Problems and Adaptive Functioning Reported by Adults in 17 Societies

This study tested for similarities and differences across societies in self-ratings ofproblems, personal strengths, and aspects of adaptive functioning on the Adult Self-Report (ASR) for nonclinical samples of adults ages 18 to 59 in 17 societies (N 10,197). Results indicated considerable consistency across societies regarding meanratings on the ASR problem items. Most effect sizes (ESs) for societal differences inproblem scales were small (2?5%). Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysesindicated that culture clusters and society accounted for small percentages of variancein Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scores, with most of the variationaccounted for by individual dif…

Older adult psychopathology: international comparisons of self-reports, collateral reports, and cross-informant agreement

ABSTRACTObjectives:To conduct international comparisons of self-reports, collateral reports, and cross-informant agreement regarding older adult psychopathology.Participants:We compared self-ratings of problems (e.g. I cry a lot) and personal strengths (e.g. I like to help others) for 10,686 adults aged 60–102 years from 19 societies and collateral ratings for 7,065 of these adults from 12 societies.Measurements:Data were obtained via the Older Adult Self-Report (OASR) and the Older Adult Behavior Checklist (OABCL; Achenbach et al., 2004).Results:Cronbach’s alphas were .76 (OASR) and .80 (OABCL) averaged across societies. Across societies, 27 of the 30 problem items with the highest mean ra…

Mechanisms of the national character stereotype: How people in six neighbouring countries of Russia describe themselves and the typical Russian

Altogether, 1448 individuals from six neighbouring countries of Russia in the Baltic Sea region (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Belarus) described a ‘typical’ member of their own nation and a ‘typical’ Russian, as well as rated their own personality, using the National Character Survey (NCS). Results suggest that national character stereotypes are widely shared, temporally stable and moderately related to assessed personality traits, if all assessments are made using the same measurement instrument. In all studied countries, agreement between national auto‐stereotypes and assessed personality was positive and in half of the samples statistically significant. Although membe…

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE LATVIAN VERSION OF THE COMPUTERIZED EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS TEST “EXAMINER” IN A STUDENTS SAMPLE: RESULTS OF THE PILOT STUDY

The aim of this pilot-study was to assess reliability and validity of the Latvian version of the computerized executive functions test EXAMINER (Executive Abilities: Measures and Instruments for Neurobehavioral Evaluation and Research) in a sample of high school students and university students. The adaptation procedure included translation of the instructions and technical configuration of the test’s computerized version. The Latvian version of the EXAMINER includes tasks that measure executive functions of inhibition, set shifting and working memory updating. Participants included two sub-groups: 22 (14 males, 8 female) students from high school and 39 students (11 males, 28 female) from …

MEDIATING ROLE OF DISSOCIATION SYMPTOMS BETWEEN ADOLESCENT COMPULSIVE INTERNET USE ACROSS TIME

The aim of this study was to examine adolescent compulsive internet use (CIU) across a one-year period, to examine associations with symptoms of depression, anxiety and dissociation, as well as to analyze the potential mediating effect of dissociation symptoms.  Previous studies have indicated that dissociation might serve as a coping strategy and/or as a consequence of problematic internet use. Participating in the study were 80 adolescents (39 girls and 41 boys), ages from 12 to 18 (mean age 14.90 years) at the time of the first measurement.  At Time 1 and one year later at Time 2 measurement points the participants completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist (Briere, 1995) and items from the …

Sources of life satisfaction judgments in Latvia

AbstractResearch indicates that life satisfaction judgments may be influenced by many different factors, but there is no clear evidence how these judgments are constructed. The purpose of this study was to examine sources of life satisfaction judgments in Latvia. Respondents (N=605) aged 18 - 70 completed self report measures of life satisfaction (SWLS), satisfaction with life domains, stressful life events, positive and negative affects (PANAS). Regression analysis shows that model including satisfaction with different life domains, positive and negative affects and number of stressful life events measures explains 53% of the variance in the overall life satisfaction. Immediately after com…

Political and relational: Autobiographical narrations of Latvian women across three generations

Childhood abuse experiences, depression and dissociation symptoms in relation to suicide attempts and suicidal ideation

This study aimed to examine associations between suicide attempts (SA), suicidal ideation (SI), depression, dissociative symptoms, emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse, and to explore predictors of SA and SI, as well as possible mediating factors. We also aimed to examine support for a dissociative depression subgroup. Participating in this study were 342 adults, of these were 138 respondents with a diagnosis of depression (DG), and 204 respondents comprising a community sample (CS). Respondents completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale - Revised (CESD-R), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF), and Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). All but…

Longitudinal associations between adolescent behaviour problems and perceived family relationships

AbstractThe goal of the present study was to examine the longitudinal associations between perceived family relationships and adolescents’ externalizing/ internalizing problems. The study sample included 366 pupils from secondary schools in Latvia, 12-14 years of age, who completed self-report questionnaires. Data were collected in two assessments 1 year apart. The results indicate that elevations in adolescent problem behavior prospectively predicted subsequent decreases in perceived family cohesion and increases in family conflict. The effect of perceived family cohesion and conflict as assessed at Time1 was not statistically significant in prediction of Time2 adolescent behaviour problem…

The generalizability of Older Adult Self-Report (OASR) syndromes of psychopathology across 20 societies

Contains fulltext : 217516.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Objectives: As the world population ages, psychiatrists will increasingly need instruments for measuring constructs of psychopathology that are generalizable to diverse elders. The study tested whether syndromes of co-occurring problems derived from self-ratings of psychopathology by US elders would fit self-ratings by elders in 19 other societies. Methods/design: The Older Adult Self-Report (OASR) was completed by 12 826 adults who were 60 to 102 years old in 19 societies from North and South America, Asia, and Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Europe, plus the United States. Individual and multigroup confirmatory…

Children’s internet use profiles in relation to behavioral problems in Lithuania, Latvia, and Taiwan

This study explored the profiles of elementary-school-aged children&rsquo

Cross-cultural comparisons of child-reported emotional and physical abuse: rates, risk factors and psychosocial symptoms

Abstract Objectives: This study was designed to assess the incidence of child emotional and physical abuse, associated risk factors and psychosocial symptoms in a cross-cultural comparison between post-communist bloc countries. Method: One-thousand one-hundred forty-five children ages 10–14 from Latvia (N=297), Lithuania (N=300), Macedonia (N=302), and Moldova (N=246) participated in the study. They completed questionnaires assessing their experience of emotional or physical abuse, and provided information about family risk-factors and psychosocial symptoms, including PTSD-related symptoms. Results: Incidence rates of maltreatment differed by country, as did levels of reported psychosocial …

Parenting dimensions in relation to pre-schoolers’ behaviour problems in Latvia and Lithuania

The aim of the present study was to examine associations between parenting and child behaviour problems in two neighbouring countries with subtle, yet apparent cultural differences. Participants were mothers and fathers of preschool-age children from Latvia and Lithuania. Parents completed a measure of child-rearing attitudes and reported on their child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviours. In both countries, parental warmth was negatively associated with child behaviour problems, and punishment orientation was positively associated. There were differences by country in the association of paternal psychological control and behaviour problems, and in the interactions of parenting di…

Child behavior and mother-child emotional availability in response to parent training program: moderators of outcome

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess changes in child behavior and mother-child emotional availability after mother's participation in a parent training program, and to assess the role of various factors which might explain individual variability in these changes. After mothers had participated in the parent training program they reported less child externalizing behavior problems and less child internalizing behavior problems. The child's preschool teacher also reported decreased child externalizing problems during the post-training assessment measure. Observational measures showed increased mother-child emotional availability. Post-training behavioral differences were found depend…

Empathy, Humor and Other Emotional Skills in Leadership

Aspects of emotional and social intelligence, such as self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and social skills, are encouraged for persons in positions of leadership. Empathy, in turn, is a predictor of an appreciation of human diversity. One’s sense of humor is advantageous in facilitating effective social communication and positive social interactions.