between WA and TP. Method: 115 psychology students from a private university with ages between 18 and 31 (M = 22,704; SD = 3,126) belonging to three different academic cycles participated. They were evaluated with the State-Test Anxiety Inventory, also considering test scores and weighted averages of each student. Regarding data analysis, bivariate correlations between tp and wa (rTP-WA) were implemented. Subsequently, the rTP-WA observed in different cycles were compared. Finally, we analyzed differences between ta-tp (rTA-TP) and TA-WA (rTA-WA) correlations observed in each cycle. All analyses were complemented with a magnitude measure of the effect. Results: The correlation between TP and WA is of low magnitude, and the differences found between correlations were not statistically significant. Conclusions: It is not convenient to consider TP and WA as equivalent in the context of studies with situation-dependent variables. The importance of overcoming the limitations observed in this study was suggested.

Introduction: A reduction in sleep time or the presence of sleep alterations has considerablerepercussions in the performance of any person during wakefulness. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the relationship between sleep habits and academic performance and behavior in primary school children. Methodology: Participants were 405 children enrolled in public and private educational institutions. Parents answered the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), while teachers assessed student performance through the Academic Performance Rating Scale (APRS). Results: Children slept 8.75 hours on average, which is less than suggested for these ages and less than found in other studies. Children from the public school had scores indicating greater difficulties in different sleep subscales with respect to students from the private school. A significant decrease in nocturnal sleep time during the week was observed as children progressed in age. Furthermore, it was possible to establish a significant positive relationship between sleep and behavior, and a negative relationship between the latter and academic performance. Conclusions: The presence of sleep problems was associated with behavioral alterations in children, which, in turn, were associated with a lower academic performance. These data highlight the importance of sleeping well as a necessary condition to achieve optimal performance at school.