Dorota Czyżowska

Building a long lasting intimate relationship is one of the basic and fundamental tassks of early adulthood (Erikson 1997, 2004; Havighurst 1981; Levinson, Darrow, Klein, 1978). Nowadays an increasing number of people are postponing their entry into relationships or are choosing to live their lives as singles. This poses the question of why young people are not forming lasting romantic relationships and the research presented here is part of a broader research which is trying to uncover the reasons why people are choosing not to enter into lasting intimate relationships and choose to remain single.

      The goal of the research presented here was to identify the relationship between the degree of closeness perceived in the relationships with their parents during childhood and adolescence and the current commitment to others and experiences of intimacy experienced by young adults. We were interested in whether people living in relationships and those living alone would differ in terms of the factors identified and what precisely was the relationship between them. In addition we attempted to identify if the feelings of closeness felt towards parents and the experience of commitment and intimacy with those close to them translated into an assessment of its quality and whether there were differences depending on gender.

431 individuals participated in the research aged between 23 and 37 (M= 29,65  ; SD= 4,29 ). 217 women were studied (M=29,62; SD=4,35) and  214 men (M= 29,67 ; SD= 4,24).  Those in relationships constituted 46% , and those living alone numbered 54 % of the group studied. The analysis indicated a relationship between the degree of closeness with parents and the feeling of intimacy with one’s partner which in turn had an impact on the perceived quality of the relationship. A relation was also observed between closeness to parents, intimacy and commitment to those closest to the subjects.

Teachers’ beliefs concerning the possibility of modeling pupils’ moral character

The main aim of the present investigation is to gain knowledge about teachers’ beliefs concerning the possibility of modeling pupils’ moral character. The main components in the process of moral education are a teacher’s personality, awareness of their role in education, their skills and competencies and belief in the possibility of infl uencing their pupils. In view of these facts it has been agreed that there should be conducted a study to examine how teachers assess their own abilities and skills in modeling their pupils’ character, and how they see teachers’ overall possibilities in this area.
The research used a questionnaire “Character Education Effi cacy Belief Instrument” developed by Milson and Mehlig (2002). This tool measures teachers’ beliefs concerning their effectiveness of modeling pupils’ moral character. There are two scales used in this measurement. The first scale allows to assess teachers’ personal effectiveness of teaching (personal teaching efficacy – PTE) and the second one allows to assess general effectiveness of teaching (general teaching efficacy – GTE). There were 218 people involved in the research (83% were women, and 17% men). The results show a signifi cant difference between the assessment of personal teaching effectiveness (PTE) and general teaching effectiveness (GTE). Respondents (teachers) evaluate their own abilities in modeling their pupils’ moral characters higher than the general ability of teachers in this respect. Three factors were taken into account in the analysis: teacher’s gender, type of school where the respondents work and subjects they teach.

Sense of coherence, religiosity and identity style in emerging adulthood

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between sense of coherence, identity styles and religiosity during emerging adulthood. The study included 153 subjects (aged 18 to 25 years). The hypothesis about relationship between identity styles and sense of coherence was only partially confirmed. The analysis showed that a diffuse – avoidant style reduce sense of coherence as well as its components: comprehensibility and meaningfulness. The other identity styles were not predictors of sense of coherence but there was a positive correlation between normative style and sense of coherence. There was no relationship between informational style and sense of coherence. Also a level of religiosity proved to have no relevance to sense of coherence.

Religiosity and development of moral reasoning in adolescence

The aim of the presented study was to explore the relationship between religiosity and moral development during adolescence. We were interested if the centrality of religiosity (that is, the position of an individual’s religious construct system in personality [Huber, 2003] is related to moral reasoning and decision making in moral dilemmas. It was assumed that the system of religious constructs can function in both heterogeneous or autonomous ways, and we asked if the type of religious motivation is associated with specific features of moral thinking, and thereby with moral development.
112 Polish students (aged 15–18) from Catholic and non-Catholic high schools completed two questionnaires: Polish versions of Huber’s Centrality of Religiosity Scale and the Rest’s Defining Issues Test. The results indicated that there is the relationship between (a) global centrality and second stage (pre-conventional level) and fourth stage (conventional level) of moral development; (b) five dimensions of religiosity and stages of moral development.

Relations between types of social orientation and ways of constructing identity by young adults

The research investigates the relationship between an individual’s social orientation and their identity style. The identity style is understood, following Berzonsky (1989), as the manner in which important life decisions are taken, including those related to one’s identity and ways of coping with everyday problems. Having anticipated differences in ways of constructing identity, decision-making, and coping with problems, the author distinguishes three identity styles: informational, normative, and diffuse-avoidant. In turn, the research in social orientations distinguishes an individualistic and a collectivistic orientation (Reykowski, 1999). They are understood as forms of mentality connected with basic intuitions and beliefs related to the question of which type of a relation between an individual and the community is proper and just. The conducted research verifi ed the existence of sex differences in the construction of identity styles and adopted social orientation, as well as the relation between an individual’s identity style and their social orientation. Berzonsky’s revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3) and a questionnaire for the measurement of vertical and horizontal collectivism and individualism (KIRH; Adamska, Retowski, Konarski, 2005) were used to determine an individual’s identity style and social orientation, respectively. The KIRH enabled to identify two types collectivism (vertical and horizontal) and two types of individualism.
The sample consisted of 657 subjects (340 female and 317 male), between 22 and 40 years of age. The conducted analysis revealed differences between female and male subjects as regards identity styles and social orientations as well as the relation between certain identity styles and specific social orientations.

The relationship between the development of moral reasoning and the tendency towards aggressive behaviour in difficult situations during adolescence

The focus of this research was to establish the relationship between the development of moral reasoning and the tendency towards aggressive behaviour. Gender differences and the notion of responsibility were also considered in the research and the questions were constructed accordingly.
Three different questionnaires were used in investigations: Defining Issues Test (DIT), Coping in Difficult Social Situations and Sense of Responsibility Scale. 136 subjects, age 15–19 years old (93 girls and 43 boys) participated in the research. 
Results from the study show that moral reasoning is a major infl uencing factor in aggressive behaviour and this can be used to predict potential aggressive behaviour in adolescents. The study also showed that the relationship between development of moral reasoning and aggressive behaviour is moderated by the sense of the responsibility, as the sense of the responsibility clearly limits tendency towards aggressive behaviour. Genders differences also affected both the tendency towards aggressive behaviours, along with the relation between aggressive behaviour and sense of the responsibility. The study showed that sense of responsibility playing a larger role in boys.