Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century

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Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol.5, 2013, PPC

4-5

Authors: Stanislava Stoyanova

Multicultural environment means diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, religious, social belonging, etc. Multicultural environment retains workers from a variety of cultural backgrounds. The scientific journals like Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century are the result of the efforts and the co-operative work of the authors, the editors, the reviewers and the readers in multicultural environment. Its aim is to promote scientific knowledge that could improve mutual understanding and coping strategies in everyday life situations.

12-22

Authors: Birutė Jakubkaitė, Rimantas A. Kočiūnas

Experiential groups are one of prevailing forms of group counsellor training, which is devoted to exploring group dynamics and other aspects of group work through direct personal experience. However, there is still too little research carried out in this topic and some lack of consistency appears in this field of research. The research reported here was aimed at analyzing group participants’ perceptions of multiplicity of contexts, as a distinctive characteristic of such group, which appears due to different goals raised and variety of roles performed in the same group. A qualitative approach was employed in this study using semi-structured interviews with graduates from international group therapy program. 5 participants of the Group therapy training program at the Institute of Humanistic and Existential Psychology (Lithuania) were chosen for this study. Besides theoretical lectures, program participants went through three experiential groups that were guided by experienced group counselors and also gained sort-time group guiding experience. The work of all groups was observed by two program supervisors. Study participants were asked to share the experience about taking part in group counselors training program, mostly focusing on experiential groups and their discussions with supervisors. The data gathered during interviews then was subjected to thematic analysis. Based on the results, the main topics related to group multiplicity were revealed and discussed: intrapersonal context of participants; organizational context of the training program; interpersonal context and wholeness context. Intrapersonal context of participants was associated not only with their personal dynamics in experiential group process, but also with participant’s personal traits, motivation, anticipatory expectations, attitude towards psychological help, the training program, other participants, experiential group counselors and supervisors. Talking about organizational context of the training program participants mentioned analysis writing that assisted in better understanding of experiential group processes and structuring own experience. Experiential groups and their supervision processes were perceived by participants as extended and complementing each other. Interpersonal context encompassed interactions with group participants, group counselors and supervisors. Wholeness context involved the perception of group dynamics in experiential group as well as in participating in the whole training program. Perception of this wholeness helped participants understand the multidimensionality of training and adapt to it. According to data of this study it can be noted that these various contexts are intertwined together, therefore it would be useful to focus separately on each of them in the future. This could assist in more detailed and clear understanding of their interactions.

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Authors: Valentina Kamenskaya, Larissa Khokhlova

The study contains the theoretical review of different historical approaches to the study of typological properties of a man. One of the well-known typological systems in foreign psychology has been developed in constitutionology, juvenility characteristics, however, haven’t been included in its structure. On the basis of the studied samples the authors of the research consider the empirical proofs of juvenility existence, its significance in typological perspective and the formation of mental functions. The research findings of typological properties of the morphofunctional brain organization as a subject of both Russian and foreign psychology and psychophysiology are analyzed. Theoretical and experimental material is integrated in the analysis of individual typological peculiarities of students of higher educational establishments. The regularities of their manifestation at genotypic, behavioral and personal levels representing various hierarchical layers of a person’s typological system are revealed.

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Authors: Lúcia Ramiro, Margarida Gaspar de Matos, Marta Reis

Recently HIV is falling in a significant number of countries, partly due to the adoption of preventive behaviors, which demonstrates that decreasing sexual transmission of HIV is possible. The aim of this research was to analyze preventive sexual behavior in Portuguese adolescents, including information and attitudes about HIV/AIDS, and assessing whether they changed from 2002 to 2010. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from the Portuguese sample of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), a collaborative WHO study. The study provided national representative data of 10587 Portuguese adolescents, randomly chosen from those attending 8th and 10th grades and the opportunity to examine trends in sexual behaviour on a national level. In terms of preventive behaviours, results showed an increasing trend regarding the percentage reporting first sexual intercourse at 14 years old or more and condom use at last sexual intercourse and a stabilized trend concerning having had sexual intercourse and contraceptive pill use. Nevertheless, in terms of information and attitudes about HIV/AIDS, results showed a systematic decreasing trend.

89-95

Authors: Aída M. Reséndiz Barragán, Mariana A. Sierra Murguía

Obesity has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an epidemic, due to a growth trend in obesity rates over the past 60 years and it is estimated that by 2015 there will be approximately 2.3 billion overweighed adults and 700 million obese adults worldwide. Bariatric surgery has shown to be the most effective intervention for the treatment of severe obesity with better long-term results. While most post-operative patients of bariatric surgery show improvement in psychopathology and quality of life, psychological recurrences have been identified thereafter. It has been reported that for people who have not been able to implement changes in their lifestyle, the result of the operation may not be optimal and may even be counterproductive with undesirable outcomes, such as recovery of lost weight, malnutrition, depression and anxiety, as well as using food as a soothing agent to stressful stimuli, present failures in following the diet, as well as dissatisfaction with the staff of the clinic In recent years the number of bariatric surgeries performed annually has tripled showing a tendency to continue increasing, psychosocial and behavioral factors play a fundamental role in the long- term effects of the surgery; for this reason, the objective of this study is to describe the main psychological recurrences after bariatric surgery as well as a proposal for post-surgical cognitive behavioral group psychological support.

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Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Vol. 5, 2013, PPC

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Authors: Editorial Board

Cover, PPC, 2012, Vol. 4

4-5

Authors: Sergiy Boltivets

The awareness by the "man-man" professions specialists of their own psycho-hygienic skills and competence content, which are formed in the process of professionalization, is determined by conceptual ideas. They are developed within a certain people-study profession and cover use, interaction and reflection of a personality in the Internet environment. We have introduced into scientific use the category of mental health quality which represents the individual property of personality to ensure his/her own procedural integrity, that is adequate to internal nature, in cooperation with own selfness and environment. This category certainly includes the continuingly improving means of both learning the world and self-implementation in it including the Internet-environment. Thus, the development of psycho-hygienic competences of the "man-man" type occupations specialists creates the conditions for realization of the important principles of balance and coordination of the environmental impacts, ideal-realistic unity, and esteem approach in determination of the Internet-influences on personality.

16-28

Authors: Oksana Jenenkova

In the road traffic field the biggest danger is caused by a phenomenon of „aggressive driving”. The topicality of the problematic issue is noted by such organizations like the WHO and the UNO; as a result of this the term “aggressive driving” was introduced in Latvia on the legislative level. In the territory of Latvia a multi-stage study was performed; its aim was to study ideas of drivers on aggressive driving. During the study the following methods were used: method of associations, method of unfinished sentence, structured, partially structured and non-structured interview, personal differential method, socially demographic questionnaire and Aggressive Driving Questionnaire (Jenenkova, 2009). In all, 2160 drivers representing all regions of Latvia were questioned. As a result of the study one of the components of ideas on aggressive driving was found out – information awareness, which is considered in this article. Information awareness is represented by the following component parts: self- evaluation of terminology knowledge (expected level), level of term understanding (expected level), term knowledge (real level), level of term understanding (real level), level of agreement with the formulation, information sources. During the comparative analysis of drivers’ group and inspectors’ group of the road traffic not only their differences by these components were discovered, but also the current problems in relation to the terminology knowledge and understanding were found out.

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Authors: Francisco Manuel Morales Rodríguez

This paper aims to analyse the importance of intrinsic motivation factors as determinants of academic achievement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The general aim of the present study has been to analyse the existing relationship between students’ academic motivation and performance. This paper explores the importance of motivational variables for school achievement. In particular, the present study suggests that students with a higher intrinsic motivation to learn English will achieve better grades in this subject. Participants were 542 students (male and female) of Secondary Education. Results show that there is a correlation between academic goals and academic results; in particular an association exists between learning goals (intrinsic motivation) and a high academic achievement. With regards to the importance of intrinsic motivational factors, this study concludes that these factors are determinants of academic achievement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Therefore, results are useful in view of improving the process of teaching/learning EFL. The relevant conclusion reached here point to the academic goals as being indicator of and decisive factor for academic achievement.

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Authors: Sebastian Raul Vaida

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is one of the best approaches to teaching students the skills needed to better adapt to life and develop on a personal and professional level. Your-SELF is an abbreviation for “Your Social Emotional Learning Facilitator” and represents a social-emotional learning program based on the Rational Emotive Behavior Theory (REBT). It was implemented and tested as a personal development program for university students, for an entire academic year, with 3-4 hours weekly trainings. It is also a powerful and effective way to decrease the level of irrationality in the students' thinking style, along with developing some major life competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, decision making). In order to test this idea, an experimental design with repeated measures was used and the results clearly support the hypothesis that a SEL program based on the principles of REBT can lead to a significant decrease in the level of irrationality of the students in the experimental group, compared to the control one. Also, the four sub-scales of the instrument used to investigate the level of irrationality (ABS2) were analyzed and the same significant results were found on the level of low frustration tolerance, self-downing/global evaluation and awfulizing. The only exception was demandingness, and a rationale for this is offered in the discussion part of the article. The study shows that such a program can be beneficial and useful for the students involved and it is worth implementing on a larger scale.

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Authors: Galina I. Shulgina

On the basis of systematization of a number of ideas of philosophers, physiologists, ethologists and the actual material about violation at people of instincts, by origin the general at us with animals, owing to incorrect understanding of freedom as permissivenesses, excessive development of consumption, a hypertrophy of feeling of a property, and also about weakening of will to overcoming of adversity of life, the conclusion about need of training of inhibition in the course of formation of the identity of the person is made. Briefly, referring to the detailed scientific publications, the actual material about neurophysiological ensuring inhibition of behavior during training by means of increase of reactivity of inhibitory systems, local and all-brain, and about positive influence on this process of an agonist of receptors of an inhibitory neuromediator (gamma aminobutiric acids - GABA) – phenibut is stated. It is supposed that these data can be useful to the correct organization of education and for prophylaxis and correction of deviant behavior.

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Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 3, 2012, PPC

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Authors: Irena Gailienė

Nobody will out-argue the fact, that all of us are in social situations each day. Even being alone, we think over what impression we made on others, what we should do that the others valued us more favourably, that we were more attractive. Creation of good image and its preservation is very urgent in recent time period, when supply considerably exceeds demand in labour market, and a good impression directly affects job search, career success; when short-term interpersonal relations dominate, and communication, affiliation needs haven’t died out yet, and, searching for new contacts, we want to be attractive, emotionally accepted, loveable. Much information, various instructions can be found, on how to create a good impression, how to present yourself to the employers, how to expose the best qualities of your personality in the presence of the surrounding people. However, still too little is written and spoken about one of the essential factors of personality attractiveness – self-monitoring, i.e., analysis, checking and correction of verbal and non-verbal information sent about you, about your behaviour, comparing it with social norms, behavioural standards, other people’s reactions and expectations. Thus, it is not sufficient to master straightforwardly good image creation technique, because it is extremely important to perceive and to become aware of the others’ reactions to our behaviour, to control oneself for social interactions to be effective and to ensure social situation’s adequacy. For example, the sender of the information about himself can consider that he fascinated the surrounding people by his competence, humour or irreproachable appearance, whilst for the other people such demonstrated traits can not arouse any impression and even conversely – can cause rejection reactions. Therefore, wishing at least “not to fall out” from the social context, it is necessary to analyse information, received as a feedback, to develop self-monitoring competence.

18-25

Authors: Hortensia Hickman Rodríguez, Rosalva Cabrera Castañon, Patricia Plancarte Cansino

The purpose of this research is to describe the requirements that psychologists must meet as per required by employers in different Latin American countries and their connection with professional training programs. Three countries were selected Chile, Mexico and Colombia, and as criteria for their selection was the ranking obtained in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). For data collection, web pages were visited. A sample for each country was taken monthly from January to May in the year 2009. All of the job listings for psychologists were registered and also those activities that a psychologist could perform, in spite of the fact that the offer specifically did not mention such professional. The university plans and programs of a representative public university of each country of interest were checked. In general terms we can point out that the psychology professionals that employers require the most are those specialized in the training area in organizations with an emphasis on training, recruitment and selection activities.

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Authors: Siamak Khodarahimi, Heidar Deghani

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of drinking water shortage on emotions and hope in an Iranian sample, and to investigate the roles of gender, location of residence, marital status, job and the level of education on these constructs. Participants were included 1198 rural residents from two regions with and without drinking water shortage from Darab and Eghlid cities, Iran. A demographic questionnaire, the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS), the Adult State Hope Scale (ASHS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were used in this study. The rural residents with drinking water shortage had higher levels of negative emotions than rural residents without drinking water shortage. However, rural residents without drink water shortage had the higher performance on positive emotions, dispositional hope and state hope than the rural residents with drink water shortage. The effects location of residence, gender, the level of education and occupation on positive and negative emotions, dispositional hope and state hope are confirmed in this sample.

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Authors: Anna Litvinova, Sergey Chursin

The study examines a career notion from the point of view of a personality development in professional activity. Particular attention is paid to career orientations as stable personality formations defining on one hand methods of control, stabilization and integration of an individual's career, and on the other hand, the way to professional self-development and personal growth. Correlations are analyzed between career orientations and motivation, and creativity of employees of an architectural design company (N = 21), realizing creative and regulated activity. Necessity to apply tests in order to identify career orientations, a person’s motivation to achieve success, avoid failure, the personal, verbal and non-verbal creativity of the personality is reasoned in the empirical study. Obtained data state importance of creativity for the realization of a personal career depending on a type of professional activity. The results obtained during the research became a basis for the elaboration and implementation of programs for the development of a career and creative potential of the employees.

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Authors: Francisco Manuel Morales Rodríguez

The study of coping strategies in children and adolescents is a topic in line with the study of a healthy development, as the very fact of having coping skills serves as a guarantee for a healthy lifestyle and quality of life. The general aim is the prediction of children coping (coping strategies used by students of elementary education, and in relation to four types of stressors known as the school, family, peer interaction and health) in terms of the impact of varying stress, coping, School, clinical and social maladjustment. Participants were 402 students, ranging from 9 to 12 years old. Results show that that the variable coping with the ACS, stress and clinical maladjustment predict, with different impact, coping strategy employed by children. This information attempts to be useful in the applied Educational.

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Authors: Emanuela Rabaglietti, Maria Fernanda Vacirca, Giulia Zucchetti, Carmen Camacho, Silvia Ciairano

This study aimed to contribute at exploring friendship in children from two different countries, Italy and Bolivia, focusing on the association between specific characteristics of children’s friendships, such as similarity, cohesion and distance with friends as represented by the children through drawing, and the perception of their friendship quality. Participants were 100 children (55 Italians and 45 Bolivians) attending primary schools. The two subgroups are balanced for gender and age [Italian girls: 56%, N=31, Bolivian girls 51%, N=23; M age Italian children=8.09 (SD = .74) and Bolivian children M age=7.91 (SD = .90)]. We used children’s drawings and self-reported measures to investigate the dyadic characteristics and the quality of their friendship. Results showed that Italian children drawn themselves and their best friend more similar than Bolivian children [F (1, 94) = 6.65; p<.002]. There are more conflicts in the friendships of Bolivian children than in the Italian ones [F (1, 98) = 7.87; p<. 006]. There is a moderation effect of children's nationality on the association between the pictorial friendship features and friendship quality. These preliminary findings highlighted the importance of investigating children's perceptions of friendship, which is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, taking into account the social and cultural differences.

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Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Vol. 3, PPC, 2012

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Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 2, 2012, PPC

4-5

Authors: Yulia F. Lakhvich

These words were written by George Bernard Show in the first half of the twentieth century. Now in the twenty first century they still have not lost their relevance. When reading this quote, a whole range of ambiguous emotions evokes. On the one hand, the feelings of embarrassment, shame, rejection, confusion and helplessness emerge. On the other hand, there is a desire to change, transform or develop something, a sense of responsibility for the quality of your own life and the lives of people around you. People really penetrate into the depths of the Universe and have great success in this sense, and yet they can’t learn the laws of human relations with each other. What does it mean "learn to live on the earth as human beings?" This is a difficult question and everyone can give a different reply. In my opinion, "to live on the earth as human beings" means, above all, recognizing the interdependence of people, limited and temporary nature of individual life, but at the same time freedom and responsibility of each person. This awareness enables us to empathize with others, to show compassion, trust and generosity, respect and loyalty, tolerance and appreciation.

14-20

Authors: Simona Maria Glăveanu

In Romania there are only a few parental education programs being carried out, but most of them are not properly/scientifically measured in terms of efficiency. For this reason, the purpose of the research was the implementation and scientific validation of a training program for developing the parental competence. The parental competence was defined as a system of knowledge, skills, capabilities, abilities and habits that would allow the parent to successfully fulfill the parental responsibilities and also prevent/deal with crisis situations in a manner that would contribute to the child’s development (Glăveanu, 2009). The above-mentioned term became widely spread in Romania after 2010, when the Integrated National Strategy for Creating and Developing Parental Competence was published. The Strategy is supported by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports and its deadline is in the summer of 2012. The 298 parents who participated in the research were selected based on the criteria of average and low parental competence and their children had educational and social adaptation difficulties. The methods used during the research were the formative experiment and the questionnaire-based investigation. The participants were evaluated before and after the training with the Parental Competence Questionnaire (PCQ, developed by the author of the study). The PCQ had five dimensions comprised of a total of 81 items: knowing the specificities of the child between 6 and 11 years of age (alpha=0.69), affective support and stress management (alpha=0.74), disciplining (alpha=0.82), time management (alpha=0.77) and crisis management (alpha=0.77). Each of the PCQ dimensions (which were built in accordance to the conceptualized structure of the parental competence) had a training module dedicated to it. PCQ was validated with the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ, built by Buri in 1991); significant correlations for the two questionnaires occurred (between 0.5 and 0.9). The statistical results obtained by using PCQ six months after the training (Independent-Samples T Test=61.43; df=298; p<0.001) showed significant differences between the experimental group (M=315.81) and the control group (M=243.22); the PCQ results of the experimental group were also compared (Paired-Samples T Test=58.39; df=141; p<0.001) and showed statistically significant differences between the pre-training results (time 1=just before training, M=221.31) and the post-training ones (time 2=graduating training+6 months, M=315.81). Similarly, the scores of the control group at the two chosen moments (time 1: M=221.57 and time 2: M=243.22) indicated a timed evolution, but statistically insignificant of the parental competence (Paired-Samples T Test=34.19; df=155, p=0.07). These results proved the certain and significant influence that the training had over the development of the parental competence, in comparison to the case of the spontaneous growth – thus being confirmed the hypothesis of the study. As a conclusion, the results proved the internal validation of the training program (according to Vaughn’s criteria, 2005). It is yet to be proven the external validation regarding the impact of the training program on the child’s overall development (Kirkpatrick, 2006; Vaughn, 2005) and this will be done by applying the training program on an expanded/national level.

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Authors: Ivana Poledňová, Vladimir Marček, Šárka Portešová

In the presented research, the ideas of Czech adolescents about their future profession were researched. In the research, data from examinations of 17-year-old respondents were analyzed. The views of their future vocation as well as the vocations of significant others (mother, father, significant other) were acquired by a modified version of the REP-test and assessed from the perspective of their favorableness and cognitive complexity. The aim was to detect relations between the assessment of individual vocations, the components of upbringing analyzed by the Czech Questionnaire for Determining the Upbringing Style in Family (Čáp, Boschek) and self-esteem measured by Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. It was discovered that adolescents, while assessing their potential future vocation, are influenced by family upbringing- there is a strong influence of the factor of emotional warmth in family related to a positive relationship to the adolescents’ vocational future. Moreover, it became evident that the more negative view the adolescents have of the individual vocations, the more differentiated they try to perceive them (higher cognitive complexity), probably in order to develop appropriate coping strategies in their future performance or to justify their negative assessment by a more precise, i.e. not “black and white” perspective. However, in a more detailed analysis, it was revealed that vocations viewed as strongly negative and strongly positive are perceived as less differentiated than vocations assessed in a neutral way, which can be explained by the hypothesis of emotional engagement.

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Authors: Guna Svence

The aim of the research is to analyze the psychological problems of the new generation in Latvia at the present moment. The currently existing psychological issues are inherited from the 20s and 30s of the previous century. In Latvia the topicality in the field of psychology has always been associated with a sound development of a physically-fitted, mentally-balanced as well as meaningful personality that might benefit society. Latvian psychological theories are based on the humanistic and philosophical approach that is based on the human ideas from the 90ies of 20th century. Such Latvian psychologists as Imants Plotnieks, Arija Karpova, Dzidra Meikšane and others researched the following topics: ’self-esteem’ ‚‘self-regulation“, ‘self-actualization“, ‘identity“ as well as “positive self-concept“. The scientific issue of this article is to compare and to analyze the two dimensions of the Latvian psychology history, i.e., firstly, what it is based on and, secondly, why the reason of a positive psychology concept is rooted in Latvian traditions. The methodology of the research is meta-analysis, qualitative-quantitative approach, and experimental design from three cases analyse. There are three cases analysed in this article- author of this article and students from Riga Teacher Training and Education management academy, all cases analysed well-being aspect resilience and positive intervention, but there is different aspect of resilience has been analysed in each example. There are some similar ideas from Latvian psychology history are comparing with temporary psychology of Latvia in this article, ideas – close and different with positive psychology as methodological branch of psychology.

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Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Vol. 2, 2012, PPC

1-2

Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 1, 2012, PPC

4-5

Authors: Irena Gailienė

Market economy initiates competition process development as a driving force and as an outcome. Due to increasing economy development pace, one can predict that in the 21st century these processes are going to be more and more intensive. Competition should be considered in different aspects, because it penetrates not only into production, work, but also into social, interpersonal relations, has an influence on person’s maturity. On the one hand, competition conditions encourage the development of personality adaptive abilities, professional, social and personal competence development, lifelong learning and others, however permanent participation in competition hides in itself quite a lot of negative tendencies. Thus, competition raises great challenges for personality and for society, to overcome which is really necessary. One can find successful communication, good interpersonal relation conditions in humanistic psychotherapy, where three essential requirements are raised for the psychotherapist: authenticity, empathy and unconditional acceptance of the other (Rogers, 1951). It seems that not much is necessary: to audit the scale of values, giving priorities to human values, to be authentic, emphatic, to be able unconditionally accept the others; because they are valuable just only for that they are people, however, it occurs that at present it is very much.

17-25

Authors: Adolfas Juodraitis, Liuda Radzevičienė

After the experience of alienation, insecurity, distrust and dismay in the family, getting into institutional care teenager is forced to feel it once more, on the other hand, new environment and intermittent situation in the care institution leads teenager to look for new ways for social interaction and often these ways are limited due to the peculiarities of teenager’s psychosocial development. It is complicated for youngster to master new and unusual forms of social interactions that are based on common activities and result planning, social activity and responsibility, because stereotypes of teenagers’ behaviour and reactions in the different situations cannot change so fast. The lack of social skills disturbs optimal development of social networks, determines low level of self control, decreases ability to solve conflict situations constructively, so usually they are forced to use known behavioural strategies (to behave aggressively and provocative in order to get advantage). In such situation the demonstration of advantage gets a specific attribution and transforms to the manifestations of concurrent aggression that are evident more and more often. Concurrent aggression determines complicated and difficult relationships between teenagers, institutional staff as well and with environment in general. The paper presents research which aim is to define concurrent behaviour among teenagers who are placed in the institutional care. With the authors’ permission approbated check list of self evaluation YSR 11/18 (Youth self report, Achenbach, Rescoria, 2001) was used and 14 – 17 years old 126 teenagers from different care institutions of Lithuania took place in the research. Approbated check list YSR 11/18 (Žukauskienė, Malinauskienė, 2008) consists of 20 statements that reveal social and behaviour (activeness) competences and 122 statements that let for the researcher to assess problems in behavioural and emotional performance. Six scales were used: anxiety/depression, withdrawal/depression, rules breaking, aggressive behaviour and scale of attention and social problems. The data of quantitative research point out those statistically significant correlate results of behaviour and emotional problems; the strongest ties among the teenagers group were set up between aggressive behaviour and breaking of the rules. The results of correlation analysis proved that anxiety/depression scale of teenagers placed into the institutional care closely correlates with social problems, and social problems are in tight relations with aggressive behaviour and lack of attention and lack of attention correlates with aggressive behaviour, as well. In qualitative research 6 interviewers were involved. Applying method of narrative research the subjective point of view of teenagers on striving for domination, manifestations of aggression signs and factors that determine such their behaviour was done.

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Authors: Mario Ulises Martínez-Quintana, Julio C. Penagos-Corzo

The purpose of this study is to compare the features of Open Source and Open Access movements against those of the classic publishing model. It is argued that scientific dissemination is hindered by the continuous rise of academic journals prices, while the quality of research may be impaired by conflicts of interest arising from the commercialization of scientific knowledge. This study also shows some dissemination tendencies in English and Spanish Psychology journals. It is hinted that standard publication and editorial dissemination processes do not appear to be adjusting quick enough, to follow the technological and social changes required by the current scientific production. The authors of the present study conclude that Open Access scientific publishing could ensure a higher efficiency in the distribution of scientific knowledge in comparison to the standard publishing model. In addition it is conjectured that Open Access publishing might also reduce the incidence of conflicts of interests.

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Authors: Nadia Rania, Paola Cardinali, Chiara Cifatte, Laura Migliorini

Several studies have investigated the conditions for adolescents’ adjustment in multicultural contexts. Self-esteem is commonly considered as an index of well-being and of the psychological adjustment of adolescents. Literature on self-esteem maintains that a good level of self-esteem depends on the quality of the subject’s intimate relations with family and friends. In a globalized world the personal and relational impact of the management of cross-cultural contacts with the majority and minority groups is becoming increasingly relevant. This study explores the relationship between the constructs of support, self-esteem, well-being and cultural self-efficacy. The research project used a quantitative methodology through the administration of a self-report questionnaire. There were 312 participants, with a mean age of 15 years (20.5% immigrants). The results show that young immigrants have higher levels of cultural self-efficacy than Italian adolescents. However, in Italian adolescents, cultural self-efficacy correlates with family support. Italians who choose not only Italian friends but also foreign friends have higher levels of cultural self-efficacy. Opportunities for deeper investigation of cultural self-efficacy in the social context are discussed.

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Authors: Аlla G. Portnova, Alexander M. Bogomolov

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the problem of determining the integral parameters of the psychological development. The publication touches the main factors, mechanisms and natural laws of mental development, presented in the works of foreign and Soviet / Russian researchers. The effects of psychological development are considered as qualitatively unique functions and properties of varying degrees of complexity, the acquired person in life and manifest themselves at different levels of personality organization. The authors make an attempt to systematize the classification of the products of psychological evolution of the individual in the ontogenesis and individual way of life. This paper outlines approaches to systems analysis of the phenomenon of maturity of personality, understood as an integral characteristic of the level and quality of psychological development. The authors differentiate between the concept of personal and adaptive maturity , based on major regulatory units, goals, strategic factors and structural properties.