Parenting Competence. A Useful Construct in Research on the Role of Parental Infl uences in Child Development

The aim of the considerations is to present the usefulness of the construct of “parenting competence” according to the understanding of Teti and Huang (2004) in research on the role of parenting infl uence in child development. Through a critical analysis of defi nitions of such concepts as “parental attitude” or “parenting style,” the construct of parenting competence (PC) will be shown as allowing for a more precise, and at the same time, coherent and comprehensive characteristics of the most important components of parenting. PC will be presented as a construct which contains three important elements of parenting, namely: parental warmth, control and quality of communication. By  presenting the potential usefulness of this construct, we will show that PC can be treated as a kind of social competence possessed by the parent. PC makes it possible to analyze parenting in the context of parent-child interaction, and at the same time takes into account the variability of parenting, which is culturally conditioned and, in this context, is strongly related to the developmental period, i.e., the child’s age.

Happy Life in the Late Adulthood. The Meaning of Individual Motive

Positive psychology points out the relation between experiencing the state of engagement in life, including social engagement, and the feeling of happiness and contentment in seniors. The purpose of the conducted study was to search for the relationship between the well-being of older adults and their individual life motives which were operationalized on the basis of the Japanese cultural phenomenon of ikigai.
The participants in the study were seniors from three groups: members of the Active Senior Club, students of The Third Age University and inmates of a Care and Therapy In-patient Department (N = 138). The sense of meaning of life, satisfaction with life and resiliency were measured. Additionally, the participants were asked a question concerning the value they ascribed to their own life.
The results of the study indicate that the seniors who declare they possess an individual life  motive are generally more satisfi ed with their life and consider it to have more meaning. Senior citizens who are active in areas such as education or culture also present a higher level in those areas.

Attachment and Capacity for Self-care in Explaining Chronic Self-Destructiveness

The study aimed to analyze the role of attachment in the formation of chronic selfdestructive tendency. It was hypothesized that high levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance impair self-care functions and limit capacities for self-control, which may then lead to the development of an indirect self-destructive personality pattern. The study was conducted among 137 young adults, using the Chronic Self-Destructiveness Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, Self-Control Scale and Self-Care Competence Questionnaire. The obtained results showed that the relationship between anxiety about rejection and chronic self- -destructiveness was only indirect – its infl uence was primarily through self-control and partly also through self-care functions. With regard to avoidance of intimacy, the analysis revealed it had both direct and mediated effects (through self-care functions and self-control) on chronic self-destructiveness.

Personality Traits as a Mediator between Reproductive Life History Strategies and Worldview. The Moderating Role of Sex

With regard to human, life history theory postulates the existence of a continuum of reproductive life history strategies (LHS): fast strategy–slow strategy. Earlier studies show that the personality dimensions of the Big Five and worldview are correlated with LHS. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that the dimensions of the Big Five are mediators between LHS and worldview. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the model in a sample of 259 participants; additionally, the moderating role of the sex variable was included. In accordance with the hypothesis, the dimensions of the Big Five turned out to be mediators between LHS and worldview. The analysis of moderated mediation showed a signifi cant role of the sex variable in the tested model. According to the assumptions of life history theory, this indicates the role of early childhood experiences in shaping the worldview, however, the role of sex in relation to the diversity of these experiences and their impact on shaping reproductive strategies requires further research

Perceived Social Support and Psychological Well-Being among Young People Being Reared and Not Being Reared in an Orphanage. Growth Mindset as a Possible Mediator of the Relationship

The goal of the research was to fi nd relationship between perceived social support and psychological well-being among young people, and to verify if the growth mindset is a mediator of this relationship. The research was also aimed to examine whether there are differences between young people being reared in an orphanage and those who are not, in terms of measured variables. The study included 198 participants, aged 15 to 22 (M = 18.35; SD = 1.12), 46% females. The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, the Psychological Well-Being Scale and the Implicit Theories Scale were used. The perceived social support positively correlates with psychological well-being. The growth mindset is not a mediator in this relationship, although it positively correlates with both variables. Young people being reared in an orphanage display a stronger growth mindset than young people not being reared in an orphanage.

Locus of Control in Early Adolescence among Students at Different Education Stages

The article presents the results of research on the locus of control in early adolescence among students from two different stages of education: primary school and junior high school, participating currently in the education system transformations. The results are a summary of the fi rst stage of a longitudinal project concerning the development of some personality variables among students. 1015 adolescents were examined with Locus of Control Questionnaire (Krasowicz-Kupis, Kurzyp-Wojnarska, 1990), in the school year 2016/2017. The results indicate an indefinite locus of control in situations of successes, failures and in generalized locus of control. The locus of control is shifted signifi cantly more towards external control in students from junior high school, compared to primary school students and it pertains to successes, failures and generalized locus of control. Boys from primary schools are signifi cantly more internal as regards successes and generalized locus of control compared to boys from junior high schools.