Assessment of the quality of life of patients with breast and cervical cancer

The location of the tumor and the type of selected treatment are factors that determine the quality of life of patients. The incidence of neoplasms increases every year, with more and more patients successfully undergoing treatment processes but also struggling with the immediate and delayed effects of the disease and the treatment applied. A diagnosis of cancer is a critical situation in everyone’s life, which may disturb their sense of agency, stability, and safety. Cancer significantly affects the lives of both patients and their families, and a diagnosis confirming cancer may disturb the sense of control over one’s own health. According to numerous studies on the quality of life, depending on the location of the neoplasm, the reaction of patients to the course of treatment may have various psychological effects that will have an impact on the process of adaptation to the disease and psychosocial functioning. Neoplastic disease, depending on its location, may affect the assessment of one’s own body and function in the sexual sphere. The location of the tumor not only causes changes in patients’ bodies and health options related to their physicality but also affects their coping strategies, self-perception, sense of influence on one’s own health, and the quality of social relations. The objective of this article is to assess the differences in the health-related quality of life among women suffering from breast and cervical cancers

Who is a tired student? Fatigue and its predictors from a gender perspective.

The level of fatigue among medical students is increasing. Exhaustion is an essential symptom of burnout, which may occur even while a student. Our exploratory study sought to identify the characteristics of tired students and to describe factors determining fatigue among medical students. The studied group consisted of second-year medical students (N=193) from a Polish medical university. Statistically significant differences in fatigue appeared between male and female students. We obtained positive correlations between intensity of fatigue and sleepiness, pain intensity, stress, anxiety, depression and negative health conditions, life satisfaction, emotional stability, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy. Predictors relevant for female fatigue were sleepiness, health condition, depression, and conscientiousness (the whole model explains 46% of variance in fatigue). Predictors relevant for male fatigue were sleepiness, health condition, anxiety, and agreeableness (the whole model explains 55% of variance in fatigue). We did not observe differences in fatigue between sleepless, overloaded, or stressed people. Explaining the differences between male and female predictors and levels of fatigue in terms of personality traits through the prism of defined stereotypical social roles is worth considering

Charakter więzi rodzinnych oraz uwarunkowania ich kształtowania się w sytuacji okołoporodowej

Exploring bonds and its determinants within the family with newborn infants In the psychological literature there are theories of mother-infant bonding defined as a process that begins in prenatal life. The authors explored the perceived family cohesion amongst people who has just become parents from the perspective of bonding theories. The studies were conducted during 2-3 days after the childbirth. Mothers (the first and the second study) and fathers (the second study) described the current perceived structure of their family system (the position of a newborn child, parents, others in the family), Associations between the perceived family cohesion and personality traits of participants, as well as factors connected with childbirth were examined. The research project was comprised of two studies. Fifty two women took part in the first study, and a group of young parents participated in the second study (29 women and 25 men, including 24 pairs), All women were hospitalized at the Neonatal Clinic – Department of Gynecology and Obsterics at the Medical University of Gdansk, and were 2/3 days after giving birth to a child. Results of the research indicate that mother-infant bonding is a process associated with creating the stability of a family system. Factors that facilitate this process include orientation towards others among mothers, and differentation of self of fathers, as well as their participation in childbirth

Funkcjonowanie psychologiczne rozwodzących się rodziców a ich postawy rodzicielskie

The article is focused on psychological functioning of divorcing parents and their parental attitudes. Sex differences were also analyzed. Psychological functioning was assess by previously introduced measure (Błażek et al., 2012). Parental Attitudes Scale by Plopa (2008) and Questionnaire of Parental Attitudes by Ziemska (1982) were used to assess parental attitudes. 180 divorcing parents participated in the study (90 married couples). The results of the study show that there are sex differences concerning psychological features such as loneliness and parental attitudes such as dominating the child, parental helplessness and concentration on a child. Better educated parents presented more positive psychological and parental functioning during divorce process. Dimensions of parental attitudes were also associated with measured features of psychological functioning in the groups of mothers and fathers. The results lead to the conclusion that divorcing parents reveal psychological problems associated with lower quality parenting

Emotional and experiential factors that determine civilizational diseases

Background The effects of adverse childhood experiences may persist in adult life and manifest themselves in various areas of function-ing. The aim of the study was to identify the emotional and experiential factors that determine civilizational diseases and the methods of regulating emotions and functioning in society. Participants and procedure The surveyed group was composed of 141 adults. The respondents defined the existence of adverse experiences and their attachment styles in retrospective. The methods of regulating emotions were also measured, as well as the presence of civilizational diseases. Results The authors found a correlation between the style of attachment and the traumatic events experienced during the first 18 years of life and the existence of civilizational diseases. Adverse experiences in childhood and attachment styles proved to be predictors of specific social behaviour aimed at regulating emotions. Conclusions The results emphasised the importance of the bond with a parent and of traumatic childhood experiences for the future health condition and for the social and emotional functioning. The study demonstrated that persons who experienced traumatic events in their families or in the peer environment in the first 18 years of their lives reported the presence of civilizational diseases. A correlation was found between peer violence, the threat of being abandoned by a caregiver, and diagnosed civilizational diseases in respondents. The fearful-ambivalent style in the relationship with the father proved to be a predictor of reported civilizational diseases. Adverse childhood experiences are linked to regulating emotions by tak-ing perspective. The attachment style developed in the relationship with parents determined the ways of regulating nega-tive and positive emotions in contact with other people. Persons who developed an avoidant attachment style in the rela-tionships with the mother or the father less frequently seek social support when they experience negative emotions

Questioning Gender and Sexual Identity in the Context of Self-Concept Clarity, Sense of Coherence and Value System

Sexual and gender identity is a fundamental part of one’s overall identity and plays an important role in human functioning. Questioning one’s sexuality associated with low level of self-concept clarity, certainty, consistency and stability with regard to the individual’s beliefs about oneself, can affect their sense of coherence and value system. The aim of the study was to compare heterosexual and cisgender people with non-heteronormative and non-cisgender people regarding their attitudes and the way they perceive significant personal values. It was assumed that non-heterosexual and non-cisgender individuals would have lower self-concept clarity and lower sense of coherence, and that among them such values as openness to change and transcending Self would be dominant. The study was conducted on a group of 337 individuals aged 18 to 30. The participants filled out four self-report online questionnaires. Self-concept clarity was found to be connected with a greater tendency to question one’s sexual and gender identity. The results also indicate differences between heterosexual/cisgender participants and non-heterosexual/non-cisgender participants in terms of the degree of self-concept clarity and sense of coherence. Non-heteronormative and cisgender individuals show a greater tendency to question their identity and have lower self-concept clarity, which may lower their sense of coherence