Electronic Library of Scientific Literature - © Academic Electronic Press

STUDIA PSYCHOLOGICA

Volume 43 / No. 4 / 2001

• DICHOTOMY IN INTELLIGENCE
• PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF ALOPECIA AREATA: A PRELIMINARY REPORT
• COMMUNICATION ABILITY AS A BUFFER AGAINST CARDIOVASCULAR REACTIONS TO STRESS
• DISCRIMINATIVE FACILITY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO CONSTRUCTIVE THINKING
• ACCURACY OF PARENTS' CONCERNS IN IDENTIFYING CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL PROBLEMS
• PERSONALITY REGULATORS OF COPING BEHAVIOR IN ADOLESCENTS
• IRRATIONAL IDEALIZATION AND SYMPTOMS OF MALADJUSTMENT IN ADOLESCENTS
• STRATEGIES OF BEHAVIOR IN DEMANDING SITUATIONS AND THE SITUATIONAL CONTEXT

Abstract: Coming to the forefront of attention of theorists and practical psychologists investigating intelligence are points of contact and also differences in the comprehension of abstract, as well as practical intelligence. Arguments in favor of this dichotomy were already provided by philosophical antecedents, but particularly tradition of the ontological and the practical in the development of the various branches of science. Further arguments derive from current lexicality in everyday life, but also from a series of cross-cultural studies. In traditional communities preference is given to a socially profitable understanding of intelligence in contrast to ideas stemming from the school and books. Dichotomy may also be illustrated on the basis of implicit theories. Differences between abstract and practical intelligence also derive from a different structure of the notions processed (procedural or declarative), as well as from "well" and "ill" defined problems and differences among persons of various age groups.

Key words: intelligence, cognitive styles, intellectual styles, implicit theories

pp. 255-273

¹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Trg I. Klobučarića 1, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
² Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Brace Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
³ Clinic for Dermatovenerology, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Brace Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

Abstract: The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate relations between psychosocial factors and immunological changes in alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease. The subjects were 29 persons, aged 20 to 64 years with alopecia areata and 24 healthy adults, aged 25 to 56 years with benign skin tumor, as the control group. The immune status was measured using enumerative immune assays (from skin biopsy we determined CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte receptors; CD25 Il-2 receptor; HLA-ABC and HLA-DR antigen marker and from peripheral blood samples we determined a proportion of CD4, CD8, ratio CD4/CD8, CD16 and CD56 positive cells). The psychosocial status was determined by self-report measures. The number of stressful life events did not differ significantly between these two groups, but results of analysis of variance and functional discriminant analysis indicated that those with alopecia areata showed a significantly higher degree of perceived stress, trait anxiety, perceived incompetence and they used significantly less problem-oriented coping strategy in comparison with the controls. No significant difference was found in mean proportion of lymphocyte subpopulation from peripheral blood, but significant differences were found in skin expression of CD4+, Il-2 receptor, HLA class II and CD8+ between alopecia areata patients and the controls. The results of regression analysis indicated that sex tended to be significantly predictive of CD4/CD8 ratio and trait anxiety tended to be significantly predictive of the percentage of CD4 and CD8 T-cells. The present work indicates the necessity to comprehend each patient from the biopsychosocial aspect and to take into account the multifactorial etiopathogenesis of the disease.

Key words: psychoneuroimmunology, autoimmune skin disease, alopecia areata

pp. 275-285

Abstract: Communication ability (CA) may contribute to cardiovascular risk by mediating the relationship between coping and stress. The present study sought to assess the relationship between CA and cardiovascular reactivity. 32 undergraduates were exposed to two different laboratory stressors while having their blood pressure and heart rates monitored, and afterwards were administered with a standardized questionnaire that measured CA. Results revealed a stress buffering effect with regard to pulse reactivity, whereby ability to communicate effectively was associated with reduced reactivity to the more stressful of the two tasks (p = .003). This effect was not present with regard to ability for nonverbal communication, or ability to dominate communication.

Key words: communication ability, cardiovascular reactivity, stress

pp. 287-294

Abstract: This study examined the relationship of discriminative facility in monitoring for information, in perceptions of control, and in coping with adjustment. Discriminative facility refers to the ability to use monitoring in situations where information has instrumental value, the ability to perceive the controllability of the situations veridically, and the ability to use high problem- relative to emotion-focused coping with controllable stressors and low problem- to emotion-focused coping with uncontrollable stressors. Participants provided information regarding their predisposition to monitor, their perceptions of control, and how they coped with two stressors that varied in their degree of controllability. They also provided information regarding their practical intelligence and levels of distress. As expected, participants formed groups of high and low discriminative facility. Furthermore, individuals high in discriminative facility were found to be characterized by high practical intelligence and to experience less distress than individuals low in discriminative facility.

Key words: discriminative facility, constructive thinking, perceptions of control, coping

pp. 295-311

Abstract: Objective: Parents' appraisals of their children's development are meaningful indicators of true developmental status of a child in the developed countries. However, parents' concerns about their child's development and its relationship to developmental status is unknown in India. The present study aimed at identifying the range of concerns that parents have about their child's development and its relationship to the child's developmental status.
Method: Fifty five parent-child dyads with children aged 6 to 60 months seeking well-child out-patient pediatric care in a tertiary care teaching hospital were recruited. Parents' concerns were elicited using the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) questionnaire. The child's developmental status was assessed using the Developmental Profile II. Children were considered as having   failed   screening   if  they showed delayed development  in any one of the five developmental domains assessed, or borderline functioning in two or more developmental domains.
Results: Thirty eight percent of parents expressed no concern and an additional 20% raised non-significant developmental concerns about their child's development. Out of these 90.6% passed development screening. Of the parents who expressed one or more significant developmental concern about their child, 47.8% of these children failed screening. Forty three percent of the parents whose children failed developmental screening expressed medical concerns, 35.7% expressive language concerns, and 28% global/cognitive concerns. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the only significant predictor variable was socio-economic status and it explained 11% of variance in the total number of significant developmental concerns raised by parents.
Conclusion: Since developmental concerns raised by parents are important for early detection of developmental disabilities in children, pediatricians are more likely to fail in detecting children with developmental problems in poor families.

Key words:parental concerns, developmental problems, developmental screening

pp. 313-320

Abstract: In this study we analyze coping behavior of adolescents using the COPE (Carver et al., 1989) and CISS (Endler, Parker, 1990) questionnaires in relation to personality dimensions (NEO-FFI, STAI). The study discusses intersexual differences in freshmen and junior high school students in select personality dimensions and in preference of select coping strategies. The personality dimensions under study correlate with coping strategies to various degrees of significance. Neuroticism and anxiety facilitate the preference of maladaptive or ineffective strategies used in coping with stress. Extroversion is in closer relationship with searching for social support and positive reinterpretation, in other words reassessment. Neuroticism, anxiety and extroversion seem to be reliable predictors of coping strategies preference. Openness and agreeableness are in a weak relationship with coping strategies, and at the same time, they indicate a greater variability when comparing boys and girls. Conscientiousness seems to be the strongest predictor of coping behavior from NEO-FFI - persons with a high score have the tendency to prefer the strategies focused on the problem itself and individuals with low conscientiousness score, on the other hand, prefer maladaptive strategies.

Key words: personality dimensions, coping with stress, coping strategies, adolescents

pp. 321-329

Abstract: The object of the study is an analysis of correlations in irrational idealization with maladjustment symptoms in 15-year old adolescents with secondary school education. This is the first part of results of a more extensive study of irrational thinking on the part of adolescents within the context of maladjusted manifestations of their behavior, carried out with the use of the Magnusson-Dunér self-rating questionnaire and an original Slovak scale of irrational beliefs IPA by O. Kondáš and J. Kordačová. The results point to a rather frequent incidence of maladjustment symptoms in girls and underline the need of reflecting on the protective character of irrational idealization in adolescence, and this especially in the domain of disorders of social adjustment (antisocial behavior).

Key words: irrational beliefs, idealization, maladjustment, adolescents

pp. 331-337

STRATEGIES OF BEHAVIOR IN DEMANDING SITUATIONS AND THE SITUATIONAL CONTEXT

Abstract: In the present research involving 925 respondents (542 women and 383 men), mean age 23.34 years, attention was focused on the disputed question regarding the situation of contingency, that is, the general character of strategies of behavior in demanding situations. Our findings bring support to the proposition that there exist no irreconcilable barriers between the two research approaches. Quite the contrary, we incline to the idea, that both these approaches brought highly relevant results and the differing views of this issue do not necessary lead to a "fight for survival" between these conceptions.

Key words: strategies of behavior, demanding situations, situational context, interactional paradigm

pp. 339-344

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