Automation of Psychological Selection Procedures for Personnel to Specific Activities

The article presents a universal method for determining the professional suitability (PS) of a candidate and an algorithm for forming a psychological profile for a specific profession based on determining the psychological potential of personality. The developed method is based on the use of automated support systems. Based on the obtained value of the integral indicator, a decision is made on the PS group of this candidate. This method adapts to the requirements of the profession to candidates, taking into account changes in the conditions of activity by adjusting the typical psychological profile of the personality. The developed method for determining a candidate’s PS has been brought to practical implementation in the form of an Automated Psychodiagnostic Complex (APDC) “Psychodiagnostics.” APDC has been tested on the example of the psychological selection procedures of personnel for military service in units with law enforcement functions. APDС allows to reduce the time and labor costs for conducting psychodiagnostic studies, increases the reliability of tests due to a higher degree of standardization of the testing procedure, increases the accuracy of assessing psychological characteristics, and reduces the likelihood of errors in the processing of test results. APDС can be used for recruiting in various sectors of the economy, education, and military sphere.

Socio-psychological profile of Latvian inhabitants who did not comply with the COVID-19 epidemiological requirements

Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been affected by the corona virus COVID-19. Since the spring, a number of nations around the world, including Latvia, have declared a state of emergency, with specific government restrictions developed in cooperation with WHO, to reduce spread of the COVID-19. The aim of this study is to examine socio-psychological profile of Latvian inhabitants who did not comply with the COVID-19 epidemiological requirements. A randomized nationally representative sample (N = 2608, aged from 18–74, men 39.8%, women 60.2%) from the online survey, carried out in the frame of the National research program, project Nr. VPP-COVID-2020/1-0011, was used in this study. The results showed that less compliant with COVID-19 epidemiological requirements were males, rural inhabitants, persons aged less than 60 years old, unemployed, with lower education level, and those, who are less afraid of COVID-19 and think that its dangerousness is exaggerated. Compliance with the restrictions did not relate to the marital and parental status. Based on this study, policy suggestions were made regarding a more targeted way of the providing important information on the preventive behaviour to reduce the spread of the virus.

Rasgos de personalidad en judokas senior y diferencias con población general

The analysis of the psychological aspects of different sports is relevant for the development of interventions aimed at reaching the maximum potential of athletes. The aim of this study was to analyze the personality traits of senior judokas according to (a) sex, (b) age, (c) graduation, (d) competition level attained, (e) years of experience, (f) weight category, and (g) to explore the differences with the personality traits of the general population. A total of 116 Argentinean judokas (86 men and 30 women) participated in the study. Personality traits were assessed through the Adjectives Check List. The results show small to moderate differences between the judokas according to sex, age, graduation, competition level, and years of sport experience. No differences were found according to weight category. Differences in personality were also detected between the judokas and the general population: female judokas reported higher levels of Openness to experience, and male judokas reported higher levels of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional stability. The results represent a contribution about the psychological profile of judokas and the personality traits of high competition athletes.

Socio-Demographic, Clinical and Psychological Profile of Frailty Patients Living in the Home Environment and Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Frailty syndrome, as a physiological syndrome, is characterized by a gradual decline in physiological reserve and a lowered resistance to stress-inducing factors, leading to an increased risk of adverse outcomes. It is significantly connected with dependence on care and frequent hospitalizations.Objectives: The aim of the study was to describe socio-demographic, clinical and psychological profile of frailty older adults living in their own homes and to nursing homes.Methods: The study was conducted with 180 patients who were over 60 years of age, the mean (±SD) was 74.1 (±8.8) years. Among the subjects, 90 individuals were community-dwelling older adults. The survey used a list of socio-demographic questions, as well as the following scales: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), SHARE-FI, and The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref).Results: Pre-frailty was confirmed in 49 (27.2%) patients, and frailty syndrome was noticed in 47 patients (26.1%). The prevalence of frailty syndrome in the study group was related to: place of living (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.001), widowhood (p < 0.001), a poor economic situation (p < 0.001), basic education level (p < 0.001), living alone (p < 0.001), longer duration of illness (p < 0.001), comorbidities (p < 0.001), more medications taken (p < 0.001), deterioration of hearing (p = 0.003), impairment of cognitive functions (p < 0.001), depression (p < 0.001), and decreased quality of life (p < 0.001).Discussion: A lot of socio-demographic and medical factors, particularly cognitive and mental functioning were connected with the prevalence and progression of frailty syndrome in the study group. Quality of life was significantly dependent on the presence of frailty syndrome, both in homes and in nursing homes.

Morbidity profiles in Europe and Israel: international comparisons from 20 countries using biopsychosocial indicators of health via latent class analysis

Aim I examined health/morbidity profiles across 20 countries, determined their associated demographic characteristics and risk factors and compared the distribution of these health/morbidity profiles across countries. Subject and methods I used population-based data drawn from the European Social Survey (N = 20092, 52% female, ages 40+) covering 20 mostly European countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) from 2014. Diverse indicators of health/morbidity were used, including self-rated health, self-rated disability, self-reported health problems and mental health symptoms using the CES-D. Latent class analysis was conducted to determine health/morbidity profiles across countries. Results I found that four distinct health profiles best describe overall health/morbidity status in the international sample, each associated with specific demographic and behavioural risk factors: ‘healthy’ profile (62% of participants), ‘unhappy but healthy’ profile (14%), ‘high morbidity, mostly physical’ profile (16%) and ‘high morbidity, mostly psychological’ profile (8%). With few exceptions, participants from Northern Europe and Western Europe were more likely to belong to the ‘healthy’ and the ‘unhappy but healthy’ profiles, whereas participants from Eastern Europe were more likely to belong to the ‘high morbidity, mostly physical’ profile. Distribution of the ‘high morbidity, mostly psychological’ profile appeared to be more uniform across regions. Conclusions Distinct morbidity/health profiles could be identified across countries, and countries varied regarding the relative distribution of these profiles. Specific prevention and treatment consequences associated with each profile are discussed. Future studies should further investigate the patterns of overall health and morbidity in Europe’s populations.

Psychological profile of pet owners in Isfahan, Iran

This study aimed to compare the psychological profile of pet owners with the ones who didn’t own any pets. The research method was a casual-comparative study. Pet owners and people without pets were included in this research which was done in Iran in February 2017. One hundred and sixty people were selected in this sample in a nonrandom available sampling method and matched in terms of demographic characteristics. Eighty people, pet owners, were referred to the veterinary clinics and 80 didn’t own any pets. They were assessed by a psychological signs inventory. The result of ANOVA indicated that pet owners and those without any pets were indifferent in the characteristics of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hostility, paranoid, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychosis, while those without any pets, statistically had a higher average in somatization and depression than the pet owners and it could be justified by corrective emotional experience, displacement, and sublimation in the pet owner. This statistic can be based on the fact that pet owners use these animals as an object for thrilling topics which is a factor to decrease their psychological stress and increase their physical health.

Population awareness of depression and treatment methods

Aim. To study the population of the Chuvash Republic awareness of depression and methods of its treatment. Material and methods. Seven hundred sixty-four residents of the Chuvash Republic (472 women, 292 men) aged 18 to 83 years old (average age - 35.5 ± 14,3 years old) were interviewed anonymously. Urban residents were 75.5%, rural - 24.5%, with medical education - 5.9%. Two K. Griffiths et al. vignettes described patients with normal depressive state and depression accompanied by suicidal thoughts. After reading the picture, the respondents had to answer seven short questions. Mathematical and statistical processing included the calculation of the mean, standard deviation and χ2 distribution. Results. 39.0% of the respondents correctly identified the state of depression in the vignettes. This mental disorder was reliably better recognized by the respondents with a medical or higher education, urban residents and those who met such patients in life. The respondents most often (44,5%) recommended receiving psychological assistance, consultations and medical treatment (33,5%). They often suggested various “popular interventions”, did not know which specialists to contact and how to treat such a pathology, or suggested doing nothing at all, even if there were suicidal thoughts. More than 75% of the respondents expressed an improvement in patients’ condition in the case of their referring to specialists, the best results were given by the respondents who correctly recognized depression. Conclusion. The study showed a low level of depression awareness of the population of Chuvashia. This circumstance is reflected in the appeal of the people for medical (psychiatric, psychotherapeutic) help and expectations regarding the treatment of this mental disorder. A high proportion of incorrect answers about depression require educational work with the population, better psychiatric preparedness of specialists in the psychological profile and doctors of the general somatic network.

The Psychological Profile of Tunisian SMEs Founders Amid the COVID-19 Crisis

The purpose of this paper is to determine the psychological profile of the Tunisian SMEs founder amid the COVID-19 crisis. The results of this research demonstrated that their psychological profile in times of COVID-19 crisis is quadridimensional and that each of these four dimensions (tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, attitude towards risk, self-confidence and locus of control) are unidimensional. This research was conducted in three Tunisian industries (textiles and clothing industries, agro-food industries and industries of ceramic and glass building materials) via the administration of a questionnaire via LinkedIn (between March, 15 and May, 15 2020) to more than 400 SMEs’ founders. The critical contributions of this research are the clarification of the role of psychological factors in the field of entrepreneurship, which remains unclear, by enriching previous research on entrepreneurial personality. The main findings of this study: (1) the four key psychological traits correspond to the “specific traits” of an entrepreneur; (2) these “specific traits” are more suitable to study the profile of the SME’s founder profile at the time of crisis than the more “stable traits” — the Big Five traits; (3) the psychological profile of the SME’s founder in a hyper-turbulent environment (namely the COVID-19 crisis) correspond to the psychological entrepreneurial profile.