Ewa Gurba

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.

Mobility of students, mobility of scientists and ECT system — implementation of the Bologna Process in Polish universities

The article introduces the idea of the Bologna Process – a European-wide initiative which focuses on changes in the higher education system. The strategic aim of this policy is to create a European Higher Education Area and to improve its international competitiveness.
The authors analyze the genesis of the idea of the Bologna Process, briefly discuss its strategic objectives, the tools used to achieve them and describe the stakeholders taking part in the implementation of the policy at the European and national levels. The essay concentrates on the description of the two out of six main tools of the Bologna Process: mobility and ECTS system as well as their implementation in Polish universities

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.

The development of thinking in adulthood: ways of studying postformal reasoning in everyday situations

The article presents the results of two studies concerning the development of postformal reasoning as proposed by G. Lavouvie-Vief, with the use of the everyday problem solving dilemmas taken from the research conducted by R.A. Sebby and D.R. Papini in the Polish adaptation by E. Gurba. Study no. 1 tested the levels of reasoning in 3 age groups: early, middle, and late adulthood, providing the participants with a choice of readymade answers. Study no. 2 tested the levels of reasoning amongst the participants while using a modified version of the test which required giving an answer to an open question pertaining to the solution of a dilemma. Regardless of their age, the participants revealed a lower level of postformal reasoning in Study no. 2. Differences in the influence of spurious variables (sex, level of education) on the presented level of reasoning in the respective Studies were also observed. The discussion attempts to explain the observed differences with relation to the cognitive requirements of both methods of study as well as the form and content of the applied dilemmas

W dniach 18–22 sierpnia 2009 roku w Wilnie odbyła się XIV Europejska Konferencja Psychologii Rozwojowej. Uczestników, nie tylko z krajów europejskich, gościły mury młodego Uniwersytetu Wileńskiego im. Mykolasa Romerisa. Przygotowano różnorodne formy prezentacji prac naukowych. Były to: wykłady (9), zamawiane sympozja (5), sesje tematyczne (44) oraz 7 sesji posterowych, w czasie których zaprezentowano 520 plakatów.

Sprawozdanie z XV Europejskiej Konferencji Psychologii Rozwojowej (European Conference on Developmental Psychology), 23–27 sierpnia 2011, Bergen, Norwegia

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.

Selected Determinants of Attitudes of Emerging Adults towards Old Age and Seniors

The number of elderly people in the population is constantly increasing. The seniors’ wellbeing relies heavily not only upon the activities they undertake but also on the attitude of the society toward them. Of particular importance is the attitude of the emerging adults, because it is at this stage that the process of the identity formation takes place. The aim of the study was to discover the state of knowledge, attitudes, and the frequency and quality of contacts with elderly people among the emerging adults. 180 students (87 women and 93 men) aged 18–25 (M = 22.5) participated in the study. The following tools were applied: the author’s own questionnaire to measure the contact frequency and quality, the Kogan’s Attitudes Towards Old People, and the Palmore’s Facts on Aging Quiz. Emerging adults have proven to hold ambivalent attitudes toward old people. A signifi cant correlation has been found between the knowledge and the attitudes. The frequency of contact with elderly people was negatively correlated with the intensity of the negative attitude. The quality of contact with elderly people differentiates the emerging adults’ attitudes.

The relationship with parents and identity styles in early and mid-adolescence.

The resolution of identity crisis is the main developmental task for adolescents. Identity is formed in social contexts. Family is the of the earliest and most important social groups in the development of a child.
There are several theoretical perspectives on the links between parent-adolescent relations and identity. They suggest that warm, close family relationship characterised by control and acceptance of adolescents’ autonomy promotes exploration of identity alternatives.
The main purpose of the present study was to describe the connection between adolescents’ relationship with their parents and their identity styles. The 469 adolescents (145 from colleges, 324 from high schools) participated in this study. They completed the Identity Style Inventory ISI (M. Berzonsky) and Parents-Adolescents Relations Inventory (E. Gurba). Positive links between good relations with parents, low number of confl icts and normative and informational style of early and mid-adolescents’ identity were found. The high frequency and number of conflicts between mother and mid-adolescents were connected with diffuse-avoidant style of identity. The adolescents’ identity styles were more often correlated with the characteristics of relations with their mother than with their father.