Igor Kardum

Personality traits, stressful life events, and coping styles in early adolescence

The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between personality traits, stressful life events and coping styles in early adolescence. On a sample of 265 subjects, ranging in age from 11 to 14 years, a junior EPQ, questionnaire of coping styles and scale of subjective stress were applied. Using the path analysis, the direct and indirect effects of personality traits and perceived intensity and frequency of stressful life events (subjective stress) on three coping styles (problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and avoidance coping) were tested. The results obtained demonstrated that extraversion has a direct positive effect on problem and emotion-focused coping style while neuroticism and psychoticism have direct positive effects on avoidance coping style. The indirect effects of personality traits on coping styles through subjective stress are low for all three coping styles. Subjective stress has statistically significant positive effects on all three coping styles and the greatest independent effect is on avoidance coping. In general, the results of this research demonstrate that the relationship between personality traits, subjective stress and coping styles in early adolescence are similar to those obtained on the samples of adult subjects and that already in early adolescence coping can be meaningfully viewed in a larger dispositional context.

The structure of coping styles: a comparative study of croatian sample

The primary aim of this study was to develop a Croatian inventory for assessing coping strategies that people use when under stress. As a basis for this inventory, a translation of the multidimensional coping inventory (COPE) by Carver, Scheier and Weintraub (1989) was used. The second purpose was to compare the results of the original version of the COPE with the translated Croatian version. Three additional scales (Humour, Turning to Religion, and Drug and Alcohol Use) were also analysed. The results were obtained using a sample consisting of undergraduate students (N=403) from the University of Rijeka, Croatia. When comparing the original version of the COPE inventory with the Croatian version, a similar factor structure emerged. The differences obtained are interpreted by taking into account different sociocultural and economic conditions in Croatia and the USA. Copyright

Affect intensity and frequency : their relation to mean level and variability of positive and negative affect and Eysenck's personality traits

Abstract Thepurpose of this study was to examine the relationship of affect intensity and frequency with mean level and variability of positive and negative affect as well as Eysencks personality traits. The results obtained indicate that the measures of affect intensity and frequency are significantly linked with mean level and variability of positive and negative affect. The results of regression analyses demonstrate that the measures of affect intensity and frequency are in fact a combination of mean level and variability of positive and negative affect. Regarding Eysencks personality traits, only psychoticism is significantly negatively linked with positive affect intensity, while neuroticism and psychoticism are significantly negatively linked with frequency. The results obtained are discussed with regard to dimensions of temperament. Some problems connected with measurement of affect intensity and inter-emotion comparison of intensity have been underlined.

The relationship between Eysenck's personality traits, coping styles and moods

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Eysencks personality traits on coping styles and moods, as well as the effects of coping styles on moods. On the sample of 177 subjects Eysencks Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), a Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced questionnaire (COPE) and mood scale aimed at assessing the usual positive and negative moods were administered. The results obtained show a strong direct effect of Eysencks personality traits on positive and negative moods, while their effects on coping styles in stressful situations were considerably lower. Coping styles, especially avoidance and problem-focused, contribute to the emotional outcomes directly and indirectly, mediating the effects of Eysencks personality traits on moods.

Childhood and adulthood traumatic experiences in patients with psoriasis

It is well known that several psychiatric disorders may be related to childhood psychological trauma. Recent studies have associated childhood exposure to trauma to some skin diseases. Our study aimed at exploring whether psoriasis is related to the reported positive and negative traumatic life events in different age intervals beginning from early childhood to adulthood. Furthermore, we investigated differences between psoriatics with early and late onset according to traumatic experiences in different age intervals. Also, we investigated the possible correlation of traumatic experiences with the disease severity. One hundred patients with psoriasis and 101 controls (patients with skin conditions considered to be “non‐psychosomatic”) were enrolled in the study. All participants completed a specific questionnaire measuring traumatic life experiences (Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire, TAQ). The TAQ assesses positive personal experiences (competence and safety) and negative personal experiences (neglect, separation, secrets, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, trauma witnessing, other traumas and exposure to alcohol/drugs) from early childhood to adulthood. The severity of psoriasis was estimated according to the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), a standardized measuring instrument. The amount of positive experiences did not differ significantly among groups, except for safety scores that were higher in controls compared with both psoriatic groups (early and late onset). On the other side, negative traumatic experiences appeared more frequently in patients with psoriasis during all developmental periods. We found no correlation between severity of psoriasis and traumatic experiences. The present study demonstrates an increased history of childhood and adulthood negative traumatic experiences in patients with psoriasis compared to the control group. Our findings suggest a relationship between retrospectively reported negative traumatic experiences and psoriasis.

The Effects of Dispositional and Situational Coping, Perceived Social Support, and Cognitive Appraisal on Immediate Outcome

Summary: The effects of coping styles and strategies, perceived social support, and primary and secondary cognitive appraisal on immediate outcome were examined in this study. Two theoretical model...

A model of coping with conflicts between occupational and family roles: Structural analysis.

Abstract A model of the stress and coping process in specific stressful situations is examined in this study. The effects of some aspects of self-concept, coping styles and perceived social support as antecedent variables, as well as primary and secondary appraisal as mediating variables in coping with conflicts between professional and family roles are predicted in this model. A hypothetical model was tested by linear structural equation modelling (LISREL VI) and relations between variables were derived from transactional, structural and additive approaches to the stress and coping process. The model presented in this study was tested in an attempt to answer two relevant questions. The first is whether coping styles are directly derived from personality traits or represent relatively independent personality characteristics. The second question is whether chosen antecedent variables influence coping strategies in some specific situations and whether it is exerted through a mediating role of cognitive appraisal or independently. The research results suggest that the majority of self-concept variables are related to coping styles, although they are conceptually different. Coping styles, along with other personality dimensions, environmental and situational variables influence coping strategies utilized in some specific stressful transactions. The results also show that antecedent variables influence coping in specific situations both directly and indirectly. Although cognitive appraisal shows significant effects on coping strategies in specific situations, it is not under the influence of all antecedent variables nor do the antecedent variables influence coping only through mediation of cognitive appraisal. The results obtained partly confirm the assumptions for all three approaches to the stress and coping process.

Absolute and Relative Accuracy in the Retrospective Estimate of Positive and Negative Mood

Summary: In a research carried out on 69 subjects, we examined the absolute and relative accuracy in the retrospective estimate of positive and negative mood as well as specific factors within positive and negative mood. The absolute accuracy was defined as the difference between average daily estimates within a period of 35 to 42 days and retrospective mood estimates for the same period, which was examined one week after the end of the day-to-day estimates. The results show statistically significant differences between average daily and retrospective mood estimates, both for positive and negative mood, for all specific factors of positive mood and for sadness as a specific factor of negative mood. In all cases retrospective estimates are statistically higher in comparison to the average day-to-day estimates. The correlation coefficients, which reflect the relative accuracy, are statistically significant and high for all mood factors. The results obtained are discussed in the context of the cognitive and ...

Assortative mating for Dark Triad: Evidence of positive, initial, and active assortment

Hypotheses regarding positive versus negative assortment, initial assortment versus convergence, and active assortment versus social homogamy were tested on a sample of 100 heterosexual dating couples using variable- and couple-centered approaches. A modest to moderate degree of positive assortment was found for all Dark Triad measures, the highest for Machiavellianism, followed by psychopathy and narcissism. Structural modeling also showed a moderate degree of positive assortment for mens and womens latent Dark Triad constructs. Results supported the initial assortment hypothesis, meaning that couples were already similar in the Dark Triad traits at the beginning of the relationship and did not converge over time. Additionally, similarity was not due to background variables such as age and education (i.e., social homogamy), thus supporting the active assortment hypothesis.

The effects of facial expressions and tears on the speed of sex recognition

The goal of this research was to examine the effects of facial expressions on the speed of sex recognition. Prior research revealed that sex recognition of female angry faces was slower compared with male angry faces and that female happy faces are recognized faster than male happy faces. We aimed to replicate and extend the previous research by using different set of facial stimuli, different methodological approach and also by examining the effects of some other previously unexplored expressions (such as crying) on the speed of sex recognition. In the first experiment, we presented facial stimuli of men and women displaying anger, fear, happiness, sadness, crying and three control conditions expressing no emotion. Results showed that sex recognition of angry females was significantly slower compared with sex recognition in any other condition, while sad, crying, happy, frightened and neutral expressions did not impact the speed of sex recognition. In the second experiment, we presented angry, neutral and crying expressions in blocks and again only sex recognition of female angry expressions was slower compared with all other expressions. The results are discussed in a context of perceptive features of male and female facial configuration, evolutionary theory and social learning context.