RELATIONS BETWEEN GOD-IMAGES AND EARLY MALADAPTIVE SCHEMAS

Our God image not only determines the nature of our relationship with God, it also influences our personality, actions, selfconcept, mindset and social relations. It acts within and through us. Although everyone has a God image - regardless of whether one is a believer or not - same congregation give accounts of diverse God images. Schema is a widely used term in psychology. Schemas describe cognitive structures that filter, encode and interpret the stimuli affecting the person. They can influence the perception of reality, which later impacts the behavior and mood of the individual and in severe cases can result in pathology. The factors influencing the God image and early maladaptive schemas both have proven roots in early childhood and are impacted by the child-parent relationship. Our research focuses on examining the connection between maladaptive schemas and the God image and their relation to parental influence

ADOLESCENT DRUG USE, RELATIONAL VARIABLES AND PERSONALITY FACTORS

Objective: An ongoing issue in the study of adolescent drug use is the impact of family and the peer group on the problem of adolescent substance use. The present study has examined relative effects of these contexts as well as personality variables on drug use outcomes. Method: A test battery measuring various psychological variables was administered to a representative sample of 1652 secondary school students (grades 9 and 11), 876 male(mean age=17,61, SD=0.99) and 789 female (mean age=16.73, SD=1.31). Data about relationship to parents and association with deviant peers were collected, personality dimensions such as Neuroticism and Sensation Seeking were measured. Regressional and discriminant analyses were conducted, then a decision tree model was created. Results: Sensation seeking arose as the most significant predictor of substance use. Fatheradolescent relationship had the highest predictive value primarily in male sensation seekers. Peer effects were stronger in comparison to parental influences. In adolescent boys, contact with deviant friends and sensation seeking constituted two independent pathways to drug use. Conclusions: Our study highlights the necessity to give consideration to sensationseeking in prevention initiatives during adolescence, as well as the need for education of parents about parenting techniques recommended during adolescence

REPRESENTATIONS OF CHRONIC ILLNESS IN PATIENTS AND THEIR PARTNERS

Background: Representations of chronic illness have a strong influence on quality of life and coping. Illness-related believes and attitudes depend on the medical condition itself (including illness type and duration), as well as individual and relational variables. Couples affected by chronic illness develop shared illness representations, which support the patiens adaptation process.Our study was focused on illness representations in five patient groups, considering variables of illness duration and relationship satisfaction. Subjects and methods: The Illness Perception Questionnaire was administered to 154 subjects (79 male 75 femaile) and their partners in five illness groups (average illness duration 6.9 years). Marital satisfaction and similarity of illness representations as well as accuracy of estimates about the partners illness representations werw studied. Results: The five patient groups significantly differed in their illness representations. In groups with longer illness duration, illness was perceived as chronical and more symptoms were experienced. Similarity of illness perceptions between subjects and their partners was highest for the asthma and lung cancer group, and spouses scores differed most for the dimension of coherence. Marital satisfaction was related to similarity of illness perceptions, and more accurate estimates of the partners perception. Conclusions: Marital satisfaction has a remarkable influence on illness representation similarity and accuracy of the perception about the partners illness representations.Patients and their partners are more likely to form similar illness representations if symptoms are clearly observable as in the case of asthma or lung cancer. The dimension of coherence has significant within-person variations, as illness usually has a deeply personal meaning to both the patients and their partners

PERSON-ORIENTED APPROACH IN EXAMINING CHINESE-HUNGARIAN PERSONALITY AND AFFECTIVE DISORDER PROFILES

Background: Our Chinese-Hungarian crosscultural research aimed to apply a person-oriented approach on examining patterns of cultural, personality and affective disorder variables. Subjects and methods: Our sample consisted of 238 Chinese and 167 Hungarian university students under the age of 26 years old. 238 Chinese university students (112 males, 126 females; mean age: 19.55, SD: 1.60) and 167 Hungarian University students (65 males and 100 females; mean age: 20.47, SD: 1.83) participated in our research. All individuals were under 26 years old. No 2(df=1)=2.32, p=0.127)) and no age differences between countries were observed. We analyzed in person-oriented approach the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire, the universal values scale of Schwartz and three affective disorder questionnaires (Mood Disorder Questionnaire, Hypomania checklist, PVP Depression Scale). Results: We applied model-based clustering that resulted in a model with five spherical, varying volume components. This meant that five clusters emerged, five typical patterns of the cultural, personality and affective variables. Significant cultural difference 2(df=4)=79.489, p<0.000)) in cluster proportions. In three clusters, proportion of Chinese was significantly higher than proportion (Overcontrolled: 82.6%, Reserved: 71.1%, Ordinary: 60.5%) of Hungarian. In the two remaining clusters, majority were Hungarian (Positive Sensation Seeker: 90.0%, Aggressive-Impulsive: 80.4%). Moreover, different psychiatric vulnerability emerge in relation to different profiles. Profiles that are more typical to Hungarians, have high sensation seeking level, and show vulnerability to hypomania, mood disorder and impulsive depression. On the other hand, typical Chinese profiles are linked to vulnerability of non-impulsive depression. Conclusions: In sum, culture and cultural values play an important role in the vulnerability of different affective disorders. These differences can be linked to different typical personality patterns

GRATITUDE, RELIGIOUSNESS AND WELL-BEING

Background: Previous researches have identified the positive effects of gratitude on happiness and well-being. It has been found that spirituality can enhance gratitude and well-being. Our study aimed to examine the link between gratitude and subjective wellbeing among religious and non-religious people. Furthermore we tested if a 4-week long gratitude diary has a positive effect on subjective well-being. Subjects and methods: In our online, qualitative investigation the sample consisted of 54 males and 169 females (mean age = 39.13, SD=15.90). 54.1% of respondents rel24.8igious on my own waynd 21.2% as -experimental group (leading a gratitude diary for 4 weeks) with 103 individuals and a control group with 120 individuals with no differences in age, gender and religiousness. We compared the questionna (filled out both before and after the intervention) of the experimental group (n=103) with the results of the control group (n=120) similarly filled out on two different occasions. We applied Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test and Subjective Well-being Scale. Results: Our results showed that religious people showed elevated level of gratitude (F(2, 219)=23.66, p<0.001) but same wellbeing (F(2, 219)=1.97, p=0.142) compared to non-religious groups. In the experiment group the gratitude and the subjective wellbeing both increased (p<0.01), and there was no significant changes in control group. 2x2 ANOVA showed significant interaction effect (Subjective well-being: (F(1, 221)=13.32, p<0.001); Gratitude: F(1, 221)=12.43, p<0.001). Conclusion: Religiousness is linked to higher gratitude and an increase in gratitude can result in an increase in subjective wellbeing. The importance of gratitude diary both among religious and non-religious people will be discussed