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Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic might have impacted the psychological well-being of children and adolescents in Poland. The epidemiological situation is constantly changing and it is difficult to predict its further course. There are ongoing discussions about the possible benefits and consequences of children returning to school. For this reason, it is justified to develop a Polish version of an uncomplicated and easy-to-use diagnostic tool for fear assessment, which will enable the identification of children requiring special psychological support. The aim of the study was to develop the Polish adaptation of the recently published Fear of COVID-19 Scale and to examine the psychometric properties of the Polish version among the population of children and adolescents., Methods: The sample included 167 participants aged 10 to 17 years. On-line surveys were conducted in three groups - patients with a psychiatric diagnosis, students and children from group homes., Results: The analysis of the collected data showed that the Polish version of the FCV-19S has good psychometric properties. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the one-way structure of the scale. The reliability of the total score proved satisfactory (Cronbach's α = 0.831). In addition, group comparison analyzes showed that children from group homes reported highest fear of coronavirus., Conclusions: Our results suggest that the Polish version of the FCV-19 Scale is a valid and reliable tool which can be used in the psychological assessment of the severity of fear of COVID-19 among children and adolescent.

Objectives: This study assesses 13-year changes in self-reported emotional and behavioral problems of Polish adolescents. Even though we already assessed time-related changes in emotional problems of Polish 16-year-olds, a comparison covering more age groups has been lacking., Methods: Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire was used to assess emotional and behavioral problems. We compared median scores and ran regression models to see whether age and gender influenced the observed changes. We ran a logistic regression analysis for deviant scores., Results: We found that median scores on most scales were higher after 13 years albeit the differences were quite small. We found that gender moderated the effect of age on scale scores. Score on the deviant range in attention problems and thought problems were 1.5 more frequent in the 2013 group., Conclusions: We did not detect significant differences in self-reported emotional and behavioral problems of Polish adolescents between 2000 and 2013. We detected different coping strategies for boys and girls: boys reported more problems with delinquency and more externalizing behaviors whereas girls reported more problems on each scale.

Central coherence allows for integration of different stimuli into a coherent whole. It also enables context-dependent information processing. This term was coined in an effort to arrange multiple observations of cognitive functioning of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Weak central coherence, which is characteristic of ASD, is understood as adivergent cognitive style with a tendency to process incoming information locally. This allows us to describe central coherence as a continuous trait. Despite manifold research programs, a conclusive conceptualization of the construct is still lacking. The open question is whether weak central coherence constitutes alimited ability to integrate stimuli or rather an increased ability to focus on details. An important postulate concerns the establishment of a standard for measuring central coherence and its individual dimensions. Studies of central coherence outside of ASD context are scarce and deal predominantly with eating disorders. The following work is an overview of the current state of knowledge about central coherence construct and methods of research.

Objectives: Assessment of criterion validity and temporal stability of personality disorder diagnosis in adolescents and relationships between attachment styles and personality disorder diagnosis., Methods: 50 adolescents (46 girls and 4 boys, aged 15-17) hospitalized at the department of child and adolescent psychiatry were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II) and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA). After one year, adolescents meeting the criteria for apersonality disorder (PD) diagnosis were reassessed with the SCID-II., Results: In the first stage of assessment, diagnostic criteriafor different types of personality disorders were met by 41 adolescents (82%) (mean number of criteria = 5.9). Criteria were met most often for borderline personality disorder (BPD) (n = 26; mean number of criteria = 7.9). In the second stage of assessment, the interview was re-administered to 21 (51%) adolescents; the mean number of criteria was = 6.6. A statistically significant relationship between the number of PD diagnostic criteria in assessment one and the number of criteria in assessment two was obtained (r = 0.58; p < 0.01). 82% of the participants with PD were insecurely attached to their mothers. In the borderline group, 83% of the participants reported anxious-avoidant attachment style., Conclusions: PD traits in adolescence, specifically BPD, are stable across one year.

Theory of mind (ToM) is a complex cognitive mechanism which refers to our ability to understand that other people have beliefs, plans, desires, hopes, intentions, and knowledge that may differ from our own mental and emotional states. Theory of mind is critical for social and interpersonal functioning and allows people to make sense of other's behavior. Theinitial aim of theory of mind research was to record normative development in preschool age children. Almost 30 years ago, when researchers discovered that theory of mind is altered in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, they also explored impairments in ToM in different clinical disorders. Research results indicate the presence of ToM deficits in childhood mental and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as: autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome, fetus alcohol syndrome, mood disorders, eating disorders, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. This article reviews significant studies of theory of mind impairments in individual childhood disorders and selected mental disorders.

Despite a multitude of research on executive functions and attachment in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a synthetic approach to the matter seems to have been lacking. In this review, we attempt to check the available data against two hypotheses: (1) executive functions and attachment influence ADHD symptoms independently; (2) executive functions and attachment interact to produce ADHD symptoms. We found no evidence falsifying the former hypothesis and some evidence to refute the latter. Limitations of current study approaches and suggestions for further research are discussed. Specifically, we propose an attachment representation, rather than attachment style, approach to measuring the mediation thereof between executive dysfunctions and ADHD.