Contemporary picture of women's unemployment. Personality conditioning of unemployment and it's consequences for psychic healt

Aim. Unemployment is one of the most complex contemporary phenomena and it has not only economic but also social and psychological dimensions. Unemployment is connected with low self-esteem, depression, risk of suicide and alcohol-related diseases. Women’s unemployment has become a syndrome of our times. It turns out that gender is an important indicator in the way of coping both in work and unemployment situations. Material and Methods. According to the assumed concept women have been questioned about their plans for the future and an anticipated way of their realization. The plans have been analysed as an expression of aspirations and motivations, by means of the specially prepared questionnaire. Mind abilities have been measured by the non-verbal Ricen’s Intellect Potential Test. The “Self” concept” has been identified on the basis of the selected concepts: Locus of Control; observational self-control; the need for social approval. The research has been made in the group of 84 unemployed women. Its aim was to describe the persons’ individual potential and comparing ways of coping in the situation of long lasting (over 12 months) unemployment. Results. The results have shown that in each case the problem of individual experiencing of unemployment and coping with it, has remained in individual connection with a person’s psychological properties. It turned out that the results of the surveyed women may be categorized: in the range of pragmatism, that were characterized by high results in case of women well functioning in social situations (so called pragmatic persons) and low results characteristic of principal persons (who use strict solutions). Other distinctions have also been made: between persons with internal Locus of Control and external Locus of Control, between more and less intelligent persons and between persons with a high need of social approval (deforming one’s image) and with a low need of social approval (presenting one’s real image). Conclusion. The knowledge of individual predispositions may help to prevent severe psychic problems connected with unemployment. The questionnaires described in this article may be used as a method of early prevention. Because personality traits are rather stable, it is possible to predict on their basis the future functioning and mental health

Factors Facilitating Constructive Coping with Stress

This review focuses on coping with stress, with particular emphasis on mechanisms facilitating constructive coping with stress. An important area of contemporary research is the attempt to identify factors that make it possible to stay mentally healthy or preventing the weakening of the cognitive and social functioning. The currently prevailing approach to stress is the relational approach. According to this approach, the criterion for the occurrence of stress is the cognitive assessment of the situation made by an individual. This review presents the most recent proposals concerning the analysis of specific methods of coping with stress, in particular from the perspective of their adaptiveness. Particular attention is paid to meaningfocused coping. We also discuss the presence of positive emotions in difficult situations. Positive emotions may play many adaptive functions especially in long-term stress situations: they make it possible to rebuild physical, intellectual and social resources, and they also extend the scope of attention and action. Positive emotions may also, to a certain extent, mitigate psychological and physiological consequences of stressful events. Finally we discuss the main directions of research related to factors determining well-being and sample experiments aimed at intensifying the feeling of happiness

The need of belonging and sense of belonging versus effectiveness of coping

The aim of this research was to describe the dependence between the need for and sense of belonging and symptoms of depression vs. one’s capacity to cope effectively. Using path analysis of our data (N = 178), we found direct patterns, in which both depression symptoms and life satisfaction depend to a considerable degree on the sense of belonging. The belonging need influences, in a direct way, the coping focused on the search for social support. Undertaking active techniques of coping, including confrontation with a stressful situation and its negative controlling impact, depends on having a high level of the sense of belonging. In contrast, individuals who cope by means of taking psychoactive drugs show the symptoms of depression

The Role of Stress in Assessing Life Satisfaction and Self-Efficacy Among Prison Officers

Stress is a major public health concern. It can be observed in all aspects of life, in everyday family life and work life. The focus of this article is work-related stress. Work stress can be observed in any work environment and in all professions. As a complex condition it affects different people in different ways. The study presented in this article was done on a sample of 59 prison officers who volunteered to participate. Among those 59 participants 34 were males and 25 were females aged between 25 to 52. Each participant received a survey to collect general information about the person and included three questionnaires: The Questionnaire of Stress in the Prison Service (KSSW), Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The questionnaire took approximately 45 minutes. Results turned out to be rather surprising. Findings showedthat job stress of prison officers is not significantly correlated with the amount of time they spend among prisoners. The results also showed that being married or having a partner is not a protective factor against job stress for that sample. Results also showed that negative significant correlation between job stress and life satisfaction and job stress and self-efficacy were only found for particular subscales of KSSW not for the overall levels of stress.Further analysis of the results suggests that the very core of prison officers’ job is the most stressful factor. This is an interesting finding that may be a basis for further research for specific stressors and coping strategies that may help the officers

Gray’s Personality Dimensions and Reasons for Voluntary Sleep Deprivation Among College Students

Tendency toward healthy and health-risk behavior is associated with external factors, and healthy lifestyle affects its quality. Activation of Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and its association with sleeping habits provides insight into the correlates of voluntary sleep deprivation. Aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between BIS/BAS activity and reasons for voluntary sleep deprivation among young adults and to assess benefits and costs of decreasing sleep duration. Participants were 223 college students. The instruments used were the BIS/BAS Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a newly developed survey. Statistical analysis wasconducted using Mann-Whitney’s U-test and Spearman’s rho correlation. Increased BIS activity is positively correlated with the frequency of foregoing sleep to study (r = 0.19; p < 0.01), while activation of BAS Fun Seeking is associated with more frequent voluntary sleep deprivation due to work (r = 0.18; p < 0.05), social life (r = 0.34; p < 0.01), and participation in various types of entertainment (p = 0.24; p < 0.01). Analysis yielded a positive correlation between BAS activity and the amount of perceived benefits of cutting down sleep (p = 0.26; p < 0.01 for BAS Fun Seeking and p = 0.25; p < 0.01 for BAS Reward Responsiveness) and the magnitude of BIS activation and the number of perceived losses (r = 0.19; p < 0.01). Individuals with a higher BAS activity in the Reward Responsiveness subscale more often report choosing sleep deprivation voluntarily (r = 0.14; p < 0.5). The quality of sleep is related to BIS/BAS activation. The reasons for voluntary sleep deprivation differ depending on the level of BAS/BIS activation

Quality of Life and PTSD Symptoms, and Temperament and Coping With Stress

Due to advances in medicine, a malignant neoplasm is a chronic disease that can be treated for a lot of patients for many years. It may lead to profound changes in everyday life and may induce fear of life. The ability to adjust to a new situation may depend on temperamental traits and stress coping strategies. The research presented in this paper explores the relationships between quality of life, PTSD symptoms, temperamental traits, and stress coping in a sample of patients diagnosed with cancer. One hundred and twenty nine participants aged 24–81 years, 69 females diagnosed with breast cancer and 60 males diagnosed with lung cancer completed Formal Characteristics of Behavior – Temperament Inventory, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, PTSD Inventory, and Quality of life SF-36 questionnaire. Higher level of emotional reactivity and higher level of perseveration was associated with lower emotional quality of life. Higher level of emotion oriented-coping and higher level of avoidant-distracted coping was associated with higher level of PTSD symptoms. Emotion-oriented coping and avoidant-distracted coping are ineffective in dealing with stress in the case of patients diagnosed with cancer, because they are associated with a higher level of PTSD symptoms. The significance of temperamental traits for quality of life in the situation of the patients is marginal. Control of specific factors concerned with current health and treatment status is needed the future research

Quality of Life of Parents of Children with Asthma

An increased frequency of asthma in children has been lately observed. The course of asthma depends not only on treatment, but also on the actions taken by the parents of a sick child. Design: A non-experimental cross-sectional design. Methods: In this study the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were administered to 60 parents of children with asthma. Two groups of parents were compared. The first group consisted of parents of children who had been diagnosed with asthma less than three months before the beginning of the study. The second group consisted of parents of children who had been diagnosed at least one year previously. Results: It was observed that, in the group of parents aged 20-30 years, the level of life satisfaction was significantly higher for parents of children who had suffered from asthma for at least one year than for the parents of children recently diagnosed with asthma. There were no statistically significant differences in the other age groups. There was a positive correlation between the level of satisfaction with life and emotional functioning in the parents of children diagnosed recently. Conclusions: The results of the present study point to a general ability of parents to adapt to the situation of having an ill child. This may be related to the relative ease of access to information that enables parents to understand more about the condition

Children with Asthma: What About the Quality of Life of Their Parents?

An increased frequency of asthma in children has been lately observed. The course of asthma depends not only on treatment. but also on the actions taken by the parents of a sick child. Design: A non-experimental cross-sectional design. Methods: In this study the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were administered to 60 parents of children with :asthma. Two groups of parents were compared. The first group consisted of parents of children who had been diagnosed with asthma less than three months before the beginning of the study. The second group consisted of parents of children who had been diagnosed at least one year previously. Results: It was observed that. in the group of parents aged 20-30 years, the level of life satisfaction was significantly higher for parents of children who had suffered from asthma for at least one year than for the parents of children recently diagnosed with asthma. There were no statistically significant differences in the other age groups. There was a positive correlation between the level of satisfaction with life and emotional functioning in the parents of children diagnosed recently. Conclusions: The results of the present study point to a general ability of parents to adapt to the situation of having an ill child. This may be related to the relative ease of access to information that enables parents to understand more about the condition

Coping concordance in couples

Funding information National Institute of Mental Health, Grant/Award Number: MH60366Peer reviewedPostprin

Optimism measured pre-operatively is associated with reduced pain intensity and physical symptom reporting after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Optimism is thought to be associated with long-term favourable outcomes for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Our objective was to examine the association between optimism and post-operative pain and physical symptoms in CABG patients. METHODS: We assessed optimism pre-operatively in 197 adults undergoing CABG surgery, and then followed them up 6-8 weeks after the procedure to measure affective pain, pain intensity, and physical symptom reporting directly pertaining to CABG surgery. RESULTS: Greater optimism measured pre-operatively was significantly associated with lower pain intensity (β=-0.150, CI=-0.196 to -0.004, p=.042) and fewer physical symptoms following surgery (β=-0.287, CI=-0.537 to -0.036, p=.025), but not with affective pain, after controlling for demographic, clinical and behavioural covariates, including negative affectivity. CONCLUSIONS: Optimism is a modest, yet significant, predictor of pain intensity and physical symptom reporting after CABG surgery. Having positive expectations may promote better recovery