Alicja Malina

The Importance of Suppressing the Expression of Fear, Sadness and Anger for the Self-esteem of Young Mothers and Their Satisfaction with Life

Suppressing negative emotions (anger, fear, sadness) can lead to an increase in emotional tension. Unexpressed emotions contribute to the deterioration of health and may also contribute to the emergence of psychosomatic disorders and certain diseases, such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, and cancer. Research shows that depressive emotionality is associated with lower self-esteem while lowering life quality and life satisfaction. The aim of the study was to analyze whether suppressing negative emotions is related to the level of self-esteem amongst young mothers and their satisfaction with life, as well as to identify mediators that determine the quality of this relationship. 340 young mothers (mean age 30.09) were examined. To conduct the research the Emotional Control Scale – CECS in its Polish adaptation of Zygfryd Juczyński, the Life Satisfaction Scale by Zygfryd Juczyński and the SES Self-esteem Scale adapted by Mariola Łaguna, Kinga Lachowicz-Tabaczek and Irena Dzwonkowska were used. The analyses confirmed the existence of significant relations between the level of suppressing negative emotions (sadness and anxiety) and self-esteem as well as life satisfaction. It also turned out that the level of self-esteem is an important mediator in the relation between the suppression of sadness and anxiety by young mothers and their satisfaction with life.

Resilience, Maternal Bond Quality and the Mother’s Life Satisfaction

The presented research analyses the relationship between resilience, the mother–child bond, and the life satisfaction of young mothers. The assumption regarding the importance of resilience in taking on parental responsibilities was drawn from studies indicating the protective effect of individual resilience in difficult situations. It was assumed that resilience could work as a buffer between the mother–child bond and maternal life satisfaction. For measuring resilience the Lifespan Individual Resilience Scale in the adaptation of Malina, Pooley, Harms (2016) was used. The Mother–Child Bond Tool in the Bielawska-Batorowicz adaptation (2006) was used to assess the quality of relationship with the child. Satisfaction with life was evaluated using the Satisfaction with Life Scale in the adaptation of Juczyński (2009). The study participants were 340 women in early adulthood who have at least one child under the age of 2. Research indicates that resilience as well as particular aspects of the mother–child bond are important for maternal life satisfaction. It was also established that resilience plays a mediative role between the mother –child bond and the life satisfaction of the mother.

Attachment and satisfaction with the implementation of developmental tasks in close relationships and aggressive behavior between partners

The article presents research on the frequently observed problem of aggression and violence in relationship. The authors point out the role of represented attachment style for the quality of relationships of young adults and the appearance of aggressive behaviors. At the same time they suggest that the role overload that occurs during early adulthood may lead to lower satisfaction with the implementation of the developmental tasks of this period – which in turn may result in a tendency to aggressive behavior.

The aim of this study was to investigate the specific needs of young adults in partnership given their attachment style, satisfaction with the developmental tasks associated with family life and the expression of aggressive behavior. The main research problem was therefore the relationship between attachment style and the level of aggression and the relationship between the level of aggression and satisfaction with the implementation of developmental tasks. The study was conducted with the use of Kwestionariusz Stylów Przywiązaniowych (KSP) Mieczyslawa Plopy, Kwestionariusz Agresji (BPAQ) A. Buss and M. Perry and Skala Satysfakcji z Realizacji Zadań Rozwojowych (prepared by the authors). The study involved 45 pairs in different forms of relationship. The study confirmed the relationship between represented attachment style and the level of aggression and the relationship between satisfaction with the developmental tasks and the level of partners aggression towards each other.

Self-Esteem and Attachment Style as Predictors of Communication Behavior of Self and Partner

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the quality of communication and the factors that predict good communication in the partner relationship. 118 people (59 heterosexual couples) in the early adulthood participated in the study. The average age of the subjects was 34 years. The self-esteem of the respondents and their attachment style were considered to be important factors for the quality of partner communication measured by the Plopa Marriage Communication Questionnaire. Measurements of the independent variables were made using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale adapted by Łaguna, Dzwonkowska, and Lachowicz-Tabaczek (2008), and the Plopa Attachment Style Questionnaire.

Analyzes carried out as part of the study have confirmed to a limited extent the importance of the attachment style and the level of self-esteem for the quality of communication between partners. The study provided further empirical evidence confirming that the trustful, safe attachment is a predictor of the positive, successful, and happy dyadic relationship as opposed to the unsure bonds patterns. 

Stress and parental attitudes among mothers and fathers of adults with intellectual disabilities
The aim of the research was to verify whether there exists a relationship between the increase of perceived stress in its various aspects and the parental attitudes of parents of adults with intellectual disabilities as well as a comparison if the relationship also exists among parents of intellectually healthy people. The research used the The Perception of Stress Questionaire by Mieczysław Plopa and Ryszard Makarowski and the Parental Attitudes Scale by Mieczysław Plopa. The research embraced 39 parents of intellectually disabled people and 85 parents of healthy people. The analyses have proven that the parents of the disabled people and of the people without intellectual disabilities with regards to the displayed parental attitudes and the level of the perceived stress. The former are characterized by an intensifi cation of a demanding attitude and a higher level of perceiving the intrapsychic stress which was not observable among the latter. Moreover, differences with regards to the perceived stress have been noticed between the mothers and the fathers of healthy people – the mothers reveal a stronger feeling of emotional tension than the fathers. Similar it proved among the mothers and fathers of intellectually disabled people where it is also mothers who experience stronger emotional tension, intrapsychic and external stress. In the light of the conducted studies a general conclusion may be drawn that the level of the stress perceived by the parents of the people with disabilities is signifi cantly connected with their displayed parental attitudes, namely: protectiveness, inconsequence. In case of the parents of the healthy people such a relationship concerned only the protective attitude.

Attachment style and partner relationships in early adulthood

In the presented study I examined the role of women’s attachment styles at different family development stages for their quality of life. A study involving 180 women in the stages of: engagement, marriage bond formation and the development of parenting styles was conducted. The Attachment Styles Questionnaire by M. Plopa and Satisfaction with Life Scale SWLS in the adaptation of Z. Juczyński were used in the study.

Statistical analysis showed the women’s attachment style correlates with satisfaction with life at all stages of family development. The growing importance of the secure attachment style in different stages of development was noted. Avoidant attachment style was associated with satisfaction with life among the brides, and women in the phase of parental attitudes development. Ambivalent attachment style is negatively correlated with satisfaction with life only during the phase of the marital bond development.