Sonia Panadero

Stressful life events in countries of differing economic development: Nicaragua, Chile, and Spain.

the aim was to describe a study involving 481 psychology students in the last courses of their degrees (M age = 21.9 yr., SD = 4.2; 94 men and 386 women) from Nicaragua, Chile, and Spain. The study examined the potential risk of experiencing certain stressful life events, the number of stressors, and their characteristics. Also were analyzed the strength of their relation to social class and stressful life events experienced. Greater presence of stressful life events were reported among people from less developed countries, Chile and Nicaragua, and among people belonging to lower social class.

Suicide attempts and stressful life events among female victims of intimate partner violence living in poverty in Nicaragua

This article describes a study of 136 female intimate partner violence victims living in poverty in Nicaragua. The paper aimed to analyze the relationship between experiencing stressful life events (SLE) and perceived social support with suicide attempts, and to evaluate the differences in the SLE experienced by female suicide attempters versus non-attempters. The results showed the existence of a high level of SLE among the interviewees, and that women who have attempted suicide have experienced substantially more of these events. Experiences of violence and less social support were especially related to suicide attempts among the interviewees.

Chronicity and Pseudo Inheritance of Social Exclusion: Differences According to the Poverty of the Family of Origin Among Trash Pickers in León, Nicaragua

People living in extreme poverty or social exclusion mainly come from poor families, and their social difficulties tend to become chronic. This situation appears to be especially pronounced in countries with lower levels of development. This article analyzes different aspects of people (n = 99) who make their living collecting trash from dumps in León, Nicaragua, one of the countries with the lowest levels of development in Latin America. This group is difficult to access, heavily stigmatized, lives in chronic and extreme poverty and their families were also poor. The results show that the pickers in León whose families were poorest had the highest illiteracy rates, were poorest in health, had experienced more stressful life events, and had poorer future expectations. Negative health and life circumstances, low levels of education, and fatalism may lead to the pickers’ situations of social exclusion becoming chronic.

Happiness among poor women victims of intimate partner violence in Nicaragua

The article analyzes various aspects of overall happiness expressed by 136 women in poverty who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nicaragua, a country with low levels of development. The information was gathered using a structured interview. Results obtained show that despite the hardships they face, one half of the women in poverty who are victims of IPV say they are happy, and the vast majority are optimistic about their future. The main sources of happiness among the interviewees are in areas outside their economic life and are mainly associated with social relations.

Attributions about homelessness in homeless and domiciled people in Madrid, Spain: «Why are they homeless people?».

Causal attributions of homelessness may affect both the design and acceptance of public policies aimed at improving the situation of homeless people and the strategies that homeless people themselves decide to adopt in order to cope with their situation. This article analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness based on gender, age, nationality, educational background, perceived social class, evolution of personal economic situation, and future expectations between the members of 2 groups: (a) “homeless group”, consisting of a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid, Spain (n = 188); and (b) “domiciled group”, consisting of a sample of people in Madrid at no risk of homelessness (n = 180), matched for sex, age and nationality. Results show that among domiciled population, women, older people, those without university education, those considering themselves to belong to lower income social classes, those who considered their economic situation to have worsened, and those who expressed negative expectations for the future attributed homelessness to individualistic courses to a greater extent. Meanwhile, among homeless group, younger people, those without university education, those considering themselves to belong to higher social classes, those who perceived their economic situation as having improved in recent years, and those who expressed positive expectations for the future generally attributed homelessness to individualistic courses to a greater extent.

Actors, Observers, and Causal Attributions of Homelessness: Differences in Attribution for the Causes of Homelessness Among Domiciled and Homeless People in Madrid (Spain).

The study analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness and attributions of responsibility among the members of 3 groups: homeless group, consisting of a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid, Spain (n = 188); domiciled service-users group, consisting of people at risk of homelessness (n = 164); and domiciled nonservice-users group, consisting of people at no imminent risk of homelessness (n = 180). The domiciled service-users group and domiciled nonservice-users group were matched to the homeless group or sex, age, and nationality. The article also analyzes homeless people’s causal attributions as regards their own situation. The results show that compared with the domiciled nonservice-users group, a higher percentage of members of the homeless group and domiciled service-users group attributed homelessness to individualistic causes and they blamed homeless people for their situation to a greater extent. The results also show that there was no “actor-observer bias” in causal attributions for homelessness in Madrid.

Alcohol, pobreza y exclusión social: Consumo de alcohol entre personas sin hogar y en riesgo de exclusión en Madrid

The work analyzes different aspects related to alcohol consumption among homeless people and people at risk of social exclusion. The data was gathered from a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (n = 188) and a sample of people at risk of social exclusion (n = 164) matched in sex, age, and origin (Spaniards vs. foreigners). The results showed that homeless people present a greater consumption of alcohol and have experienced more problems derived from its consumption than people at risk of social exclusion. Most of the homeless people who had alcohol-related problems had had them prior to their homelessness, and they stated they had poorer health and had experienced a greater number of homelessness episodes. Despite the relevance of problems related to alcohol among our sample, only a small percentage of the sample had participated in treatment programs for alcohol consumption.

Happiness on the street: Overall happiness among homeless people in Madrid (Spain).

This article tests a hypothesized model of overall happiness among homeless people in Spain. The research was conducted based on a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (n = 235), all adults, who had spent the night before the interview in a shelter for homeless people, on the street or in other places not initially designed for sleeping, or who were in supervised accommodation for homeless people at the time of the interview. Information was gathered using a structured interview. The results obtained show that around half of the homeless people in Madrid said that they were happy. A positive meta-stereotype and a better perceived general health were associated with a higher overall happiness, while feelings of loneliness were associated with a lower overall happiness. Happiness also showed a significant effect on future expectations. Disabilities and handicaps had a significant effect on perceived general health, which was in turn associated with overall happiness among homeless people.

Retraction of Complaints Among Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Living in Poverty in Nicaragua

Retraction among female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who report their abuser is a major problem in all societies. This article describes a study of 136 female victims of physical IPV living in poverty in Nicaragua, one of the countries with the lowest levels of development in Central America. This article analyses the aspects that differentiate women living in poverty who retracted after reporting IPV from those who did not. The results show that retraction is widespread among female victims of IPV living in poverty in León (Nicaragua). Although it is difficult to predict the retraction behaviour of the respondents, some differences between the women who retracted their complaint and those who did not were observed. A combination of five variables (including personal circumstances and beliefs about the intimate partner relationship and family) was the best alternative for discriminating between women who had retracted and those who had not.

Diferencias en felicidad general entre las personas sin hogar en Madrid (España)

This paper analyzes various aspects of overall happiness expressed by a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (Spain). This group is difficult to access, heavily stigmatized, and lives in extreme poverty. The sample was composed of 235 homeless people, all adults, who had spent the night before the interview in a shelter for homeless people, on the street or in other places not initially designed for sleeping, or who were in supervised accommodation for homeless people at the time of the interview. Information was gathered using a heteroapplied structured interview. The results obtained show that around half of the homeless people in Madrid said that they were happy, while the factors that help to predict happiness to the greatest extent among homeless people were not feeling alone or abandoned, not suffering from any disability or handicap, not having any serious or chronic illness, having good expectations for the future, identifying with some sort of religious belief and having a positive perception of their state of health.