Tamás Martos

Meaning in Life: Does It Play a Role in Smoking?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between a decreased level of meaning in life and smoking. In 2006, 341 Hungarian respondents (48.1% males, 51.9% females) completed a questionnaire that included the Purpose in Life test, a shortened version of the Aspiration Index and the Beck Depression Inventory, as well as questions about sociodemographic characteristics, past year alcohol and illicit drug consumption, and smoking behavior. The mean age of the participants was 33.0 years (SD = 14.6), while the average years of education of the respondents was 14.5 (SD = 2.7). According to the results of the regression analysis, meaning in life proved to be significant in differentiating between nonsmokers and daily smokers. With regard to the nonsmoker vs. occasional smoker and the daily vs. occasional smoker relationship, level of life meaning was not a significant predictor. The gender-meaning in life interaction was insignificant in all three relations. Limitations of this explorative investigation are noted.

Religious doubts and mental health in adolescence and young adulthood: The association with religious attitudes

Religious doubts seem to be a part of identity and faith development in adolescence and young adulthood. Such doubts, however, are often linked with psychological distress, though the results in the field are not consistent. It seems important therefore to explore further the relationship between religious doubts and mental health. This study investigated the moderating role of religious attitudes (strength of religious belief, and literal vs. symbolic approach to religion) on this relationship in a sample of 403 Hungarian high school and university students aged 15-25 years in a cross-sectional survey. Results provided support for a three-way moderation: the positive correlation between doubts and anxiety/depression was stronger the higher the level of religious belief, but was strongest when religious beliefs and symbolic approach were both high. These associations were found to be stable across gender and educational level. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Health Aspirations in the Context of Age and Self-rated Health: Findings from a Representative Hungarian Sample

The present research examined the respondents’ preferences for approach and avoidance health aspirations (i.e. health related life goals) in relation to their age and self-rated health (SRH) in a representative Hungarian sample (N = 4841). Higher age predicted stronger preference for both orientations of health aspirations while SRH attenuated this relationship for approach and amplified it for avoidance health aspiration. Bad SRH predicted elevated preference for approach health aspirations in younger age while it predicted greater preference for avoidance aspirations in older age. Results and implications are discussed with reference to aging and health.

Cognitive emotion regulation and stress: a multiple mediation approach

Background and purposeChronic stress leads to deficits in executive functions; its effect on cognitive emotion regulation has yet to be investigated. The present study explores the possible role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in mediating the well-established association between perceived stress and anxiety. We assumed it should be that, via impaired prefrontal activity and executive functions, stress leads to the reduced use of executive strategies and the increased use of non-executive strategies, resulting in higher levels of anxiety.MethodsA cross-sectional sample of 162 university students completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.ResultsMultiple mediation analysis resulted in a significant model, in which cognitive emotion regulation strategies mediated the effect of perceived stress on anxiety (Adjusted R2 = 0.68, F12,149 = 29.30, p < 0.001, effect ratio = 0.22). Specifically, greater stress was found to be uniquely related to increased use of non-executive strategies (self-blame, rumination, and catastrophizing) and decreased use of cognitive strategies involving executive functions (positive reappraisal and putting into perspective). Greater use of non-executive strategies and reduced use of executive strategies (except for putting into perspective) was in turn found to be associated with higher levels of anxiety.ConclusionsThese results seem to suggest that under stressful conditions — precisely when control is most needed — cognitive regulation may be ineffective in controlling emotional responses. Implications for preventing the negative effects of stress are highlighted.

Spiritual Transcendence and Mental Health of Psychotherapists and Religious Professionals in a Hungarian Adult Sample

In this study we examine whether components of spiritual transcendence can explain individual differences in mental health in a Hungarian adult sample (N = 583), with a special focus on the associations in two subsamples, religious professionals and psychotherapists. Using the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS), we found that religious professionals presented higher Prayer Fulfillment and Universality than psychotherapists; however, members of both professional groups scored higher than other professionals on these dimensions. By contrast, psychotherapists were superior to religious professionals in Connectedness. Moreover, higher Universality predicted better mental health, even after controlling for gender, age, profession, and basic personality traits. No interaction effects were found between profession and the subscales of the STS. Results suggest that the potential mental health benefits of spirituality, especially in form of a universal view of existence, are equally present in both specific professions and in the general sample, whereas the professions themselves still reflect differences both in spirituality and in well-being.

Implicit Motive Profile of Treatment-Seeking Opiate Users: High Affiliation and Low Achievement

Abstract Research on basic human motives (achievement, affiliation, and power) encoded at the emotional level recently returned to the forefront of scientific research. To date, there are only a few studies on the pattern of implicit motives of substance users, so the present study examined opiate users participating in methadone maintenance treatment (N = 80) along these dimensions, comparing them to 40 non-substance users. Participants were asked to create stories on the basis of the pictures of the Thematic Apperception Test. The stories were analyzed using the content analysis method of David Winter (1991). Like other substance user groups, opiate-dependent persons used less achievement and more affiliation notions in creating stories, while there was no significant difference between the two groups concerning power notions. The results proved to be independent of the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms, despite substance users reporting higher levels of these, and suggest that motivational factors are worth considering in treatment planning.

Self-Determination Theory and the Emerging Fields of Relationship Science and Niche Construction Theory

In this paper we summarise the basic tenets of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). As a special occasion for this overview, we review two recently published edited books on relationship motiv - ation (WEINSTEIN 2014) and work motivation (GAGNE 2014) because both of them rely extensively on SDT concepts and principles while they extend the conceptual frames of the theory to several directions and applied fields. Furthermore, we argue that the basic propositions of SDT may contribute to the emerging field of the so called Relationship Science, the continuously forming interdisciplinary knowledge base on close relationships. On the other hand we propose that SDT could and should be further enriched by broader system theoretical approaches. Therefore we outline the evolutionary theoretical principles of human agency as represented in Niche Construction Theory and its applications in social sciences. While a complete theoretical integration exceeds the frames of a review, we draw a series of conclusions that may point in this direction.

Spirituality in Psychotherapy

While scientific interest in the relationship between psychotherapeutic praxis and spirituality is growing, there is still little knowledge on this topic, especially in an East Central European context. To explore how psychotherapists understand spiritual issues and experiences they encounter in their work and to learn what happens to these issues in the course of psychotherapy, this study analyses semi-structured interviews with 30 Hungarian psychotherapists. Applying a grounded theory analytical strategy, three main topics were identified: the therapists attitude towards spirituality leaves a discernible trace in the psychoterapeutic treatment; the therapist influences the way spiritual issues are treated; and the therapist may have a shared spiritual experience with the client. We present individual variations of these experiences as they appear in the code tree. Results are interpreted with reference to a systemic view of the psychotherapeutic process, the intersubjective space of patient and therapist, and the notion of the therapists’ mentalizational capacity.

Efficacy study on self-supervision with role-reversal among helping professionals

In the present study we tested the efficacy of the technique of ‘self supervision with role reversal’ according to R. Kruger. The key question was whether this kind of self supervision has an effect on the relationship of a helper with her client. In an experimental efficacy study we compared the effect of two self supervision techniques: the SSRR technique and a version of the writing paradigm of Pennebaker. We sought to investigate whether role reversal can be of added value in the context of self supervision.