Psychology

To explore the factors influencing the completion of the IB113 form for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), as an exemplar of how general practitioners (GPs) manage and report patient information to external bodies. Background: In UK, GPs complete IB113 forms for their patients approaching longer-term sickness absence, who may be exempt from the incapacity benefit linked medical examination. The DWP has expressed concerns about the quality of such reports, and GP organizations have raised objections to completing such forms. The content of returned forms is variable, and may be subject to a number of influences. Design: Qualitative interviews with purposive sampling of GPs and practice managers (PMs). Setting: Primary Care practices in the North East of England. Method: GPs and PMs were interviewed using a semi-structured topic guide about completing IB113 forms for the DWP about their patients entering long-term incapacity. The transcribed data were analysed thematically using the framework analysis method. Results: Whilst the IB113 appears superficially straightforward to complete, our results demonstrate levels of overlapping complexity that add ranges of subjectivity and selectivity onto factual reporting, including practice protocols, the gathering and managing of information, the doctor-patient relationship, and doctor's personal views on systems. Conclusions: The recording and reporting of patient related data by GPs is subject to complex influences, which need to be understood and managed to improve the relevance and quality of reports to third parties.

ObjectivesConsidering the adverse outcomes of COVID‐19, it is essential to provide adequate support and care for people with dementia and informal carers. Technology can reduce the distress associated with social distancing rules and the decreased access to in‐person services. This study aimed to explore the use of technology and its perceived effects across different settings and countries.MethodsThe sample was composed of 127 informal carers and 15 people with dementia from the UK, Italy, Australia and Poland. Semi‐structured interviews explored participants' experiences of using technology and their perceived effects. Transcripts were analysed by researchers in each country using an inductive approach.ResultsThree overarching themes were developed: (1) Technology kept us alive during COVID‐19; (2) Remote care was anything but easy; (3) Perceived technology limitations. Many similarities emerged between countries supporting the role of technology for being socially engaged, ha...

Background:Emerging evidence describes impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon people living with dementia and their informal carers, however without evidence-based global comparisons to date. The aim of this international study was to explore and compare the impact of COVID-19 and associated public health restrictions on the lives of people living with dementia and informal carers and access to dementia care across five countries.Methods:People with dementia and informal carers from the UK, Australia, Italy, India, and Poland participated in remote semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked about their experiences of the pandemic and how restrictions have impacted on their lives and care. Transcripts were analysed by researchers in each country using thematic analysis, then combined across sites.Results:Fifteen people living with dementia and 111 informal carers participated across the five countries. Four themes emerged: (1) Limited access and support; (2) Technology and is...

ObjectivesLimited research has shown that people with dementia (PwD) from lower socio‐economic backgrounds can face difficulties in accessing the right care at the right time. This study examined whether socio‐economic status (SES) and rural versus urban living location are associated with the time between diagnosis and care home admission in PwD living in Wales, UK.Methods/DesignThis study linked routine health data and an e‐cohort of PwD who have been admitted into a care home between 2000 and 2018 living in Wales. Survival analysis explored the effects of SES, living location, living situation, and frailty on the time between diagnosis and care home admission.ResultsIn 34,514 PwD, the average time between diagnosis and care home admission was 1.5 (±1.4) years. Cox regression analysis showed that increased age, living alone, frailty, and living in less disadvantaged neighbourhoods were associated with faster rate to care home admission. Living in rural regions predicted a slower r...

Music is traditionally considered as a temporal art. At the same time, a musical work supposes organisation, unity, continuity. These are attributes of spatiality. By consequence, we are talking in music about a special kind of space -not surfaces or volumes, but a metaphorical one, which we call here the virtual musical space. It is important not only to admit its presence among the musical language elements, but especially to comprehend its structure, and its influence in the modern forms of art.

Background: To date, there appears to be no evidence on the longer-term impacts caused by COVID-19 and its related public health restrictions on some of the most vulnerable in our societies. The aim of this research was to explore the change in impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the mental wellbeing of people living with dementia (PLWD) and unpaid carers. Method: Semi-structured, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with PLWD and unpaid carers between June and July 2020. Participants were asked about their experiences of accessing social support services during the pandemic, and the impact of restrictions on their daily lives. Results: 20 interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed, which produced 3 primary themes concerning emotional responses and impact to mental health and wellbeing during the course of the pandemic: 1) Impact on mental health during lockdown, 2) Changes to mental health following easing of public health, and 3) The long-term effect of ...

In the current study, we investigated the psychometric properties of a meaningful measure of career development among Latina/o students. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate structural validity of the Vocational Outcome Expectations scale. The results supported a modest one-factor structure for the VOE scale. Internal consistency was good as measured by coefficient alpha. Findings provide support for the reliability and validity of the VOE with Latina/o students. A discussion regarding the usefulness of this measure of career development is provided.

An online event, such as an online concert or online graduation, has been widely utilized as one of the solutions to connect people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting behavioral intention to organize an online event during the COVID-19 pandemic by integrating Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Overall, 366 sets of data were collected from respondents through a convenience sampling approach from several social media platforms. They were asked to fill the online questionnaire which had 40 questions under 8 segments. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that hedonic motivation was found to have the strongest effect on attitude, which subsequently led to behavior intention. In addition, online event promotion and perceived usefulness were also found to have significant effects on attitude, which also subsequently led to behavior intention. This study is one of the first studies that explore...

Aim. A negative body image can lead to unhealthy behaviours that may result in anxiety and depression . This systematic review aims to critically review the literature regarding body dissatisfaction, and its relationship to anxiety and depression. A systematic search of relevant databases in psychology, nursing and medicine, identified 11 papers which were then synthesised and subject to a quality assessment. Results. The review highlighted three broad themes: The relationship between body dissatisfaction, anxiety and / or depression; No relationship between body dissatisfaction, anxiety and / or depression and Self-esteem. The relationship between body dissatisfaction, anxiety and / or depression was found to be complicated and connected to the development of maladaptive behaviours. Further research is needed using a variety of research methodologies to understand the relationship between body dissatisfaction, and the development of anxiety and / or depression.

There has been a rapid increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in our educational system. This descriptive, comparative, and correlational study investigated the use of AI-powered tools and examined 86 teachers' efficiency and 274 students' performance in a private Catholic school in Bacolod City, Philippines. The researcher developed a researcher-made questionnaire to gather the data. Major findings revealed that teachers used AI less frequently, often used it for tutoring, with ChatGPT being a popular choice. Students, on the other hand, reported using AI weekly, primarily for tutoring. While AI integration seemed to enhance teacher efficiency, male teachers perceived themselves as more efficient than females. Generally, the results show that AI contributes to an efficient teaching process with a mean score of 3.60, verbally interpreted as somewhat efficient. The results revealed that AI had a significant improvement on both male and female students. Interestingly, no significant differences were found in teacher efficiency and student performance when grouped according to sex using Mann-Whitney U-test. Using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the data revealed no correlation between the student performance in AI and the teachers' efficiency in AI. In light of these findings, the study recommends implementing programs and training to help teachers use AI more effectively and engage students. Additionally, it emphasizes the need to address any barriers educators may face in adopting AI, create supportive environments with equitable access to AI resources, and implement strategies to address potential gender biases in AI adoption.

Este estudo transversal quantitativo objetivou analisar a relação entre a percepção do adolescente sobre as atitudes parentais e sua tendência ao uso de substâncias psicoativas. Participaram 487 adolescentes brasileiros. Para análise estatística foi utilizado o Modelo Logístico Multinomial, sobre o qual se aplicou o método Stepwise para seleção de variáveis. O tabaco, o álcool e a maconha foram relacionados com as variáveis de maior influência no uso, abuso ou dependência. Verificou-se que um pai pouco afetivo, aumenta a chance de o filho ser dependente de tabaco (p = 0.001). A mãe sendo pouco afetiva tem maior possibilidade de ter um filho dependente do tabaco (p = 0.001). O controle do pai é um fator protetivo para a experimentação do tabaco (p = 0.023) e para a dependência da maconha (p = 0.042). A relação entre o uso de drogas na adolescência e a percepção que o jovem tem das atitudes de seus pais ficou evidenciada.

УДК 004.42 Обзор программных комплексов, реализующих построение карт разума Кардаш Анна Сергеевна Приамурский государственный университет имени Шолом-Алейхема студент Демченко Галина Вячеславовна Приамурский государственный университет имени Шолом-Алейхема студент Баженов Руслан Иванович Приамурский государственный университет имени Шолом-Алейхема зав. кафедрой информационных систем, математики и методик обучения Аннотация Данная статья посвящена обзору пакетов программ, предназначенных для построения «карт разума». В сравнении предоставлены несколько программных комплексов, как свободно распространяемых, так и платных. Ключевые слова: карты разума, ассоциативные связи, ментальные карты, мозговой штурм Review software systems that implement the construction of Mind Mapping

The article deals with the personal main features and mechanisms for psychological health development. Personal psychological health is regarded as a cumulative phenomenon and a part of two categoric concepts, such as Personality Psychology and Health Psychology. They are two fundamental notions viewed for the development prospects of Psychology as a scientific and practical subject. A student age is a shift in focus on addressing towards psychological health issues. It is taken into consideration that various factors influence student health. They are a way/standard of living, hereditary background, the environment (natural and social), health care quality provided, etc. The reality that a psychologist has to face at university is an adaptive health level of student psychological health. The characteristics of this level are individual features of social maladjustment. The authors define the main indicators of young people‟s psychological health via an anthropological approach. The...

Education exerts a powerful influence on the performance on neuropsychological tests. Recently, the number of years that a person attends school has been the preferred method to operationalize educational level (EL). However, reading fluency (RF) has emerged as an alternative method that can define the quality of education. Objective: To compare the influence of the number of years of education with RF on the cognitive performance in a control sample. Methods: Fifty-six control participants with varying ages (17–87 years) and levels of education (3–19 years of formal schooling) were administered a neuropsychological scale along with an RF task. This scale measured attention, memory, language, executive functions, and constructional praxis. The RF task consisted of a short text. The score was the number of words read correctly per minute. Pearson’s r was used to compute correlations. Results: Results showed that RF had a higher correlation (0.53) than the years of schooling (0.38) wi...

Oral academic discourse socialization refers to a process through which students learn about the conventions and practices of their disciplinary fields while doing academic spoken practices. In this study, it refers to the interactions of the participant teachers with their peers and instructors as well as their engagement with academic texts. This paper reports on academic discourse socialization of several EFL teachers in a TEFL graduate program in Iran through oral discourse practices including small-group discussions and debates after microteachings over the first year of the program. It explores how the student teachers are initiated further into the values and practices of their EFL discourse community through collegial interactions with their peers. The active participation of the participant teachers in discourse socialization practices facilitated learning in a collaborative learning community. The participants shared their personal practical experiences, scaffolded their peers and engaged with assigned academic texts. Designing professional training programs that are likely to contribute to collegial interaction can be of great importance in teacher education programs.

This study investigated how several pre-service EFL teachers in an undergraduate programme engaged in a series of collegial discussions after their student teaching experiences over the third year of the programme and how the collegial interactions nurtured their professional development. The individual interviews and group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed in verbatim. The findings indicated that the active participation of the participant teachers in collegial discussions following their student teaching experiences facilitated learning in a collaborative learning community. The participants shared their personal practical experiences, scaffolded their peers and developed their professional knowledge in several aspects. Their awareness of pedagogical challenges was raised and they addressed their learners' needs and learning strategies in real classroom settings more effectively. The collegial interactions focused on the transfer of theories learned from the disc...

Oral academic discourse socialization refers to a process through which students learn about the conventions and practices of their disciplinary fields while doing academic spoken practices. In this study, it refers to the interactions of the participant teachers with their peers and instructors as well as their engagement with academic texts. This paper reports on academic discourse socialization of several EFL teachers in a TEFL graduate program in Iran through oral discourse practices including small-group discussions and debates after microteachings over the first year of the program. It explores how the student teachers are initiated further into the values and practices of their EFL discourse community through collegial interactions with their peers. The active participation of the participant teachers in discourse socialization practices facilitated learning in a collaborative learning community. The participants shared their personal practical experiences, scaffolded their peers and engaged with assigned academic texts. Designing professional training programs that are likely to contribute to collegial interaction can be of great importance in teacher education programs.

Perfectionism constitutes a multidimensional personality trait. According to the diathesisstress model, perfectionism may predispose individuals to experience increased psychological distress during stressful periods. Since self-compassion is considered as a protective factor within the context of mental health difficulties, the primary objective of this study was to explore the mediating function of self-compassion in the relationship between positive (i.e., high standards and order) and negative (i.e., discrepancy) aspects of perfectionism and psychological distress among Greek emerging adults. The sample consisted of 410 university students (47.6% males and 52.4% females), with a mean age of 20.61 ± 1.88 years. The Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) were used to assess perfectionism, selfcompassion, and psychological distress, respectively. The results indicated that self-compassion mediated the association between positive and negative aspects of perfectionism and different dimensions of psychological distress (i.e., somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression). Specifically, discrepancy and increased levels of high standards were related to lower levels of self-compassion, thus leading to greater endorsement of psychological distress. In contrast, order was associated with higher levels of self-compassion, thus leading to lower levels of psychological distress. The findings of the present study highlight that self-compassion is an overall important area to examine in nonclinical populations. These findings have implications for the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in enhancing individuals' self-acceptance and awareness of their perfectionistic tendencies, as well as compassion-focused therapy (CFT) in elevating self-compassion, mindfulness, and overall psychological well-being while reducing psychological distress.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, seriously impairing, and often recurrent mental disorder. Based on the predictions of the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and the Common-Sense Self-Regulation Model, the aim of the present prospective study is to examine the predictive value of clinical outcomes of a process model in which associations between perceived family functioning and patient’s clinical outcomes (i.e., symptom severity and suicide risk) are mediated by illness representations and coping strategies. A total of 113 patients with a clinical diagnosis of MDD (16.8% males and 83.2% females) aged 47.25 ± 13.98 years and recruited from the outpatient department and the mobile mental health unit of the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Hospital of Heraklion in Crete, Greece, and from a Greek online depression peer-support group participated in the study. Family functioning was assessed in terms of cohesion and flexibility (Family Adaptability and Cohesio...

IntroductionMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is the third leading cause of disease burden, accounting for 4.3% of the global burden of disease. Personality traits, as described in the Five-Factor Model, are consistently associated with individual’s well-being and mental health. Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) are self-perpetuating dysfunctional cognitive structures that have been linked with psychological health and play a significant role in developing and maintaining psychological distress. Both personality traits and EMS have been extensively studied as contributors to MDD symptoms.ObjectivesTo our knowledge, very few studies have attempted to link personality to EMS in clinical samples. The present study aimed to investigate the association between EMS with personality traits of Five-Factor Model in a clinical sample of patients with MDD in Crete, Greece.MethodsTwo hundred and two patients with a clinical diagnosis of MDD (81.7% females, aged 47.75±14.06 years) participated in th...

IntroductionResearch has well demonstrated that the pandemic entailed several implications among university students worldwide in terms of increased use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), technostress, disruptions in academic goals and motivation processes, and growing psychological suffering. Responding to the new research need to go in-depth into the processes linking technostress and motivation dimensions to inform current research/interventions, the present study aimed to explore the direct effects of perceived Technostress dimensions (Techno-Overload, Work-Home Conflict, Pace of Change, Techno-Ease, Techno-Reliability, and Techno-Sociality) and Academic Motivation dimensions (Amotivation, Intrinsic, and Extrinsic Motivation dimensions) on students' perceived levels of Anxiety/Depression and test the potential indirect effect (mediating role) of Academic Motivation dimensions in the associations between Technostress and psychological health conditions.Meth...

Early maladaptive schemas (EMS), illness representations, and coping are associated with clinical outcomes of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the pathways that link these factors are largely unknown. The present prospective study aimed at investigating the possible mediating role of illness representations and coping in the associations among schema domains, symptom severity, and suicide risk in MDD. Participants were 135 patients diagnosed with MDD, aged 48.13 ± 14.12 (84.4% females). The Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 3 was used to measure schema domains at baseline. Illness representations and coping were measured at approximately five months later (mean = 5.04 ± 1.16 months) with the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Mental Health and the Brief COPE Inventory, respectively. MDD outcomes were measured about 10 months after the baseline assessment (mean = 9.44 ± 2.36 months) with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Risk Assessment Suicidality Scale....

Young adults are less likely to seek professional help even though they are most likely to experience mental health problems. The aim of the present study was to investigate young adults’ attitudes towards mental illness and self-stigma of help-seeking, identify possible determinants of attitudes and self-stigma, and examine the association between attitudes towards mental illness and self-stigma of help-seeking. The sample consisted of 485 Greek young adults (24.5% men, 75.5% women) aged 18–25 years (M = 19.54, SD = 1.83) who completed the Attitudes towards Severe Mental Illness (ASMI) and the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOSH). The results indicated that Greek young adults hold mostly positive attitudes towards severe mental illness and help-seeking, while their unfavorable attitudes are mainly related to difficulties with viewing people with a severe mental disorder as similar to other people, and fear that by seeking professional help a person’s worth will be diminished. ...

Background: The way postpartum parents’ COVID-19-related concerns are associated with the family environment, support resources and depressive symptoms areunder-investigated. Methods: Two hundred and forty-three new parents (132 mothers, 111 fathers) completed self-report questionnaires within an 8-week period after birth. Parental concerns for COVID-19-related life changes were assessed with the COVID-19 Questionnaire, perceived social support with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, perceived family functioning with the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales IV Package, dyadic coping behaviors with the Dyadic Coping Inventory and maternal/paternal postnatal depression with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Results: (a) Higher levels of COVID-19-related concerns about daily life were associated with lower levels of family communication, satisfaction and increased depressive symptomatology in both parents, and with lower levels of family funct...

The COVID-19 pandemic raised many challenges for university staff and students, including the need to work from home, which resulted in a greater reliance on technology. We collected questionnaire data from university students (N = 894) in three European countries: Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Data were collected between 7th April 2020 and 19th June 2020, representing a period covering the first lockdown and university closures in these countries and across Europe generally. We tested the hypotheses that technology-related stressors (techno-overload, work-home conflict, techno-ease, techno-reliability, techno-sociality, and pace of change) would be associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and that coping styles (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance) would mediate these relationships. Results showed significant positive associations between techno-overload, work-home conflict and anxiety and depressive symptoms, and significant negative associations betwe...

Background Social media use has vastly increased during the past few years, especially among young adults. Studies examining the relationship of social media use with mental health have yielded mixed findings. Additionally, such studies are extremely limited in Greece. The present study aimed to investigate the association between social media use, depressive symptoms and self-esteem among Greek young adults. Method A total of 654 individuals (50.5% male) aged 18-30 years (Μ = 23.62, SD = 2.71) completed self-reported questionnaires regarding social media use, depressive symptoms and self-esteem. Results Increased daily use of YouTube (more than five hours) showed a significant association with higher depressive symptomatology, b = 2.99, 95% CI [.78, 5.20], p = .008, while daily use of Facebook between two and five hours was related to significantly higher self-esteem, b = 1.61, 95% CI [.78, 2.44], p < .001, after adjusting for participants’ gender, age, educational level and emp...

Early-life exposures are critical for later child cognitive development. McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) were used to assess cognitive development of 700 preschoolers (Mage  = 4.2 years), derived from the "Rhea" birth cohort, in Greece. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied on prospectively collected exposure data. Six components were extracted; five of them were associated with child cognition. Higher parental social status, preschool attendance and less TV watching, nonsmoking during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and parental involvement in child life were protective factors of child cognition at 4 years. Increased child birth order was negatively associated with child cognition. Offspring's size at birth was not associated with any cognitive outcome. These findings reveal the importance of early-life exposures to child cognitive development.

Poor perinatal maternal mental health has been linked with negative outcomes on early child development; however, the importance of maternal personality has been neglected thus far. We aimed to examine the effects of antenatal and postnatal maternal mental health, including assessment of maternal personality characteristics, on child neuropsychological and behavioral development at preschool years in a population based mother-child cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece. Self-reported measures of maternal depression (EPDS), trait anxiety (STAI-Trait) and personality traits (EPQ-R) were assessed in a sample of 288 women at 28-32 weeks of gestation. A larger sample of 642 mothers completed the EPDS scale at 8 weeks postpartum. Children's neuropsychological (MSCA) and behavioral (ADHDT and SDQ) development were assessed at 4 years of age. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between the exposures and outcomes of interest after adjustment for potential con...

The present study aimed to evaluate a path analytic model accounting for caregivers' psychological distress that takes into account perceived family cohesion and flexibility, expressed emotion and caregiver's burden associated with the presence of mental illness in the family. 50 first-episode and 50 chronic patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (most recent episode manic severe with psychotic features) recruited from the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, and their family caregivers participated in the study. Family functioning was assessed in terms of cohesion and flexibility (FACES-IV), expressed emotion (FQ), family burden (FBS) and caregivers' psychological distress (GHQ-28). Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of family dynamics on caregivers' psychological distress. The results showed that neither family cohesion nor family flexibility exerted sig...

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether dysfunctional family functioning contributes to relapse over a twoyear follow-up period in patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis (FEP) and chronic patients with psychosis. Methods: The sample consisted of 100 remitted patients (50 FEP and 50 chronic) diagnosed with schizophrenia (82%) or bipolar disorder with most recent episode manic severe with psychotic features (18%) recruited from the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, and their family caregivers. Family functioning was assessed in terms of cohesion and flexibility (FACES-IV), expressed emotion (FQ), family burden (FBS) and caregivers' psychological distress (GHQ-28). Relapse was defined as patient rehospitalisation due to acute psychotic exacerbation, while number, length, and type of hospitalisations were also evaluated. Results: Dysfunctional family functioning in terms of cohesion and flexibility was not found to be a significant risk factor for relapse in psychosis. High expressed emotion, as indexed primarily by increased levels of criticism rather than emotional over-involvement, was associated with increased risk of relapse and shorter time to relapse (HR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.98, p = 0.043). Similarly, high levels of family burden were related to shorter time to relapse (HR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.95, p = 0.037), whereas there was no significant difference in survival curves based on caregivers' psychological distress. No significant interaction effect of illness chronicity was observed in the aforementioned associations. Conclusion: These findings highlight caregivers' criticism and burden of care as long-term predictors of the course of psychosis from the early stages of the illness and later on. In contrast, unbalanced levels of cohesion and flexibility in the family, as well as caregivers' high emotional overinvolvement and psychological distress do not appear to be factors that contribute to patient relapse. Family psychoeducational interventions focusing at ameliorating caregivers' negativity toward the patient, and easing the burden of care should be considered as means in reducing relapse.

The present study aimed to investigate possible differences in family environment among patients experiencing their First Episode of Psychosis (FEP), chronic patients and controls. Family cohesion and flexibility (FACES-IV) and psychological distress (GHQ-28) were evaluated in families of 50 FEP and 50 chronic patients, as well as 50 controls, whereas expressed emotion (FQ) and family burden (FBS) were assessed in families of FEP and chronic patients. Multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusted for confounders, indicated impaired cohesion and flexibility for families of FEP patients compared to controls, and lower scores for families of chronic patients compared to those of FEP patients. Caregivers of chronic patients scored significantly higher in criticism, and reported higher burden and psychological distress than those of FEP patients. Our findings suggest that unbalanced levels of cohesion and flexibility, high criticism and burden appeared to be the outcome of psychosis...

a b s t r a c t Studies on determinants affecting child development are still limited in Greece. The aim of the present study was to describe the socio-demographic characteristics associated with neurodevelopment in infants aged 18 months in the Mother-Child Cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece. A total of 599 (72.9%) mothers agreed to participate in the neurodevelopment protocol and 612 infants (586 singletons and 26 twins) were assessed by means of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (3rd edition). The present analysis includes 605 infants. Multivariable linear regression models were implemented to examine the associations between the Bayley-III standardised scores and different parental and infant characteristics, also adjusting for quality of assessment. Girls were found to have better neurodevelopmental outcomes in cognitive, receptive and expressive communication, fine motor and social-emotional development. Maternal higher education was positively associated to almost all aspects of infant neurodevelopment assessed. Increasing number of older siblings was negatively associated with cognitive development, communication skills and gross motor development. Our results, also, suggest a positive effect of maternal employment on infants' receptive and expressive communication, and gross motor scores. The results of the present study suggest that in the population on Crete social and environmental factors contributed more to infants' neurodevelopment at 18 months than biological factors.

This study investigated how several pre-service EFL teachers in an undergraduate programme engaged in a series of collegial discussions after their student teaching experiences over the third year of the programme and how the collegial interactions nurtured their professional development. The individual interviews and group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed in verbatim. The findings indicated that the active participation of the participant teachers in collegial discussions following their student teaching experiences facilitated learning in a collaborative learning community. The participants shared their personal practical experiences, scaffolded their peers and developed their professional knowledge in several aspects. Their awareness of pedagogical challenges was raised and they addressed their learners' needs and learning strategies in real classroom settings more effectively. The collegial interactions focused on the transfer of theories learned from the disciplinary textbooks to the pedagogical realities of the EFL educational settings. The engagement of the student teachers in collegial discussions made them reconsider their pedagogical beliefs and practices.

In this work, we propose a brief analysis of techniques and methods for improvement of sportsmen's mental state. The accent is made on such techniques as Visualization, Breathing with Clear Mind and Heart Rate Variability. We also consider the importance of rest for the brain and nervous system and the ways to handle anxiety and fear. And, in the final part of our research, we make general recommendations for athletes how they can improve their mental state by working with different techniques.

Our aim was to investigate the impact of the school psychosocial environment, including students' general attitude towards the school, perception of support from teachers and classmates as well as individual psychosocial factors including self-esteem and loneliness on life satisfaction (LS). Four repeated cross-sectional online questionnaire surveys were carried out between 2011 and 2014, inviting all students in one Hungarian high school. Health status and behaviour were assessed by the Hungarian version of the HBSC questionnaire. Results from the surveys were pooled for analysis (N = 3310 students). Heteroskedastic regression estimating robust variance was used to identify potential determinants of LS. Family wealth perceived to be well-off, self-esteem, and being perceived as a good student were identified to be the most important significant positive contributing factors of LS. Perceived good relations with classmates and teachers and an overall positive attitude to school had smaller but still significant positive effects on LS. Self-esteem was a significant moderator for the effect of perceived difficulty of schoolwork, relation with classmates, and gender. This paper shows that self-esteem is not only an independent factor but also a modifier of some school-related variables on LS. The complex interplay among school-related and individual potential determinants of LS should be taken into account in future research by controlling for their interactions.

Objectives:Physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on life satisfaction (LS) among adolescents, but the moderating effect of gender and level of PA intensity have been equivocal. Our aim was to examine the pattern of physical activity by grade in high school students, and the role of gender and grade on the association between physical activity and life satisfaction.MethodsFour repeated cross-sectional online questionnaire surveys between 2011 and 2013 were carried out among all students in one Hungarian high school (N = 3,450). Health status and behavior was assessed by the Hungarian online version of the health behavior of school-aged children (HBSC) questionnaire. Regression with robust variance estimator was used to identify determinants of life satisfaction.ResultsGood self-reported health as opposed to bad increased life satisfaction by 0.30 standard deviation; having very well or well-off family as opposed to not well-off increased LS by 0.16 standard deviation; and bein...

The biopsychosocial model of health in a limited life course perspective was tested among students in higher education using data from a nationwide cross-sectional survey of students on track to become teachers in Hungary. Health determinants were grouped into categories of biological, psychological, and social determinants and arranged in a temporal manner from childhood to the present. The model was tested by canonical correlation analysis followed by multivariate analysis of covariance. One composite outcome of health and six determinant groups were examined out of a total of 24 variables in both genders. Separate sets of health determinants were identified for men and women. The health of men was determined by fewer variables that were more proximal in time, more centred around physical activity, and less influenced by social relations. As opposed to that of men, women’s health was influenced by age; determinants were grouped around the ingestion of various substances and social...

Objective The present study, taking a resource-oriented approach to mental health, aimed at investigating mental resilience and its determinants among undergraduate physiotherapy students using quantitative and qualitative tools. Design A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey supplemented by 2 focus groups. Setting One university in Hungary. Participants 130 physiotherapy students at years 1, 2, and 3. Main outcome measures Sense of coherence, a measure of dynamic self-esteem, as well as social support from family and peers were used to assess mental well-being. A screening instrument for psychological morbidity and perceived stress were used as deficiency-oriented approaches. Student opinions were gathered on positive and negative determinants of mental health. Results Resilience was lower [mean difference 4.8 (95% CI -3.4; 13.1)], and the occurrence of psychological morbidity (32.5% vs. 0%) was higher among female compared to male students. However, the proportion of students fully supported by their peers was higher among females (63% vs. 37.5%). Female students, unlike their male counterparts, experienced higher stress compared to their peers in the general population. Social support declined as students progressed in their studies though this proved to be the most important protective factor for their mental well-being. Conclusions Results were fed back to the course organizers recommending the implementation of an evidence-based method to improve social support as delineated by the Guide to Community Preventive Services of the US the outcomes of which are to be seen in the future.

A magyar népesség kedvezõtlen egészségi állapota, azon belül is a mentális betegségek növekvõ prevalenciája, valamint az ennek következményeként növekvõ társadalmi terhek hazánkban is egyre sürgetõbbé teszik az egészségi állapotot meghatározó tényezõk minél átfogóbb vizsgálatát. E tényezõk feltárásához megfelelõ eszközök, többek között egészségfelmérésekben alkalmazható kérdõívek magyar nyelven is elérhetõ, minél szélesebb tárházára van szükség. A jelen vizsgálat keretében az eddig 33 nyelvre lefordított, Antonovsky-féle rövidített koherencia-kérdõív magyar nyelvû változatának validálása történt meg. A validáláshoz a lelki egészség kérdõívnek (GHQ-12) és a vélt egészséget minõsítõ kérdésnek a 2003-as Országos Lakossági Egészségfelmérésben (OLEF) alkalmazott változatait, valamint a rövidített Beck-féle depresszióskálát alkalmaztuk. A kérdõív kipróbálására egy olyan 128 fõs eseti mintán került sor, amelyet öt különbözõ korcsoportba tartozó, eltérõ iskolázottságú és foglalkozású önkéntes válaszadó alkotott: középiskolai tanárok, felsõoktatásban tanulók, adminisztratív dolgozók, nyugdíjasok, valamint egy alacsony iskolázottságú, hátrányos helyzetû csoport. Az Antonovsky-kérdõív kérdéseire adott válaszok belsõ konzisztenciáját jellemzõ Cronbach-alfa érték vizsgálatunkban 0,82 volt. Az egészséget jellemzõ koherencia-érzés, Beck-pontszám, GHQ-pontszám, valamint a vélt egészség kérdésre adott válaszok közötti összefüggést a változók típusától függõen lineáris, illetve ordinális logisztikus regresszióval vizsgáltuk. A megbízhatóságot a kérdõív újrafelvételével (ún. testretest módszerrel) ellenõriztük. Eredményeink szerint a koherencia-érzés kérdõívnek mind a kritérium-, mind a konstrukt validitása, valamint a megbízhatósága is nagyon jó. A koherencia-érzés a vélt egészséggel, a lelki egészséggel (GHQ-12) és a Beck-féle depresszióskálán mért értékkel is a várt irányú, szignifikáns összefüggést

Introduction Mental disorders constitute an increasingly important public health problem in the general population. Therefore, investigation of the determinants and state of mental health of those who will be treating patients, that is, future medical doctors, is justified. The paper gives an account of a mental health survey of medical students at a university in Hungary. Methods A representative sample of year I-V students (N = 100) filled an anonymous standardized self-administered questionnaire that included demographic and socioeconomic items, mental well-being characterized by a sense of coherence (SOC) and psychological distress, as well as health behaviour. SOC was measured by the 13-item Antonovsky questionnaire and psychological distress was measured by the 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ). Models for estimating mental well-being in relation to various determinants were built by backward stepwise regression. Results Almost one-fifth of the students scored above the strict threshold on the GHQ indicating notable psychological distress. SOC showed significant positive correlation with perceived health and significant negative correlation with psychological distress. SOC and psychological distress were determined by different sets of explanatory variables in the regression models. Psychological distress and the use of sedative without medical prescription are inversely related to SOC; whereas social support and female gender show positive correlation to SOC according to our estimation. SOC, as expected, was a strong explanatory variable for psychological distress, forecasting an improvement in the GHQ score. Conclusion Psychological distress was significantly greater in our sample of Hungarian medical students than in the same age group of the general population. Psychological distress is strongly related to SOC and can be estimated by our proposed models. Both SOC and psychological distress can be used to characterize the mental health of future medical doctors, the improvement of which needs attention even during their training.

A social cognitive intervention was developed and delivered as a credit course to improve mental distress of university students, based on findings in a previous health survey showing notable mental distress among future teachers in Hungary in 2007. The intervention included increasing information on psychoactive substances used for stress reduction; skills development in stress reduction methods; improving skills in communication and problem-solving. All students who participated in the previous health survey were targeted. Mental status of the participants was assessed by a questionnaire before (n: 128, 22% male, mean age 23.21 years) and after (n: 148, 30% male, mean age 23.54 years) the intervention. Specifically, self-efficacy as outcome was approximated by a trait measure (sense of coherence); psychological distress was measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg et al., 1997. The validity of two versions of the GHQ in the WHO study of mental illness in general health care. Psychological Medicine, 27,[191][192][193][194][195][196][197] after the intervention compared with that before. After the intervention, psychological distress was reduced among the participants (p: 0.013). Non-significant improvement occurred in the mean score for sense of coherence (from a mean 60.8 points before to 61.4 points after, p: 0.688). The intervention produced a modest but significant decrease in psychological distress in students at a cost of 54 US$ per 1 point improvement in mental distress. The intervention, a first example of the translation of the social cognitive theory into practice among students in higher education can be integrated into the curriculum as a standardized optional course.

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The present study investigated the Academic Achievement, Emotional Maturity and Intelligence of Secondary School Students in Assam. The study was conducted on one thousand class-X students by giving due representation to boys (500) and girls (500) as well as rural and urban localities of Lakhimpur and Sonitpur districts of Assam. The schools were selected using stratified random sampling technique, and students were selected using simple random sampling technique.The descriptive survey method is used for data collection. As far as academic achievement of the students was concerned for the purpose of the present study, the investigator visited the selected schools and collected the school records of the selected students i.e. mark’s obtained by the students in the last annual examination, 2014 (i.e. Class IX annual examination). The emotional maturity of the students was measured by using Emotional Maturity Scale (EMS) developed by Singh and Bhargava (1984) and intelligence was measu...

The present study investigated the emotional maturity and intelligence of secondary school students Assam. The study was conducted on one thousand class-X students by giving due representation to boys (500) and girls (500) as well as rural and urban localities of both the districts. The schools were selected using stratified random sampling technique, and students were selected using simple random sampling technique. The descriptive survey method is used for data collection using emotional maturity scale constructed and standardized by M. Bhargava and Y. Singh (1990) and group test of mental ability constructed and standardized by Dr. S.Jalota. The findings of the study reported that there is a negative relationship between emotional maturity and intelligence among the secondary school students of whole sample of both the districts.