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The main objective of this paper was to construct and validate a questionnaire for styles of coping with stressful situations for adolescents, by using the deductive approach. As a theoretical starting point the authors used previously well elaborated styles of coping on adult examinees, the problem – targeted coping, and the emotions – targeted coping and coping by evasion. The questionnaire for coping styles for adolescents was constructed by a compilation of items from several existing questionnaires and then applied on a sample of 265 examinees from ages 11 to 14. The final form of the questionnaire comprises 55 items, and they are saturated by three theoretically predictable factors, i.e. coping by evasion, emotions and problem – targeted coping. These factors have low positive mutual correlations, and their reliabilities of internal consistency are relatively high. In order to examine the validity of the obtained measures of coping, their correlations with character traits, stressful life events, perceived social support and school success at the end of the current school year were calculated. The results obtained are partly different in girls and boys. However, they basically indicate a satisfactory validity of the three coping dimensions obtained in research.
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Pseudopregnancy is a condition in which there is a firm belief of a non-pregnant woman in her pregnancy. The disorder also occurs in men. Patients manifest the symptoms and signs of pregnancy. According to DSM IV it is a conversion disorder, under the category of "Somatoform disorders". Pseudopregnancy occurs in patients with determined organic cerebral or endocrinologic pathology, in patients with chronic mental disorders, but also in those who were previously diagnosed with neither organic nor psychic disorders. There is always a wish for pregnancy and a fear from pregnancy at the same time. In any case, the psychological changes are caused by the imbalance of the pituitary-ovarian function of neurotransmitters in the pituitary gland and/or hypothalamus.
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The frequency and length of admissions over 50 years were analyzed in a sample of 10.268 schizophrenic patients according to ICD-10 subtypes of schizophrenia. The lowest yearly hospitalization frequencies during the risk period were observed in simple, catatonic, unspecified and hebephrenic schizophrenia. When the total sample was analyzed, unspecified schizophrenia exhibited a significantly higher length of hospitalization than paranoid and undifferentiated/other schizophrenia. However, after the exclusion of continuous hospitalizations, unspecified schizophrenia, in severe contrast, was identified as the subtype with lowest admission length. This indicates the need for further research in order to explore the homogeneity of that diagnostic category, i.e. whether unspecified schizophrenia encompasses two subgroups with significantly different courses. Despite the fact that paranoid schizophrenia is generally considered as having the best course and prognosis, this subtype did not have the lowest frequency, nor length of hospitalization. A weak, but significant, negative correlation was observed between admission rate and the length of hospitalization for the total sample, and particularly in the paranoid and residual schizophrenia subtypes. In conclusion, subtypes of schizophrenia differ both in hospitalization rate and length of admission.
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Education may not be analyzed without studying the social context; similarly, educational reform may not be examined without a better understanding of the context of social changes.Social context is defined as a set of social characteristics, such as: key social changes and the speed thereof; value systems within a society; impact of society as a system on education as one of its subsystems.The relationship between society and education is not a political one, event hough it is often portrayed as such, especially when the emphasis is placed on the issue of educational reform. It is rather a socio-cultural problem, connected to the issues surrounding social development. Therefore, the goals of educational reform must be defined within the wider context of social goals.In order to conduct changes in education, it is important to define what thesociety expects from education. In premodern societies, the main goal of upbringing and education was to socialize young people into the wider society. In other words: social reproduction.Being of a low and slow level of change, they had a low-level demand for educational reforms as well. Modern societies, and especially highly developed contemporary ones, undergo fast changes and demand education that will accelerate social changes and enable a more rapid development within certain areas of the society, as well as the society as a whole. If society is understood as a place of constant change in social relations and structures, then educational changes (reforms) ought to be considered a permanent and crucial aspect thereof.We will further discuss several social characteristics and changes, as well as theimpact of those changes on both education and culture.
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The paper addresses the use of faecal and abusive language as a trope in the religious polemics of literary Catholicism, especially in the works by Léon Bloyand Theodor Haecker. Their dirty talk can be interpreted as a way to add emphasis on their own position in interconfessional discussions, in the opposition to alternative literary programs (naturalism) or in the fight against the ideologies of the 20th century, like materialism, positivism and totalitarism. The images and tropes used can be defined as a reaction against the crisis of signification. Scatology is then the only way to describe different subjects of abjection in an equal way and create a language of intensity in an apocalyptical time.
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This paper looks at the so-called ›Zürcher Literaturstreit‹ from a scatological perspective, by focusing on the fecal vocabulary used in this polemic. The provocative potential of such images heralds the revolutionary turmoil in1967/1968, when excrement was used as a symbol of subversion of traditional values and authorities. With regard to extreme positions by Emil Staigerand Theodor W. Adorno, which are exemplary of their notion of art, this paper analyzes Hugo Loetscher’s novel "Abwässer" (1963), bearing in mind that, when Staiger condemned contemporary literature as a »cesspool« at the end of 1966, Loetscher argued that Staiger was referring to his own novel.
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The investigation included 230 clients of six homes for the aged from Zagreb. The examinees were divided in two groups: group A consisted of the elderly clients that were situated in the homes for the aged for less than 6 months (N=80), while group B consisted of the clients that spent there more than 3 years (N=150). The aim of the study was to measure different aspects of psychological distress that might be of importance for the prediction of the clients' adjustment to the homes for the aged. The level of stress was measured by means of the Derogatis' Symptom Checklist-90- -R (SCL-90-R). The results of the study showed that: a. SCL-90-R scale is a valuable and accurate instrument for the evaluation of stressfull events in the elderly population; b. the level of distress of the examinees is shown to be sex and time dependent. The differences in the adaptation of male and female clients are defined by SCL-90-R dimensions: paranoid ideation, psychoticism and positive symptom distress index. It is concluded that SCL-90-R scale may be a simple and reliable tool in evaluating stressful simptoms of the elderly clients of homes for the aged.
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Based on hypotheses of the transactional stress and coping theory, the study examines the role of individual, situational and mediating cognitive factors in accounting for depression in prison inmates. Relevant demographic and criminological measures, and self-report instruments for the assessment of several personality dimensions, situational features, and mediating processes – cognitive appraisals and coping strategies, were taken in the sample of 475 males imprisoned in Croatian penal institutions. Zung Self-report Depression Scale was administered as a shortterm measure of inmate adjustment to imprisonment. Hierarchical regression procedures were performed to assess relative predictive power of particular groups of individual, situational and mediating variables, with the cognitive appraisal on event controllability taken as a moderator variable. Results showed that personality dimensions and two sets of mediating processes variables significantly contributed to the criterion variance, with both levels of perceived controllability. The total amount of variance in depression scores explained by the whole system of employed predictors was 41% and 54%, for the low and high event controllability groups, respectively.
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Relevant steps forward have been taken in direction of understanding the functioning of the human brain and the learning process, particularly thanks to the possibility of conducting direct brain research by using state-of-the-art technologies (neuroimaging). Here are several relevant accomplishments achieved: understanding of neuroplasticity; understanding of crucial importance of the first three years in a child’s life (the first one in particular) for the establishment of the quality functioning of the brain; understanding of the importance of the surrounding (intrauterine, exterior physical, exterior social) for the development of executive brain functioning and prerequisites for school achievement. Furthermore, the importance of parental behaviour towards the child in forming the prerequisites for intelligent behaviour and school achievement was revealed, as well as as was the importance of economic, cultural and social capital of the family for the development of intellectual and social prerequisites for intellectual functioning and school achievement. The term neurodiversity was introduced to emphasize the need for the teaching process to be individually tailored. New terms, which will change the learning and teaching process to a considerable extent, have not been transferred from theory to practice yet. Their inclusion into pedagogical literature and educational programms for parents, educators and teachers should hence become imperative.
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The author discusses the term of purpose on the basis of Aristotle’s philosophy, by studying the relationship of the cause (primarily the following relationship: causa materialis – causa formalis – causa finalis, since causa efficiens does not directly belong within the framework of this discussion) and the modality of being (potentia – actus). This research tackles not only the classic term of purpose, but also of the environment of being, in which purpose may be established and thought at all. Aristotle’s treatise De Anima (On the Soul) studies whether the discussion on the being of man belongs within the framework of the discussion on causes. Based on the classic term of purpose, the idea of purpose is differentiated from the idea of aims and planning. Following, it is questioned whether this purpose shares the same fundament with the very particular term of being. In this specific context, it is further, after studying Aristotle’s work, searched for the accompanying term of man as being in Plato’s understanding of man as Eros, and later in German tradition, in which man was considered subject-object (Kant, Herbart, Fichte, Hegel). These links reflect not only the accidental historiographic, but also the necessary theoretical and historical connection between classical Greek and German ways of thinking, and pedagogy as science. After establishing the link between purpose and man as being, the principles and basic (home – according to Herbart) pedagogical terms are tackled. First, the original sense of some of home pedagogical terms is searched for. Subsequently, it is studied whether home pedagogical terms (primarily educability, education, upbringing, and interest), as well as the internal logic of pedagogy, stand in accord with the original idea of purpose and man as being. Following the conducted mental research, it is endeavoured to define and list all that might form the original, self-legitimate, philosophical-pedagogical perspective of thinking and acting.
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This paper presents the findings of research on social, functional, health and psychological status of urban elderly people belonging to different generations (cohorts). Two generation groups of elderly citizens of Zagreb were compared. A group of 50 subjects, aged 57-72 years was examined in 1979, and a group of 47 subjects, aged 59-71 years in 1994. Sociodemographic and health status data were collected by a questionnaire, and data on functional ability, psychosomatic symptoms and selfassessed health were collected by measurement scales. Significant differences between generations were found – in 1994, subjects lived in smaller families, there was a larger proportion of retired subjects, and they had more psychosomatic symptoms than their age peers in 1979. The two generations of elderly subjects did not differ significantly in gender, marital status, education, health and functional status and self-assessed health. The differences between the two generation groups of elderly persons, found in this research, indicate the effects of social factors on the style and quality of urban elderly people’s lives.
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The aim of the study was to investigate involuntary admissions in two psychiatric hospitals from different catchment areas in Croatia, six months after the Law on Mental Health was passed. Medical records were surveyed in the six-month period. The sample comprised 380 men and 335 women hospitalized voluntarily, and 48 men and 125 women hospitalized involuntarily. The results showed a higher prevalence of involuntary hospitalization in the Psychiatric Hospital Rab, in comparison to the University Department of the Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče. Most patients from both hospitals had the final diagnosis of psychosis. Although there were some differences between the two hospitals regarding factors distinguishing involuntary from voluntary patients, the most consistent factor related to involuntary hospitalization was "being female".
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On a sample of 45 examinees the authors have examined the effects of evaluation and activation on immediate and delayed free memory, recognition and the initial phase of processing affective stimuli. The results obtained indicate that both in immediate and delayed memory examinees remember low activation affective stimuli more, while high activation stimuli are better recognized and produce more incorrect (yes) answers. Only in immediate memory are the unpleasant affective stimuli remembered better than the pleasant ones, while in delayed memory there is no difference between pleasant and unpleasant affective stimuli. Also, the unpleasant affective stimuli are better recognized, while the pleasant ones give rise to more incorrect (yes) answers. In general, the results of this research show that evaluation and activation both independently and in interaction have a significant influence on the memory of affective stimuli. The influence of these two dimensions on remembering affective stimuli is diverse, and is also dependent on the type of memory test used. The aforementioned results have been interpreted in the context of existing theories on the role of evaluation and activation in remembering affective stimuli.
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This is a review article on the psychological apects of tissue and organ donation. The review concentrates on psychological issues that could increase the number of donors. Tissue and organ donation is compared to other helping and altruistic behaviors and also the discrepancies that could offer explanation for an unsatisfying number of donors are disscussed. The decision-making process of whether to become a donor is presented together with factors that could cause the lack of donors. The contribution of legal psychology, health psychology, social psychology, marketing and personality research to organ and tissue donation is analyzed.
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This study examines direct and indirect effects of the level of perceived daily stress and coping strategies on the physical symptoms. The respondents were 153 healthy students from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Rijeka. Three models concerning three groups of physical symptoms were tested by causal structural modeling procedure (LISREL). In each of the models, three coping styles (problem oriented, emotion oriented and avoidance) and perception of the stress intensity have been included, while as the outcome variable the first model included symptoms of respiratory infections, the second symptoms of autonomous dysfunction, and the third other physical symptoms (problems with locomotion, digestion and skin). The results show that coping styles do not exert significant direct effects on any group of the physical symptoms examined.
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On a sample of 147 examinees, the changes in coping strategies and positive and negative moods during the specific stressful situation of the final high-school graduation exam were analysed, as well as the bidirectional and prospective relations between coping strategies and positive and negative moods. Coping strategies and moods were measured three times during the stressful situation: the period prior to taking the exam, during the written graduation exam and the period following the exam up to the moment the results of the written exam were announced. The results obtained indicate that significant changes occurred during this time in using the problem-aimed coping strategy and avoidance strategy, while emotionally-aimed coping did not change during the stressful transaction. Problem-aimed coping is highest in the period during the written exam, while in this phase, coping through avoidance is the lowest.
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The aim of this research was to determine the motives that had prompted professors of Zagreb University to choose their profession, the allocation of time for different jobs they perform, the evaluation of significanee of certain factors in choosing their profession and the satisfaction they get from their work. In order to achieve the aims we set before us, we conducted a personal survey with 207 professors at 19 faculties of Zagreb University. Priority objectives were given by the examinees in the following order: 1. advancement of students' knowledge, 2. improvement of their own knowledge, 3. promotion of the institution, 4. advancement of the academic world's knowledge and 5. promotion of managerial skills. The distribution of the professors' time into various obligations was as follows: lectures - 45%, research - 25%, consulting - 14% and administrative engagements - 16%. If these findings are compared with those of certain regions of the world, we can conclude that, in terms of time allocation, university professors in Croatia are the first regarding time spent on lectures, and the last with regard to time spent on research.
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Various educational activities of theatrical nature differ in the emphasis that is put on particular aspects of creativity. While the aspects of personological factors and stimulators/ inhibitors are equally important in both drama and theater, the processual and attributive factors are essentially different. The article is an attempt to answer the question: what aspect of creativity is important in the case of a project combining two forms: drama and theater? // Rozmaite działania edukacyjne o charakterze teatralnym różnią się akcentem, jaki jest kładziony na poszczególne aspekty twórczości. O ile aspekt personologiczny oraz stymulatorów/inhibitorów jest równie istotny zarówno w dramie, jak i w teatrze, to aspekty procesualny i atrybutywny zasadniczo się różnią. Artykuł jest próbą odpowiedzi na pytanie: jaki aspekt twórczości jest istotny w przypadku projektu łączącego dwie formy: dramę i teatr?
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There is a need for innovative strategies in health promotion. A healthy lifestyle is impacted by traditions established along generations which are influenced by their social life and the social relations. In recent years, great emphasis has been placed on the role of arterial stiffness in the development of cardiovascular diseases.Arterial stiffness may predict coronary heart disease beyond classic risk factors.Hypertension guidelines underline the importance of quantification of cardiovascular risk;an extensive evaluation of target organ damage may increase the number of patients classified at high-added cardiovascular risk.The measurement of PWV is generally accepted as the most simple and non-invasive method to determine arterial stiffness.The aim of the study was to establish the relationship between aortic stiffness measured through PWV and cardiovascular risk assessed through a Score Risk diagram in hypertensive patients and to show that PWV retainsits predictive value independently of classic risk factors. 105 patients eged between 40-80 years suffering of primary hypertension have been selected and evaluated(secundary hypertension excluded).The risk assessment of coronary heart disease was made by calculating the Score risk according to gender, age, bloodpressure,cholesterol and smoking for each of them.We have then correlated these parametres. Patients were classified in function of low-moderate cardiovascular risk and high-very high cardiovascular risk.Assessment of PWV in addition to Score risk calculating led to an increase of the proportion of patients at high risk (from 5 to 15%,P < 0.001).The following results have been found: SCORE risk =5.65 (SD=+/-6.05);PWV=9.2m/s (SD=+/-1.94). Our results confirm that determining aortic PWV is an usefultool for Primary Practice, as it correlateswith SCORE index,which is recommended by the European Society of Cardiology as an evaluationmethod of cardiovascular risk in patients.
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