Typology of people in middle and late adulthood based on the profile of coping with everyday life events

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to construct a typology of the proactive coping profiles of individuals in middle and late adulthood. The conceptual layer refers to the theory of proactive coping as defined by Ralf Schwarzer and Steffen Taubert. It means such an approach to everyday life in which problems are treated as a challenge rather than as a great unknown that limits to only reactive responses to emerging difficulties. An attempt was also made to compare the obtained subtypes in terms of wisdom and resilience. According to Ardelt's research, wisdom, understood as a composite of cognitive, reflective, and emotional components, may be a resource characterizing adults who use mature coping strategies, particularly proactive coping. Building resilience in people helps to prevent stress, hence it can be considered as a resource important in proactive coping. Method. A group of 166 people in middle (N=80) and late adulthood (N=86) was surveyed. The Proactive Coping Inventory (Polish Adaptation) by Sęk, Pasikowski, Taubert, Greenglass and Schwarzer, Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS) by Ardelt, adapted by Steuden, Brudek and Izdebski and Resilience Measurement Scale (SPP-25) by Oginska-Bulik and Juczynski were used in the study. Results. Four coping types were obtained: runaway, proactive, autonomous and support-seekers. Individuals belonging to particular profiles of coping differed significantly in the level of wisdom and resilience. Conclusions.The study showed that in a group of people in middle and late adulthood it is possible to distinguish consistent profiles of using coping strategies, which differ in the degree of proactivity. Additionally, wisdom and resilience were shown to characterize individuals with a more proactive, goal-oriented structure of coping strategies.

Polish adaptation The State Self-Forgiveeness Scale

The aim of the presented study was to Polish version of The State Self-Forgiveness Scale (Wohl i in., 2008) – Skala Epizodycznego Przebaczenia Sobie. The scale is used to assess self-forgiveness after wrongdoing towards self and other persons. The scale consists of 17 items and two subscales describing feelings and actions as well as beliefs towards oneself, which are to lead to self-forgiveness. Four hundred forty four (Mage =27.8, SD=9.9) participated in the study. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory analysis were performed to determine the psychometric properties (RMSEA 0,048, GFI 0,924, PCLOSE 0,556). In order to determine the internal consistency was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha (0,80-0,86). The internal validity was assessed by Heartland Forgiveness Scale. The obtained results showed that the Polish version of The State Self-forgiveness Scale as tool with good psychometric properties and to recommend it for the assessment of self-forgiveness both in research.

Immersion and Socio-Emotional Experiences During a Movie – Polish Adaptation of the Movie Consumption Questionnaires

The aim of the article is to present a description of the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the Movie Consumption Questionnaires (MCQ) – Immersion and MCQ – Experience. The instrument, created by Fornerino, Helme-Guizon and Gotteland (2008) allows measuring movie consumption in terms of immersion, the intensity of emotions and the intensity of social interactions during the screening. The Polish adaptation of the tool involved two stages, whose participants were movie-goers attending screening events at a cinema ( N=577). The factor structure of the adapted instrument strongly resembles that obtained in the original study (RMSEA<0.08, CFI>0.95, SRNR<0.08) and has demonstrated very good internal consistency (α>0.8, ω>0.8). Criterion validity was also verified through the use of questionnaires that examine the following: affect – PANAS-X (Fajkowska & Marszał-Wiśniewska, 2009), emotionality – HEXACO (Szarota et al., 2007) and mindfulness – Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Skala Świadomej Obecności; Radoń, 2014). Results of the analyses suggest that the adapted scales may be used as satisfactory tools for measuring movie consumption. By the same token, they may be useful in further psychological exploration of the movie screening phenomenon, with particular regard to immersion, emotional reactions and social interactions of the viewer.

Mental Health of PhD Students at Polish Universities—Before the COVID-19 Outbreak

Background: A group particularly exposed to the occurrence of disorders in the sphere of the psyche are young people with a newly developing personality structure and a sense of identity. In the available literature there are few reports describing the mental health of doctoral students—a group that is affected by a particular group of stressors. The aim of the research was to assess the mental health of PhD students at Polish universities. Material and Methods: The Polish adaptation of the GHQ Questionnaire-28, developed by David Goldberg et al. was used in the research. PhD students from all universities associated in the National Representation of Doctoral Students were invited to take part in the research. A total of 576 completed questionnaires were received. Results: It was found that depression is statistically more frequent in doctoral students who are not in any relationship with another person; anxiety/insomnia is more common in women than men and less frequently in doctoral students of general than in technical universities. Conclusions: (1) More than half of the surveyed students complain about the deterioration of mental health. The most commonly reported symptom groups are anxiety and insomnia, followed by social dysfunctions and somatic symptoms. (2) Depression is statistically more common in people who are not in any relationship with another person and anxiety and insomnia are statistically more common in women than in men and statistically less frequent in doctoral students of general universities than technical universities. (3) In view of the presented results, educating young adults in the field of self-awareness in the field of mental health seems to be particularly important.

Relationship between psychological capital and quality of life among seniors working after retirement: The mediating role of hope of success

Introduction As a result of the increasing average human life expectancy and the related population growth in many countries, research on factors increasing seniors’ quality of life is becoming particularly important. An event critical for seniors’ functioning is retirement. A concept reflecting the dynamics of seniors’ personality associated with the changes taking place in their life situation is psychological capital. This concept was identified as a factor that is constituted by four personality variables changing because of experiences: self-efficacy, optimism, psychological resilience, and hope of success. An interesting issue is the relationship between psychological capital and quality of life in seniors working after retirement. Aim The aim of this paper was to analyze the relationship between psychological capital (self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, psychological resilience) and quality of life in seniors working after retirement, as well as the mediating role of hope of success in this relationship. Methods A total of 304 seniors—103 women and 201 men—participated in the study. The mean age was 65.24. The Quality-of-Life Scale (CASP-19), the Polish adaptation of Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Hope of Success Questionnaire (KNS), and polish adaptation of the Resilience Assessment Scale (SPP-25) were employed in the research. A mediation model was applied to explore the pathway from psychological capital via hope of success to quality of life. Results The tested components of psychological capital correlate positively with working senior citizens’ quality of life. The mediating role of hope of success between psychological capital and quality of life was confirmed. The study presented three mechanisms in which hope of success strengthens the relationships between the components of psychological capital and working senior citizens’ quality of life. Conclusions The mediating role of hope of success between the remaining components of psychological capital and quality of life confirms pattern posited in the COR theory, namely, that increasing one resource leads to the activation of others, which results in a spiral of personal resources being generated. One the one hand, people who have greater resources have a greater capacity for generating spirals of gains. One the other hand, individuals who lack personal resources are both more exposed to losing them and less capable of starting a spiral of gains in resources.

Prioritizing Positivity Scale: Psychometric Properties of the Polish Adaptation (PPS-PL)

Prioritizing positivity means making decisions and choices about everyday activities to increase the chances of experiencing positive emotions. People have different levels of prioritizing positivity (PP), and the Prioritizing Positivity Scale is used to capture such individual differences. Past research indicates that prioritizing positivity is conducive to well-being. The following article presents the Polish adaptation of the Prioritizing Positivity Scale (PPS) and its psychometric properties. There were three samples in this study (n1 = 229, n2.= 253, n3 = 226). The method has a single-factor structure and high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .84 to .87). Prioritizing positivity measured with the Polish version of the Prioritizing Positivity Scale was associated with several indicators of well-being.

Adult experience of stress and anxiety and coping in the first phase of the lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine adults’ coping with risks and losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account: anxiety level, gender, age and place of residence. Method: For this purpose, research was carried out on a total of 235 adults, divided into five groups based on Levinson's (1978) model of life development, recruited using the snowball technique via remote communication technology. Self-report data was collected using the Covid-19-RL (Risks and Losses) open interview, polish adaptation of Spielberger’s STAI Inventory (assessing anxiety as a state) by Sosnowski et al (2011) and Carver’s COPE inventory adapted by Juczyński and Ogińska (2009). Comparative analyses were performed using the ANOVA model in the SPSS Program. Results: The results show the pandemic is a considerable deprivation factor and a threat to a broad spectrum of needs, and it generates a high level of anxiety in men and women in all adult age groups. Simultaneously, the perception of stressors depends on gender, age and place of residence. It was also found that age and place of residence differentiated people’s choice of the type of coping (confrontational, defensive and ignoring). The paper ends with the discussion of the results and limitations of the study.

Analiza korelacji pomiędzy nasileniem cech osobowości a strategiami uczenia się leksyki na przykładzie polskich uczących się języka niemieckiego na trzecim etapie edukacyjnym

Developing learners' lexical subsystem is one of the most important tasks of foreign language didactics. The observable turn towards vocabulary (,,Wortschatzwende’’) has contributed to an in-depth reflection on learners' lexical competence, including their strategic competence. The aim of this article is to present results of a correlational research concerning the influence of personality variables (understood according to the Five-Factor Model) on the range and frequency of strategies used by Polish high-school students to learn German vocabulary. The research project described in this article was conducted in April 2021. The polish adaptation of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory was applied to examine the learners’ personality traits. The Polish version of Schmitt's Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire (VLSQ) was used to investigate students’ preferred strategies for learning German vocabulary. Based on the conclusions from the research, an attempt was made to formulate practical guidelines for foreign language teachers concerning the possibilities of developing learners' lexical competence. The report is complemented by a list of open research questions and problems in this field.