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The aim of the presented research was to distinguish categories of risky behaviors in drivers and to determine whether the age of drivers is associated with undertaking risky behaviors. The study included 120 participants, 60 in early and 60 in middle adulthood. Driver Risk Behavior Questionnaire (DRBQ) was used to measure this type of behavior. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis, allowed to identify three dimensions of risky behaviors: (1) breaking the road traffic law, (2) overestimating own competences and (3) ignoring road hazards. Drivers in early adulthood more often than drivers in middle adulthood revealed risky behaviors resulting from overestimating their own competences and ignoring road hazards. Drivers in middle adulthood consider broader context and more perspectives when analyzing risk.

Comparison between Religious Experiences in Early, Middle and Late Adulthood The aim of the study was to examine the differences in religious experience in early, middle and late adulthood. The study examined 608 people who were a part of catholic religious communities. Religious Experience Scale, which includes five dimensions: Importance rating, Negative experiences, God’s support, Entrusting in God and Openness to God, was used. Statistical analyzes showed that the level of religious experience was significantly differentiated by the age of the respondents for four out of five dimensions of Religious Experience: Importance rating, God’s support, Entrusting in God and Negative experiences. People in late adulthood were characterized by the highest level of Importance rating, God’s support, Entrusting in God and the lowest level of Negative experiences compared to people in early and middle adulthood. The nature of late adulthood – i.e., the ability to discover the specificity of religious experience to understand and interpret the signs of God’s presence and action in everyday events – may account for the observed effects. The results of the study add to the knowledge on religious experience depending on the developmental stage of the person. They could be used to adjust the character of pastoral counseling to the needs of specific age groups of adult clients.

Celem niniejszej pracy było zgłębienie problematyki oceny subiektywnego stresu wywołanego traumatycznym zdarzeniem (ang. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD) przez ratowników medycznych i strażaków. Badaniem objęto 195 mężczyzn (n = 99 ratowników medycznych). Do badań użyto Zrewidowanej Skali Wpływu Zdarzeń (ang. Impact Event Scale-Revised, IES–R). Głównym problemem badawczym była odpowiedź na pytania: czy ratownicy medyczni w porównaniu do strażaków cechują się wyższym poziomem oceny subiektywnego stresu wywołanego traumatycznym zdarzeniem oraz czy osoby w średniej dorosłości w porównaniu do osób z wczesnej dorosłości cechują się wyższym poziomem doświadczanego PTSD? Badania potwierdziły, że ratownicy medyczni i osoby będące w okresie średniej dorosłości osiągają wyższy poziom stresu wywołanego traumatycznym zdarzeniem oraz składowych PTSD: intruzji, pobudzenia i unikania. The purpose of the present study was to analyze ratings of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in paramedics and firefighters. The participants of the study were 195 men (99 of them were paramedics) who were examined with the Impact Event Scale-Revised (IES–R). The main research questions were: do paramedics, as compared with firefighters, display higher levels of PTSD? In addition, do individuals in middle adulthood compared to those in early adulthood have higher levels of experienced PTSD? The study confirmed that paramedics and those in middle adulthood are characterized by higher levels of the following components of PTSD: intrusion, hyperarousal and avoidance.

ObjectiveSocial support has been reported as beneficial for the psychological functioning of people coping with a disease. The objective of this study was to verify whether levels of perceived social support are associated with psychosocial functioning in women who have had a mastectomy and whether specific types of social support are linked to specific indices of functioning.MethodSeventy women with a history of mastectomy completed questionnaires measuring their psychosocial functioning as related to their health status: Disease-Related Appraisal Scale, Acceptance of Life with the Disease Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. All participants also completed a measure of perceived social support (Disease-Related Social Support Scale).ResultsWomen who reported higher levels of perceived social support revealed statistically significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms, higher appraisals of their disease in terms of challenge and value, and lower appraisals of their disease in terms of obstacle/loss. Women with greater social support also revealed higher levels of acceptance of life with the disease compared to those with less social support. Regression analyses showed that spiritual support was the type of support that significantly accounted for the variance in the majority of functioning indices. Some indices of functioning were also significantly accounted for by emotional and instrumental support.Significance of the resultsThe process of psychological adjustment to a life-threatening disease such as breast cancer depends on multiple variables; however, social support, including spiritual support, seems to be one significant contributor to this process.

The aim of the article is to present the Confirmatory factor analysis of the Style of Religious Experience Scale (SRES). The cognitive-developmental concept of integral development of religiosity b...

The aim of the article is to present a new measure of structure and level of religiosity. The cognitive-developmental concept of integral development of religiosity by Czesław Walesa, which distinguishes eight parameters of religiosity: religious awareness, religious feelings, religious decisions, bond with the fellowship of believers, religious practices, religious morality, religious experience and forms of profession of faith served as the theoretical bases for the test. The measure was constructed to fit the specificity of the people of the Christian profession. The preliminary reliability and validity indicators were calculated on 126 participants. Construct validity was established with Centrality of Religiosity Scale (C-15), Scale of Religious Identity, Deconversion Scale for Adolescents. The psychometric indicators were satisfactory, which shows that the test can be used to measure structure and level of style of religiosity.

The aim of the study was to compare the expression of religious feelings in pre-school children and the perception of these feelings by the children’s’ mothers. Ninety Polish children from Catholic families aged 4, 5 and 6 participated in the study. A picture method along with interviews with children’s mothers were employed to gather the data. Data from the two sources was compared, taking into consideration the content and ways of expression of the described feelings. Relations between positive and negative feelings were investigated and further statistical analyses were focused mainly on negative feelings. It was found that structure of negative religious feelings obtained directly from the children bears significant similarity to the mothers’ perception.

Short communications Broca's aphasia is still a relatively poorly understood phenomenon. The Trace Deletion Hypothesis is one of the attempts made to explain linguistically comprehension deficits observable in this disorder. The article presents the main assumptions, claims and consequences of this hypothesis, as well as criticisms it has raised in the literature. This hypothesis offers an opportunity for shedding more light on the issue of agrammatism in Broca's aphasia, and also for improving our understanding of the phenomenon of aphasia as such and, consequently, our understanding of language processing in the human mind.

The Efficacy of Three Interventions Modifying Stereotypes and Prejudice Towards People with Schizophrenia Little is known about the efficacy of various interventions aimed at fighting stereotypes and prejudice towards people with schizophrenia. This study evaluated the efficacy of three interventions: film, meeting a person with schizophrenia, and educational presentation, in reducing stereotypes and prejudice towards people with schizophrenia. Three groups of students were assessed by the Stereotypes and Prejudice Questionnaire before, directly after, and one month after the intervention. A reduction in both stereotypes and prejudice was observed following the educational presentation, and a further decrease in the unfavorable attitudes was observed a month later. Watching the film was found effective in reducing prejudice, however it did not lower stereotypes. Meeting a person suffering from schizophrenia was found to minimize stereotypes but its effects on prejudice were relatively insignificant and temporary. The findings from this study showed that various types of intervention had diverse effects in reducing stereotypes and prejudice.

As a result of the study, the structure of religious morality including the following categories was distinguished: basis of moral functioning, moral attitude toward conflict situations, moral attitude toward experienced dissonances, and reference to the principle of moral autonomy. For the basis of moral functioning, the following subcategories were identified: Self, others, religion, consequences. For the moral attitude to conflict situations, the subcategories were: task-oriented, avoidant, emotional, religious. For the moral attitude toward experienced dissonances, the categories were: informational-religious, normative, avoidant, conflictual. With respect to the principle of moral autonomy, these were: congruence and incongruence. The participants of the study were 120 people of the Catholic faith, 60 each in middle and late adulthood. A Piagetian exploratory-critical interview was used, the design of which was based on Walesa's model of religiosity. The frequency of specific subcategories of religious morality was significantly differentiated by the age of the subjects for the basis of moral functioning, moral attitude toward conflict situations, and moral attitude toward experienced dissonance. In late adulthood, religiosity serves an important function - especially in situations of conflict or events related to experienced moral dissonances.