Marzanna Farnicka

Editorial: A Central European Face of Criminology and Rehabilitation - Processes, Changes and Problems

We live in a world of phenomena created by human mind and experience. Some of them are: conflict, aggression, and violence. They are seen as constructs of the mind, types of behaviour, particular experiences and emotional states, specific social interactions or even historical and political categories regarded as non-standard events (social movements, wars, angry social protests, etc.). Their ambiguity and complexity have not remained unnoticed by Camilla Pagani (2014). Such a broad, imprecise understanding of these notions partly explains their overuse in the analysis and elucidation of social life. The alleged commonness and surface knowledge of the issue stems out of the insufficient diversification of these terms, their improper understanding and, consequently, often inadequate reacting to their symptoms. Martin Ramirez, during his opening words of the XXXVII International Conference on Conflict and Aggression (2014), mentioned that despite the fact that the Seville Statement on Violence was recognised by the UNESCO in 1989 as our heritage, there exist a number of areas of social life where the knowledge of the conditions and prophylactics of aggression as well as good practice in this field are ignored and omitted; one of them sometimes is criminology.

Why is it Difficult to Oust Violence from Correctional Institutions

The paper focuses on the educational system for the future prison staff that is chiefly based on a dedicated university course, i.e. rehabilitation. The paper presents differences between students and problems arising from their inherent properties, being greater readiness for aggression and approval of aggression. The presented study was aimed at verifying the hypothesis on the relationship between perceived conditionings of aggressive behaviours and personal experience of being a victim or an aggressor together with the attitude towards it and the chosen occupational role. The studied group consisted of 79 students. The research tools were Mini - DIA, The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and the Inventory of Social and Moral Approval of Interpersonal Aggression were also used. The results obtained indicate different determinants for persons involved in perpetration or victimization and for those displaying low levels of such behaviour. It was assumed that people majoring in rehabilitation more often assume the role of an aggressor or a victim than students majoring in other disciplines. Research findings were supposed to contribute to developing a prevention model among students and other people working in the field of violence and violence handling, as well as to emphasise the need to reflect upon and possibly change personal attitudes towards these behaviours.

What Can Psychology Offer in Cross-Cultural Dialogue: A Psychological Approach to Intercultural Competence

Psychology, as a field of an applied social science, could offer theories, procedures and trainings in solving some basic problems (e.g. fear, injustice) in security studies. This chapter was inspired by SALTO report (Bortini and Behrooz in SALTO Youth, 2012). The work presented ‘working’ definition of intercultural competence, focused on theories of acculturation and emotional-cognitive processes involved in the creation and preservation of the bias of intercultural skills approach. The process of the development of basic skills such as: coping with insecurity, critical thinking, tolerance of ambiguity, communication were described. The review of the literature and some applications of this subject were presented as a step to use them in everyday practice. Having a framework of intercultural competence such as these presented and discussed above, it can be helpful in ensuring a more comprehensive, integrated approach in everyday work and life and promoting a better cross-cultural dialogue.

Quality Versus Equality. The Integration as the Component of Primarly School’s Excellence – a Cross-Cultural Perspective

This study is about the continuous flaring debate how to measure the school’s performance, how the integration efforts will be equivalent in addition to the absolute value of student performance. Contributors analyzed the international processes which determine the role of public education and its effectiveness both internationally and with special focus on Hungary. Authors tried to emphasize local characteristics and highlight how globalization processes are suitable for the performance of schools in V4 countries. In the article, there was also given a description of the paradigm shift in the Hungarian educational system and the role of the inclusive integrated school in the framework of Hungarian integration efforts. This Hungarian framework was compared with Polish, Czech and Slovak solutions. This work could be instructive for educators based on the historical and societal similarities of these four countries.

Impact of Cyberspace on Individual Safety and Group Security—A Human Developmental Psychology Approach

This chapter focuses on the impact of cyberspace and cyber-activity on individual and small group security. The analyzed issues include problems such as losing social skills, cyber-violence and challenges or profits (multitasking, new way of thinking). The author describes cyberspace users according to developmental theories as a specific developmental context. Some psychological changes in the human mind caused by cyber-activity are presented, as well as their socio-psychological and cognitive-emotional consequences. Next, an analysis is carried out taking into consideration certain psychological conditions (attachment, temper, own experience) and motives for undertaking cyber-violence and cyber-bullying by young people. In the conclusion, programs for mental health protection and improvement for psychological safety for cyberspace users are presented. Two curricula aimed at increasing work effectiveness and lowering the costs borne by individuals who spend a lot of time in cyberspace are considered.

Aggressiveness, social support and school experiences as dimensions differentiating negative and positive adaptation among adolescents

participants and procedure The main determinants of the observed changes in behaviour and the development of adaptation pathways during the period of adolescence were considered to include bio-psycho-social temperamental factors (Buss & Plomin, 1984), attachment patterns (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), trait of aggressiveness (Buss & Perry, 1992), conditions created by the environment (support of family members, peers and teachers [Malecki & Demaray, 2002]) as well as previous experiences such as being a victim of violence (Osterman & Bjorqvist, 2008) or the level of school success. The final study group comprised a total of 140 positively and 140 negatively adapted teenagers (N = 280) between the ages of 12 and 19. The study was carried out in Poland.

Differences in Determinants of Indirect Perpetrator and Victim Behaviour

Method: The respondents’ behaviour was measured with the self – assessment questionnaires: Mini DIA (Österman The Mini Inventory of Direct and Indirect Aggression, 2010), IPPA (Armsden, Greenberg Attachment scale, 1987), EAS (Buss, Plomin Temperament scale, 1997) and BPAQ (Buss, Perry Aggression Questionnaire, 1992). The sample consisted of 160 secondary school students aged between 16 and 19. There were 82 girls (60%) and 78 boys (40%) in the studied population. The study was conducted in groups during a one-hour session.

Predyktory (podmiotowe i sytuacyjne) efektywnej adaptacji szkolnej – ujęcie rozwojowe

The article presents the results of research on chosen symptoms and situational determinants of the “success at school” of a primary school pupil. It was assumed that for a child to adapt to the challenges posed by school the following factors were important: a sense of acceptance, a sense of support, a sense of social exclusion and the ability to assess one’s own achievements. The study involved 173 children from grades 2 to 5. Data were collected twice using three tools: SPAS questionnaire (Matějcek, Vagnerova, 1992), SUSPO (Miksik, 2004) and QSL authoring tool. The results show: 1) the role of subjective conditions and their changes over time, 2) the role of the climate in educational environment, and 3) the prospect for the optimization of and increase in the effectiveness with which children adapt to school in the first period of learning

The chosen psychological conditionings to externalization problems during adolescence

Subjects & Methods: Thirty Multiple Sclerosis patients from both sexes represented the sample of this study. The patient’s age ranged from twenty to forty years. They were assigned randomly into two equal groups; the study group (GA) and the control group B (GB). The assessment of fatigue is done before and after treatment for both groups by Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis symptoms was done before and after treatment for both groups by expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Study group (GA) treated by TMT (Low intensity and low frequency) in addition to a selected physical therapy program for fatigue in Multiple sclerosis patients (Treadmill training, bicycle training and deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises). Control group (GB) treated by the same program of treatment for Fatigue only as the GB without TMS. The duration of treatment was six weeks, three times weekly and day after day.

Agresywność i zachowania agresywne młodzieży a percypowane przez nią postawy rodzicielskie. Perspektywa rozwojowa

The present paper verifies the assumptions about the importance of parental attitudes for the mechanism of formation of aggressive behavior in adolescents. It was carried out on the basis of a series of three studies. The aim was to assess the significance of any links between: parental attitudes and expression of aggressive behavior of the respondents in the second phase of adolescence (N = 237). The basic research question concerned the problem of stability and change during aggression in relation to the gender of respondents and their parenting attitudes. The study used: Parental’ Attitude Scale (SPR-2) (Plopa, 1987, 2005), tools for the study of aggression (Wojcik) and BPAQ (Buss, Perry, 1992). The research found that there are: (1) significant differences between girls and boys in their late adolescence in the manifestations of aggression, (2) a significant relationship between specific parental attitudes and adolescent aggressive behavior depending on the gender of children a,nd their parents’, (3) changes in the manifestation of aggressiveness depending on the cultural context. Constellations of parental attitudes have diagnosed, which substantially relate to the intensity of adolescent aggressive responses and the occurrence of physical forms of aggression. It was also found that the influence of parental attitudes on growing children’s aggressive behavior is limited by gender of the child and the parent.