Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century

3

Authors: Editorial Board

Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century, ISSN 2029-8587 Vol. 17-1, 2023 ISSN 2029-8587 (Print) ISSN 2538-7197 (Online)

9-23

Authors: Maria Annarumma, Maria Anna Formisano, Ines Tedesco

Contemporary studies highlight how chronic stress influences a person's state of health and psycho-physical well-being. A high allostatic load, resulting from chronic hyperactivation of the stress system, contributes to several negative consequences for individual health status in the long term. The study showed that the stressful and problematic situations of managerial work are numerous and that they radically influence individual psychophysical well-being both in the professional context and in private life. Greater attention to the evaluative dimension of managers' discomfort is useful and functional, in order to promote improvement actions that concretely constitute an opportunity to reflect on the "managerial practices" adopted that can create workplace discomfort. This study has led to the need to promote good practices for the prevention of mental health and the activation of coping strategies and protection systems.

35-46

Authors: Stanislava Stoyanova

The present study aims at comparing test anxiety among secondary school students and university students to reveal if the interventions for reducing test anxiety should be focused more on secondary school students who do not have enough skills for emotional management. The Bulgarian version of the Westside Test Anxiety Scale was used among 60 junior high school/middle school students, 30 high school students and 90 university students. It was found that test anxiety diminished with age advance. Higher test anxiety was manifested during the school/academic year than at the beginning of the school year. The interventions for reducing test anxiety should be focused mainly on overcoming negative thoughts, and negative self-talk during exams, and worry about own performance after the exam.

57-65

Authors: Terence Watts, Julie Watts, Dennis Relojo-Howell

This study provides a comprehensive examination of BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT), an innovative psychotherapeutic approach that leverages insights from neuroscience and consciousness studies. The study traces BWRT's theoretical foundations in research on neurological processes and the "cognitive gap" between stimulus and response. It outlines BWRT's evolution into a structured therapy model with demonstrated effectiveness for trauma, anxiety, depression, and other conditions. The narrative highlights BWRT's adaptability, aligning with digital mental health trends and interdisciplinary research directions. While critiquing limitations like lack of longitudinal data, the article situates BWRT as a promising science-based therapy warranting ongoing empirical scrutiny and innovation. BWRT was developed by drawing on concepts like the triune brain and findings on subconscious neural activity. The therapy focuses on targeting automatic response patterns mediated by the reptilian complex. BWRT has faced scepticism during its evolution but continues to gain recognition through evidence-based research. Further studies on long-term outcomes and comparative efficacy can help consolidate BWRT's position as an innovative psychotherapy model. Ongoing advances in neurotechnology present new opportunities for enhancing BWRT methodologies and expanding its applications.

55

Authors: Editorial Board

Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century, ISSN 2029-8587 Vol. 16-2, 2022 ISSN 2029-8587 (Print) ISSN 2538-7197 (Online)

58-71

Authors: Inna Boychenko

The purpose of the study is to determine the socio-psychological factors influencing the effectiveness of social-psychological assistance to the Ukrainian population in wartime conditions and their possible approbation as the use of relevant experience to ensure effective professional training of future psychologists in higher educational institutions. Research tasks: 1) determination of the social and psychological needs of the war-affected population of Ukraine; 2) determination of the level of social and psychological provision of assistance to victims; 3) determination of the conditions and means of ensuring the development of social and psychological assistance to the affected population. To solve the research task – to determine the level, conditions and means of ensuring the development of socio-psychological assistance to the affected population, the following research methods were used: theoretical analysis, synthesis and applied research using standardized methods. The state of readiness of Ukrainian psychologists to provide appropriate assistance to the population, development of the necessary psychological and methodological materials was analyzed. The peculiarities of psychological assistance to the injured are highlighted using the example of one of the first psychologists who developed a methodical guide aimed at the psychological and mental rehabilitation of injured Ukrainians. Emphasis is placed on psychological diagnosis and individual and group psychocorrection, psychotherapy (primary psychological assistance to displaced persons, assessment of the severity of the impact of a traumatic event, self-assessment of the level of depression in psychological diagnosis, short psychotherapy in an individual and complex multi-directional approach to getting out of a traumatized state in group work with displaced persons) and the importance of the positive influence on the development of this assistance of the relevant personal and professional qualities and properties of future psychologists. In order to identify the conditions and means of ensuring the development of socio-psychological assistance to the affected population, a number of methods were used in the study: 1) "Self-esteem" test (by S.A. Budassi); 2) Method "Self-assessment of mental state: well-being, general activity, mood (SAN)" (authors: V.A. Doskin, N.A. Lavrentyeva, V.B. Sharay, M.P. Miroshnikov); 3) "Scale of reactive and personal anxiety" (developed by C.D. Spielberger, adapted by Y.L. Khanin); 4) "Professional identity study methodology (MVPI) (author L.B. Schneider). 178 students of the III-IV courses of the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of the National Pedagogical University named after M.P. Drahomanov and 5th courses of the Faculty of Psychology named after T.G. Shevchenko and the Faculty of English of the National Linguistic University. From the analysis of the conducted methods, it was found that the researched future psychologists, who are oriented to practical activities under the guidance of mentors, have inadequately inflated self-esteem, an average level of cognitive activity, and an average level of anxiety during training, which correlates with an insufficient level of development of their professional self-identity. This indicates an inadequately inflated self-esteem, insufficient self-determination, inadequate self-satisfaction, self-expression, and insufficient self-regulation of the subjects during training. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to creating conditions, finding means to increase opportunities for future psychologists to achieve a conscious, positive professional identity at the stage of educational and professional training, as this is an important basis for the effective formation of their professional identity in the future, as future reliable qualified specialists, the professional level of which will meet public demands, the needs of psychological assistance to victims of the war in the country.

79-85

Authors: Stanislava Stoyanova

Covid-19 pandemic caused many problems in human life. Estimation if different types of problems were interrelated and if some types of problems were more frequent than others revealed that the health-related problems were subjectively assessed by 524 Bulgarians as the most influential ones during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the diminishing order of influence of economic, psychological, family, and political problems. These different types of problems were all interrelated with each other and the presence of one type of problem was accompanied by all the other problems. This finding means that the efforts for handling some specific problems should be concentrated at the same time on a constellation of problems.

3

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, PPC, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2022

11-19

Authors: Oleksandr Bashynskyi

Manifestations of self-destructive behavior (SDB) differ in patients with schizophrenia spectrum psychotic disorders and our study aims to identify these differences through the demonstration of clinical cases. The purpose of the study is to explore clinical differences in manifestations of self-destructive behavior in patients with schizophrenia spectrum psychotic disorders. The study involved 95 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The patients were divided into two groups. The first group (Gr1 PermSDB) included 40 patients (42% of the total number of subjects) with psychiatric disorders, who expressed a constant presence of manifestations of self-destructive behavior throughout the whole disease period or during more than half of this period (both according to the patients and to the medical records). The second group (Gr2 ImpSDB) included 55 patients (58% of the total number of subjects), where the manifestations of self-destructive behavior appeared only at the height of exacerbation of psychopathological symptoms, and this caused the acts of impulsive self-harm. Looking at the examples, we see a difference in motivational statements in different groups of patients: in Gr2, the main factor that motivated patients to harm themselves was the exacerbation of psychotic symptoms. At the same time, the main factors influencing the self-harm in Gr1 were personal experiences related to psychological problems

36-48

Authors: Zachary M. Rosenthal, Maria Annarumma, Francesco Sessa, Iris Consalvo, Valerio De Masi, Luana Pagano

Recent scientific studies have noted that misophonia is a complex neurophysiological and behavioural syndrome characterised by high physiological and emotional reactivity, resulting from an intolerance to specific auditory stimuli. People with this distress have emotional and behavioural responses, excessive in relation to the auditory stimulus that provokes them; in fact, these people may have outbursts of anger, severe anxiety crises, and even panic attacks. One of the questions that the first studies of this syndrome have asked was what link occurred between misophonia and certain psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and personality disorders. Another important research objective was to examine the differential diagnosis between misophonia and hearing disorders such as tinnitus. In view of the current literature on misophonia, it has become important to define the comorbidity and differential diagnosis of misophonia with other disorders. The next step is, through further research on clinical cases, to define the most effective psychotherapeutic techniques on misophonic symptoms, and the psychoeducational tools needed to intervene in family systems with misophonic patients.

47

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2021, PPC

53-60

Authors: Sergii Boltivets, Olga Okhremenko

The victimhood of indirect witnesses of terrorist acts, which includes both the audience of the media and the population as a whole, is a complex socio-psychological phenomenon. The reasons victimizations are changes in the system of internal regulation of behavior, namely contradictions between the basic beliefs of people and the real consequences of terrorist acts, which are subjectively perceived as an unexpected, uncertain threat to existence (both objective and subjective), the irreparability of what can happen. Among the indirect witnesses were singled three response styles: slightly negative assessment, partial justification of the perpetrators of a terrorist act, negative emotional assessment with expressed anxiety. The most significant consequences of the psychological impact of terrorist acts on the media audience and the general population should be considered: the contradiction between the basic ideas of people and the reality demonstrated by the media: the subjective and objective unexpectedness of a terrorist act; incorrigibility of the offense. Shown, that psychological countermeasures should be based on the information component aimed at preventing inappropriate reactions, especially in the first days after the terrorist act, development and demonstration of optimal algorithms of behavior, prevent recourse to unconscious or subconscious impulses that violate basic illusions existence. With the presence of drivers that trigger patterns of victim-induced behavior, the media can provoke in the general population a massive loss of social and personal identity, meaning of life, prospects, to form a complex of inferiority, to induce certain adverse behaviors. The most significant consequences of the psychological impact of terrorist acts on the audience of the media and the general population should be considered the contradiction between the basic ideas of people (activate the images of death, destruction, horror of nothingness, which subconsciously everyone has. These "forms of the unspoken" violate three basic illusions of existence: the illusion of one's own immortality, the illusion of justice, the illusion of the hidden meaning of life) and the reality published by the media, which is subjectively perceived as a threat to existence; subjective and objective unexpectedness of a terrorist act; incorrigibility of the committed. Psychological measures to combat victimization should be based on the dominance of the information component of counteraction aimed at preventing dangerous reactions, especially in the first hours after the commission of a terrorist act, the development and demonstration of optimal behavioral algorithms.

73-81

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

Practicing sexual intercourse (SI) under the influence of alcohol or drugs has been identified as an unhealthy sexual behaviour. The sample consisted of 5695 adolescents, of which 46.1% were males, with a mean age of 15 years old. The measures consisted of asking the adolescent if he or she had ever had SI, age of 1st SI, condom use at last SI, SI under the influence of alcohol or drugs and HIV testing. Most adolescents reported having never had SI (77.0%). Among those who responded affirmatively, they referred having had their 1st SI at 15 years old. A significant minority reported not having used condom at last SI (34.1%) and having had SI under the influence of alcohol or drugs (14.5%). It was noticeable that males, adolescents with high SES, those who reported not having used condom at last SI, those not having been HIV tested, those who consider themselves fat, smoke daily, and scored lower in emotional sensitivity and quality of life were those who were more likely to have reported having had SI under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Adolescents who reported having had SI under the influence of alcohol or drugs have multiple risk behaviours. These results may account for important changes in educational and health policies, directed towards the development of personal and social skills, the importance of adolescents’ quality of life and the activation of all the support structures where adolescents are involved and that are somewhat responsible for promoting a healthy lifestyle.

94-103

Authors: Iveta Smane, Guna Svence

The issue of parents’ psychological well-being, parents’ ability to recognize their physical and emotional resources, ability to avoid exhaustion of those resources has become increasingly important. In this context parents’ self-compassion could be psychological resource for parents to implement positive parenting approaches and encourage positive contact with the child. The aim of this research was to examine whether there is an association between parents’ self-compassion and their perceptions of child rearing practices. Data were collected from 203 respondents in 2019. The results showed a statistically significant positive correlation (rs= .268 p < .01) between self-compassion and the Positive parenting indicators; statistically significant negative correlation (rs= -.214 p < .01) between self-compassion and Psychological control; statistically significant negative correlation (rs= -.192, p < .01) between self-compassion and Physical control.

3

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2021, PPC

7-17

Authors: Sefa Bulut, Ali Cissy Usman

The process of applying psychological theories to examine the biographical and autobiographical data of famous individuals is what is termed “psychobiography”. Since its inception in the early sixteenth century, this qualitative type of research method has had a fairly storied history in the Western world. This study provides a clear picture of psychobiographical research by defining terms and phrases that are used in relation to psychobiographical research. It also covered its historical antecedent and steps and procedures that are necessary for undertaking psychobiographical research. The steps presented here stemmed from a broad phase in qualitative research and analysis. In practice, however, psychobiographies do not always adhere to systematic formats, but some key decisions and guidelines must be followed in order to ensure the trustworthiness of the study's findings. Thus, the research mainly aims at introducing psychobiography, and life history research to the reader.

26-38

Authors: Guna Svence, Eva Gajdasova, Ala Petrulyte, Lūcija Kalnina, Lāsma Lagzdina, Ieva Pakse

There were 3 countries which participated in Erasmus+ project „Supporting teachers to face the challenge of distance teaching” (2020-1-LV01-KA226-SCH-094599) during last year. The aim of the project was to develop a well-functioning digital support system for teachers, promoting socio-emotional health and resilience. The main aim of this research was to outline a research problem on teacher well-being factors in three countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, when teachers worked remotely, and to further explore the problem in a focus group in Latvia. The following is a description of the study that was carried out in Latvia on the problems of teachers' social and emotional health factors during distance learning in 2020-2021. The study in Latvia took place in parallel with the study in Slovakia and Lithuania. This article describes the first part of the study in Latvia. One of the tasks of the study was to identify the factors that predicted teachers’ social and emotional health (SEH-T), to determine the relationships between teacher SEH, emotional burnout and teacher engagement in work indicators, and to perform a linguistic and psychometric adaptation of the teacher SEH-T (Social-emotional Health Survey – Teachers, Furlong and Gajdosova, 2019). Latvian teachers from different schools in Latvia participated in this study. Respondents completed three surveys: Teachers SEH-T (Social- emotional Health Survey – Teachers, Furlong and Gajdosova, 2018), Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS; Klassen, Yerdelen & Durksen, 2013) and the K. Maslach Burnout Survey – General Survey (MBI– GS, Maslach, Jackson & Leiter, 1996; Caune, 2004). The results showed that the translation of teachers' SEH-T survey into Latvian language had good internal coherence of articles, the article discrimination index indicator was statically significant, and the reaction index was within the normal range. Teachers SEH is positively predicted by teacher engagement indicators. Demographic and emotional burnout rates do not predict teachers' SEH-T scores. The results showed that there were statistically significant positive correlations between teacher SEH-T, teacher engagement, and emotional burnout rates. There were statistically significant negative correlations between teachers' SEH-T indicators, teacher involvement and emotional burnout indicators.