The sexual sensation seeking scale (SSSS) is a widely used instrument to measure individuals' tendency to seek an optimal level of sexual arousal and novel sexual experiences. However, psychometric studies have suggested different factor structures for this instrument, which may lead to a biased assessment of the subdimensions of sexual sensation seeking. The present study (N = 812) aimed to identify the best factorial model of the SSSS by comparing the model suggested by previous research. Results from Exploratory and Confirmatory FactorAnalyses showed that none of the models tested have sufficient goodness-of-fit to support the internal validity of the instrument. Thus, this study highlights the limitations of the SSSS in assessing sexual sensation seeking and proposes psychometric alternatives that should be considered by researchers to achieve a reliable measure of sexual sensation seeking.

Depression represents a public health problem, especially in the adolescent and young adult populations. Studies have shown that during the COVID-19 outbreak, depressive symptoms were associated with economic instability, among other aspects related to isolation. The present study seeks to identify sociodemographic characteristics and situations associated with the presence of depressive symptoms in young people (N = 2058) in an Andean city at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Logistic regression analysis reveals that the factors predicting depressive symptoms vary between adolescents and young adults. The results show that perceived health status, satisfaction with virtuality, and being a woman are related to depressive symptoms. Likewise, it was found that, in young adults, but not in adolescents, the level of economic income and taking virtual classes were related to symptomatology. Receiving economic income turned out to have a differentiated effect according to age group since this factor increases the probability of developing depressive symptomatology in adolescents, while it reduces this probability in the older age group. Finally, the findings of this study are discussed by evidence from other studies in different countries.

Approximately 200 million children worldwide risk not fulfilling their full developmental potential, and most of them come from areas characterized by systematic inequality and scarcity of resources. Because under-five children of families that experience economic deprivation report poorer developmental outcomes, lately greater attention has been directed at studying and intervening in caregiver practices during early childhood. This study aimed to describe childcare practices utilized by caregivers of under-five children (N = 110) residing in a Colombian city; it also sought to test differences in caregiving practices across sociodemographic characteristics. Results from nonparametric statistical analyses showed that caregivers of high- and medium-income families engaged more frequently in tasks related to sleep hygiene (ꭓ2(2) = 9.34, p = .009, and less negative socio-emotional interactions (e.g., punishment) than low-income peers (ꭓ2(2) = 9.33, p = .009). Caregivers who were employed or students reported more involvement in sleep hygiene tasks and less negative emotional interactions than homemakers and retired caregivers (w = 1878, p <.001). An increase in the number of children in the household was positively associated with greater negative socioemotional care, r = .21, S = 173556, p = .02. Interventions and public policy would benefit from targeting full-time primary caregivers of low-income children aged 0-5. Particularly, by complementing their competencies to foster socio-emotional development.

Sociosexuality refers to an individual’s disposition to have casual sex without establishing affective bonds and has been widely studied worldwide using the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R; Penke & Asendorpf, 2008). Despite its many validations in different cultural contexts, no psychometric analyses of this instrument have been conducted in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the psychometric properties of the SOI-R in Colombia. In a cross-sectional study with a large sample of participants (N = 812; 64% women), we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify different factor structures and determine which had the best fit for our sample and examined the reliability of the scale. Results showed that a three-factor structure, with sociosexual behaviors, attitudes, and desire as first-order factors, and global sociosexuality as a second-order factor, had the best fit indexes. Each factor presented good reliability indexes. Replicating already established gender differences, we also found that men scored higher on each factor when compared to women. These findings show that the SOI-R is a reliable and valid instrument to assess sociosexuality in countries where sociosexuality research is underrepresented.

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