No abstract

Identificar tempranamente a niños y niñas que podrían presentar algún problema de salud mental es fundamental para implementar acciones preventivas y de tratamiento. Para esto se requiere contar con instrumentos válidos y adaptados a las características de la población y a los contextos donde se aplican. El objetivo de este estudio fue validar el Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17) en estudiantes chilenos de primer grado de enseñanza básica. Se utilizó una muestra aleatoria de 5177 estudiantes participantes de un programa nacional de salud mental escolar, evaluados por sus padres o cuidadores y por sus profesores. Se realizó un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio revisando la estructura propuesta por los autores del instrumento, consistente en tres factores: dificultades internalizantes, externalizantes y de atención. Los resultados encontrados son coherentes con lo reportado en la literatura, transformando al PSC-17 en un buen instrumento de screening para su uso en las escuelas y centros de salud.

Objectives: This paper reviews the mental health policies that have been implemented in Chile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the international context of countries' responses. Even before the start of the pandemic, there were significant barriers to access mental health services in Chile, coupled with a scenario of nationwide social unrest and protests that questioned the legitimacy of public institutions; now the rapidly worsening outbreaks of COVID-19 are exacerbating the pre-existing mental health crisis.Methods: We conducted a bibliometric and content analysis of the Chilean mental health public policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and then compared these policies with international experiences and emerging scientific evidence on the mental health impact of pandemics.Results: Our analysis of the policies identifies five crucial points of action developed in Chile: (i) an established framework to address mental health in emergency and disaster situations; (ii) a timely COVID-19 Mental Health Action Plan; (iii) inclusion of mental health in the public health agenda; (iv) development of a presidential strategy during the pandemic for comprehensive mental health and well-being; and (v) emerging research assessing the mental health implications of COVID-19.Conclusions: In Chile, the public policy responses to address the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been characterized by the coordinated implementation of mental health plans, ranging from a health sectoral initiative to inter-agency and intersectoral efforts. However, it is imperative that increased funding is allocated to mental health, and efforts should be made to promote the participation of people with lived experiences and communities in the design and implementation of the proposed actions. This aspect could be of key importance to social peace and community recovery after the pandemic.

Successfully adapting to the school environment is one of the central tasks to be completed during childhood. The school is a fundamental context for achieving cognitive, affective, and social development during this stage, whose importance is only surpassed by that of the family (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; Ministerio de Salud de Chile, 2019). It has been demonstrated that when children manage to successfully adapt to school they display better psychosocial adjustment in other contexts and their subjective wellbeing increases (Gutiérrez & Gonçalves,

Identifying adjustment difficulties in chilean schools: Psychometric properties of the teacher observation of classroom. Psicología Educativa. Ahead of print.