bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Lithuanian SSR students' practical activity and knowledge of the field of environmental protection
Authors: Šalkauskas A.
Published: January 2019

Lithuanian SSR school students do plenty to preserve national wildlife. Many schools organize various extracurricular and after school actives for this purpose. An increasing number of students takes part in the national Natural Care competition and achieves better results.

Materials analysis showed that the 7th grade students' knowledge of nature conservation issues is shallow, fragmented, and not linked to their practical activities. Only 2.4% of students answered the question about what kind of institutions and organizations contribute to wildlife protection in our republic correctly and completely; 87.4% answered correctly, but incompletely, giving just one agency or organization. Only 6% of students answered the question about how birds are useful for farms correctly and completely; 94% answered correctly, but incompletely. Only a few students reported that birds catch mice, voles, and ground squirrels (11 questionnaires of 400) that they distribute seeds (4 questionnaires), and that the birds eat a significant amount of weeds (1 questionnaire).

Students are only introduced to a little of the republic's fauna and its protection. In response to the question about industrial fish, not a single student could name inland industrial fish like roach, bleak, vendace. Only 6% of students identified bream as an industrial fishing of the republic, 4% vimba vimba, and so on.

The students are ignorant of the republic's rules on reserves, sanctuaries, hunting, and fishing.

Therefore, biology teachers aren't using enough lesson time as a basis for instruction on the topic of environmentalism. The students' practical activity is directed to theoretical knowledge; students are insufficiently introduced to local fauna.
Primary teaching in Lithuanian official school in the second hall of the 19th century
Authors: Karčiauskienė M.
Published: January 2019

Primary teaching aims, content and methods applied in the official primary school of Lithuania in the second half of the 19th century are dealt with in the article. A special stress is laid on the one-class people’s school formed according to the 1863 Charter. The reactionary trend of the school is pointed out and the struggle of local people for improving people’s education in Lithuania in shown.
Some peculiarities of perceptive thinking of the 6th-form schoolchildren
Authors: Kulvičienė A.
Published: January 2019

Perceptive thinking is the remaking of the sensual material in the process of immediate perception of the environment. The aim of the study is to show some peculiarities of perceptive comparison in botany learning process of the 6th-form schoolchildren. The data obtained showed that the schoolchildren are able to discern various similarity and difference relations of the objects but they have some difficulties in discerning their similarity.
Some organization forms of differential teaching
Authors: Laužikas J.
Published: January 2019

Problems of differential teaching are widely discussed nowadays. Nobody doubts today that the all-round development of a creative personality is possible and depends on training of individual qualities of pupils' aptitudes and interests. The article reviews some forms of differential teaching well known in other countries, namely: Manheim's, Scharlottenburg's, Vienna's reforms and differential forms of teaching after World War II. Differentiation at schools has been carried out in Great Britain, the U.S.A., France, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Some forms of teaching differentiation at schools in socialist countries are mentioned in this article. Experiments of differential teaching in the U.S.S.R are discussed too.
On studies of Lithuanian folk pedagogy
Authors: Lazauskienė M.
Published: January 2019

The paper deals with the necessity of investigating Lithuanian folk pedagogy and makes reference to some investigations carried on in the Soviet Union and the countries of People's Democracies. Methodological basis is followed by an analysis of the main sources used for investigation of Lithuanian folk pedagogy which brings forth a number of problems pertaining to the history of pedagogics. The paper discusses certain aids of folk pedagogy collected from elderly people during an expedition to Kernavė in 1969.
National conference “Problems of professional orientation” (1971 January 27-28) and further research goals in this field
Authors: Kregždė S.
Published: January 2019

Conference information, professional orientation.
Investigation of the instrumental and active touch, attention and learning
Authors: Bagdonas A.
Published: January 2019

There are many possible mechanisms responsible for the compensation of lost vision. The role of attention and learning in the compensation process is the most easy to check. In the present paper the results of the comparative investigation of instrumental and active touch, attention and learning in three groups of subjects (having normal, slight and lost vision) are presented. The group with slight vision consisted of subjects who use the normal alphabet in reading and writing. The subjects who permanently use the alphabet designed for the blind made up the group of lost vision. The blind made significantly fewer mistakes in instrumental touch and especially in active touch than the other two groups. The task performance level index which is the multiplication of mistakes and the time lost for the task performance was the fewest also for the blind. Judging from the values of mistakes, the task performance time and performance level index for the group having slight vision showed the poorest results both in instrumental touch and in detection of tactile signals. Those with normal vision occupied the intermediate position. According to the indexes of learning, divided attention and concentration no significant differences between the three groups were obtained. The model of selective attention is presented in the descriptive way. The interaction of multiple channels of information makes the basis of this model. With the help of this model the facts dealing with simultaneous performance of two or several tasks are being tried to explain.
Mastering of written language as one of the conditions of transition from pre-conceptional to conceptional thinking
Authors: Garbačiauskienė M. , Grigaitė B.
Published: January 2019

In the theoretical part of the article some investigations of transition from pre-conceptional to conceptional thinking are analysed, views of different authors (J. Piaget, L. Vigotsky, J. Bruner, etc.) on the conditions of such a transition are discussed. The influence of the language, especially written, on the development of conceptional thinking is ascertained. In the other part of the article the results of the experiment are presented. It is stated that pupils begin to differ signs of written language from similar geometrical figures rather early (at 4-5 years of age), they can use them as a means of easement of classification. Statistically important connection between mastering of written language and displacement in pupils thinking (disappearance of "Piaget's phenomena") has been determined in experimental preparatory for school groups of kindergartens.
An evaluation of some H-T-P technique scores in differential diagnostics
Authors: Ambrazevičius R. , Andrijauskienė L. , Gailiūnaitė S. , Gulbinaitė N. , Ridikas M.
Published: January 2019

The present paper is concerned with the problem of the H-T-P test quantitative scoring. It gives an account of quantitative drawings scoring of 46 schizophrenic, 25 organic and 30 neurotic cases. The drawings were scored using the J. N. Buck scoring system. The significant difference between good score IQ and flaw score IQ was found only in the group of schizophrenic patients. The experimental data shows the relevance of the H-T-P quantitative scoring for the differential diagnostics of the mental diseases.
The application of Raven Progressive Matices Test in testing thinking skills of high school graduates
Authors: Gėgžnienė D.
Published: January 2019

This article reviews the intellectual abilities of Lithuanian SSR high school graduates tested using Raven test and concludes with standard norms. 576 high school graduates from different towns and villages in Lithuania, aged 17-20 years, were tested. Norms and other results were compared with those of J. C. Raven, A. Toim, and A. Lunge.
Problems of indirect evaluation of dimension change in psychology
Authors: Schimunek F.P.
Published: January 2019

The article analyzes the evaluation problem of dimension change in psychology. The problem of evaluation of specific repeated memorizing is analyzed when summarizing the empirical research. The evaluation methods of change and their features are reviewed; a solution of solving the validity-reliability problem is introduced.
The motives of learning activity and intellect of students
Authors: Dževečka A.
Published: January 2019

The progress in studies is conditioned by the level of functional and motivational components and their correlation. Peculiarities of visual memory, space imagination and thinking of students of physics and technical specialities are analysed in this work. One of the most important motives for studying physics and technics is interest in the subjects. The author considers that the peculiarities of space imagination and thinking are constituent parts of the intellectual basis for the students’ interest in physics and technical subjects.
Time perception: Estimation of duration, effects of nontemporal variables, plasticity and conceptual model
Authors: Bagdonas A.
Published: January 2019

In the present paper some aspects of time perception are reviewed and experimentally investigated. The subjects compared the duration of exposition of tachistoscopically presented letters with standard stimulus duration. Compared were the following durations: 0,01; 0,02; 0,04; 0,08; 0,16; 0,32; 0,64; 1,28; 2,56 s, the standard duration being 0,16 s. Under divided attention conditions (2nd series of experiments) the subjects compared the duration of visual stimuli and responded to the offset of simultaneously presented sound. The relation between the subjective and objective time duration was stated to be rather complex. Within the range of 0,16 – 2,56 s this relation was linear (ts = 0,28tf + 120), while in the range of durations shorter than 0,16 s - nonlinear. The interaction of two different mechanisms for perception of short and long durations has been proposed. The duration threshold for visual modality is about 0,1 s. In the range of durations studied the duration of 0,16 s occurred to be estimated most correctly. The neutral interval seemed to be dynamic. The plasticity of time estimation has been illustrated by the results of investigation on set formation and by the tendency towards decreasing in overestimation of time intervals in the process of habituation to the stimulus. The large sized stimuli are perceived as being longer than the small-sized ones. The auditory modality is dominant in the estimation of duration. The increment of number of elements in the test object resulted in shortening the subjective duration. The time of reaction to the offset of sound became longer in case the number of elements in the simultaneously presented test object was increased. The model of polymorphous subjective time continuum has been specified. This polymorphous continuum is composed of six subcontinuums functioning differently: the subthreshold and threshold area durations, the perceptual, the operative memory, and the abstract time, and the orientation in time.
The problem of etiology of children hyperactivity
Authors: Chomentauskienė R.
Published: January 2019

The most frequently proposed etiology of hyperactivity is organic brain damage or neurologic dysfunction. The experimental studies conducted in the past decade revealed that organic factors play certain role in some cases, though they occur only in a small portion of hyperactive population. The studies also showed the importance of psychogenic factors in hyperactivity - of parenting styles, interaction patterns and learning, - which till lately have been ignored. The existence of a variety of etiological agents of hyperactivity poses the necessity of distinguishing several etiological subgroups. However, only limited experimental data account for psychogenic hyperactivity. The current studies mostly analyze the role of psychological factors in behavioural terms, which is not enough for pointing out the mechanism of their influence. The psychological mechanism of hyperactivity can only be identified by studying the subjective logics of child behaviour, his subjective interpretation of the surrounding world - not only external determinants of hyperactive behaviour, as it has been commonly done.
Relation of personality status in the delinquent group to the type of accentuation
Authors: Suslavičius A. , Jucevičiūtė L.
Published: January 2019

The present paper considers the problem of personality status attainment in informal groups of antisocial behaviour. It is aimed at assessing the influence of the accentuation type on the process of status attainment. The questionnaire compiled by A. Lichko, and a sociometric test were used. The subjects were 30 inmates of the 2nd vocational technical school in Vilnius. The status of a person in the group and the type of his accentuation were established. The clearly expressed link between personality status and the type of accentuation was observed only in the class of leaders. No unequivocal link between other positions of status hierarchy and accentuation type has been determined. The applied aspects of the problem are discussed.
The control of professional interests of young workers
Authors: Čebelis J.
Published: January 2019

The present paper describes the methods and results of the control of professional interests of young workers at the Vilnius Furniture Combine. The necessity to differentiate the stimuli and the mechanism of control of professional interests of young workers is shown. The dependence of differentiation on the level of the already formed professional interests is revealed. The exploratory results show that it is possible to raise the level of professional interests among young workers, this leading to the improvement of production indices and the reduction in manpower fluctuation. The control of professional interests of young workers proves to be effective and the methods used are recommended for many enterprises.
The formation of interests in psychology as a basis for the development of purposefulness among students of pedagogical specialities
Authors: Kregždė A.
Published: January 2019

The paper deals with the structure of interests at four levels dindifferent, consumer, spontaneous actor, and conscious actor ) in the psychology of students of pedagogical specialities. The interrelation between the student's interests in psychology and his interests in pedagogics referring to the empirical data is revealed. A sketch for differential formation of interests in psychology during experimental studies in general psychology is suggested.
Basics of typology in psychophysical measurements
Authors: Gučas A.
Published: January 2019

The article analyzes the work of J. Steponavičius, the pioneer of experimental psychology in Lithuania, „Subjektyviosios lygybės nustatymas, remiantis vidutine paklaida ir vartojant registravimo metodą", performed in W. Wundt's laboratory in 1912.
Self-esteem and communication disturbances in schizophrenic patients
Authors: Lepeškienė V.
Published: January 2019

The present paper is concerned with the disturbances in the communication processes of the patients with mild cases of schizophrenia. The results of the . investigation have shown that selfesteem of those patients is much lower than that of the control group and that those patients feel themselves much more anxious in social situations than healthy persons. It proves the idea that social isolation of these patients is a defensive behaviour, caused by their sttiving to avoid "psychological threat" to their self-esteem.
Psychosomatic aspects of diabetes mellitus
Authors: Repšytė E. , Streikus Z.
Published: January 2019

Diabetes mellitus is commonly considered to be a disease that is incurable, but may be properly controlled. It is a kind of chronic psychosomatic disease, the management and self-care of which is presumed to be influenced greatly by the patients beliefs, emotions and his active participation in the treatment. Literature on psychosomatic aspects of diabetes is reviewed in the paper. The study suggests that patients with diabetes have a markedly increased trait and state anxiety, as well as neurotization. The very notable feature of these patients is an inadequate reaction to their disease, self-care, which doesn't show any changes during somatic-oriented medication.
The investigation of the effectiveness of sociopsychological training
Authors: Chomentauskas G. , Lepeška V.
Published: January 2019

The necessity of a wider understanding of sociopsychological training is discussed in the paper. Not only a behavioral aspect, but also changes in the attitude towards people ( social decentration, social perception, etc. ) and towards their own self ( self-image enrichment, integration, etc. ) should be taken into account. The effectiveness of training should be measured in accordance with the aims discussed. The results of investigating 39 persons using the personality semantic differentia1 are presented. The factorial analysis of the data revealed changes in the semantic structure of self and other people perception which were induced by sociopsychological training. More consistent and less controversial self and other people perception was the main in structural change detected.
Help motivation: Preconditions for altruistic behaviour
Authors: Suslavičius A.
Published: January 2019

Social and biological treatments of help motivation, the decision-making dynamics of helping processes of personality due to situation conditions and to other factors are discussed. The key notions of the article are victim motive conflict, challenge to self-esteem. Mechanisms of receiving help and personality characteristics of help receiving are also being discussed.
Psychology of text comprehension: Problems and possibilities of empirical investigations
Authors: Rimkutė E.
Published: January 2019

The paper is concerned with present of theoretical and methodological problems of text comprehension in psychology. The investigations of the language in psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology which influenced the formation of the present paradigms of text comprehension are discussed. Pilot study on the application of the phenomenological method in the investigation of text comprehension is described and empirical data representing individual differences in the comprehension of miraculous tale are discussed.
Technical aptitudes of senior adolescents
Authors: Beresnevičienė D.
Published: January 2019

The present paper reveals the investigation data of VIII and IX forms pupils in Lithuanian general education schools, using the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT). 1100 pupils have been studied to determine the factors influencing the level of understanding mechanical reasoning and space relations. The experimental investigation has shown the direct correlation between the above types of aptitudes. The high parameters of technical aptitudes of pupils depend on their inclination for technical activities, engineering interests, age and sex.
The issue of relationship between emotions, emotionality and activity
Authors: Pacevičius J.
Published: January 2019

An analysis of experimental work on the problem of relationship between emotions and activity is presented here. Situative and stable (typical) aspects of the analysis emotional phenornena, manifesting itself in activity, is distinguished. The contradictive character of experimental data conceming the problem of emotion anei activity rclation is stressed. The necessity of paying auention to stable emotional peculiarities in investigating tbe influence of situative emotions on activity is shown. The necessity for investigations not only a resultive side of activity and not only a quantitative parameters (intensity) of emotionality is stressed. The prospect for deeper analysis is open including into investigations processive indences of activity and qualitative (sign, modality) parameters of emotions
Linking parental values and infant-mother attachment patterns
Authors: Čekuolienė D.
Published: January 2019

The article emphasizes the aspects of change and socialization of emotional connections. Based on the reviewed literature, the problem of the relationship between the mother 's values, which are considered to be part of the parents' values, and the developing attachment type in infancy is raised and analyzed.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990)
Authors: Valickas Gintautas
Published: January 2019

The article present a short biography of B. F. Skinner and his major theoretical assumptions about behavior. At the end of the article, the list of his major works is presented.
Peculiarities of the motives to approach success and to avoid failure
Authors: Punis A.
Published: January 2019

The motive for approaching success (SS) is characterised as the capacity to anticipate pleasure or pride and the motive for avoiding failure (NV), as the capacity to anticipate pain or embarrassment. A measuring instrument for these motives has been developed by T. Gjesme and R. Nygard (the Achievement Motivation Scale, AMS). The present investigation was undertaken in order to analyse the relationship between the scores on the SS and NV scales and other possible near features. A positive and statistically reliable relationship between the SS scale and CPI Dominance scale was found, and a negative relationship between the NV and H. Eysenck Extroversion-Introversion Neurotism scale, R. Amthauer's third test and fifth subtest. It was also found that there is no direct relationship between SS and NV motives and the different attractivenesses in the process of the job, the result of the job, or the evaluation of the job.
Peer relationships in middle childhood and adolescence
Authors: ŽUKAUSKIENĖ R.
Published: January 2019

Positive peer relationships and prosocial behaviour is known to emerge as major correlates of a positive status at each age. On the contrary, poor peer relationships are a vali d indicator of concurrent and subsequent. Adjustment problems. In this work, peer sociometric status (Coie, et al., 1983), Revised Class Play (Masten, et al., 1985) and teacher ratings of school achievement were obtained for 483 third-through seventh-grade children and adolescents, attending elementary and secondary schools. As we hypothesized, the correlations of positive status with the Sociability-Leadership factor and with school achievement were strongly positive. The correlations of positive status with the Aggressive-Disruptive factor were negative, and the strength of the relation varied with the age. The correlations of positive peer status with Sensitivity-lsolation factor increases with age. Our data provide support for the hypothesis about the age differences in process variables. School achievement was shown to play a more important role in peer acceptance in middle childhood than in adolescence. Prosocial behaviour was proved to be an important factor of high positive social status in middle childhood, while the aggressive behaviour was shown to influence the development of negative social status (and further adjustment problems) in adolescence. The relationships of negative status with isolated behaviour increased dramatically in adolescence, suggesting greater attention by peers to asocial and over-emotional behaviour.
The peculiarities of student's moral norms
Authors: ZAJANČKAUSKAITĖ LORETA
Published: January 2019

Moral norms are reflections of society's general interests. Very often those general interests are contrary to individual interests. For this reason,the scientific research of moral phenomenon bas much value. The article deals with moral knowledge and readiness for the violation of any declared norms. In the course of socialisation, individuals meet the same values and norms of behavior, but the results show statistically meaningful intergroup differences which are displayed by the declared norms' contents, a formulations of these norms, and a readiness for the violation of them. The groups researched were divided according to sex and age.
Dream analysis using theories of analytical psychology
Authors: Buzaitė Saulė
Published: January 2019

The paper covers three major theoretical approches on dreams that now dominate in analytical psychology. Modifications of Jung's original ideas could create some problems dealing with dream material to those who are not familiar with the present situation so the purpose of this paper is to clear up the pecularities characteristic to each theoretical approach. Clinical case report and qualitative data analysis forms methodological basis of the three level interpretation of dreams selected during the course of depth oriented psychotherapy. This method was chosen as the most appropriate dealing with the clinical material.
Analysis of WISC-III results based on Lithuanian children representative sample
Authors: Gintilienė Gražina , Černiauskaitė Dovilė , Girdzijauskienė Sigita , Dragūnevičienė Rūta
Published: January 2019

The main goal of the WISC-III Lithuanian study was to compare the UK standardised sample with a Lithuanian representative sample, to explore whether there are any differences between the two groups and if so, identify them. The Lithuanian sample consisted of 381 children ranging from 6 to 16 years of age. Stratified random sampling was used for the following variables: age, gender, residential area, parent’s (or guardian’s) education level. Scaled scores were assigned to each Lithuanian child using the UK norm tables. The mean differences of WISC-III subtests showed that Lithuanian children received lower scores than the UK sample (p≤0,05). Item analysis showed that some items were too difficult or too easy for Lithuanian children and some items had low discrimination value. This was particularly obvious in the following subtests: Information, Similarities, Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Digit Span and Picture Completion. These subtests were deemed to be culturally specific. The implication of cultural context for the Digit Span subtest is reflected by the difference in the number of syllables digits in English and Lithuanian. It is proposed that some items are not measuring the same thing in the Lithuanian and UK samples. The main conclusion of this study is that the Lithuanian sample results differed from the UK sample and some changes of items and the establishment of Lithuanian norms are recommended.
The influence of colour on the effect of advertising information
Authors: Lapė Juvencijus , Masiliūnaitė Lina
Published: January 2019

The article offers the results of an experimental investigation into the influence of an advertising text of a notice on the turning of attention, the perception and the memorising of the text.The results of the investigation corroborate the hypothesis that the colour of advertising text influences the turning of attention, the perception and the memorising of the text. The red colour produces the greatest influence. The influence of the green colour is a little less significant. However the influence produced by the blue colour is two times weaker than the one made by the red colour. Though the red colour attracts attention better, subjects quote the text written in green more exhaustively. This indicates that the text written in green is read more attentively and willingly.
The reliability and validity of Lithuanian adaptive behavior scales: Pilot study results
Authors: Černiauskaitė Dovilė
Published: January 2019

This study examines some psychometric characteristics of Lithuanian adaptive behavior scales. Internal consistency coefficients for domains, ranging from 0,72 to 0,93, demonstrate acceptable level of reliability. The results from LAES pilot study revealed the increase of domain mean raw scores from one age to the next and some other age trends, what support the construct validity of the LAES as a development measure of adaptive behavior. The study of group differences on LAES results showed significantly and specifically different adaptive functioning of normal, visually handicapped, hearing impaired and mentally retarded children, what also supports the validity of the LAES.
Poverty as a risk factor of mental health problems
Authors: Pūras Dainius , Povilaitis Robertas , Stanislavovienė Jelena
Published: January 2019

Health care specialists all over the world are entirely preoccupied with the growing distance between people's health and their socio-economic level. In 1997 established International Poverty and Health Organization suggests to struggle against the problem by various means and one of them encompasses the possibility to include information how socio-economical differences affect people's health into health care specialists training curricula. In many other countries respective studies are being carried out or are already done.Goal of the work: to detect the link between poverty and mental health problems.Methodology: The survey was done using the questionnaire created especially for this study and it was composed of 3 parts: demographic data, indicators of socio-economical status, mental health data. 1231 person were randomly selected and interviewed.Results: Correlation between incomes and mental health problems is established as follow: the strongest positive correlation (rs= 0,321) is between incomes and moods and the strongest negative correlation (rs = -0,368) is between incomes and how often people is in the state of sad and blue. It is established that there is a statistically reliable difference between answers to the questions about state of mental health of people who are in all poverty risk groups and who are not. It is also established that those who can not satisfy their minimal needs more often mark answers showing worse state of mental health.
The relation between children abuse and the level of incurred traumas
Authors: Pakalniškienė Vilmantė , Bieliauskaitė Rasa , Sebre Sandra
Published: January 2019

This study was designed to look at levels of incidence of child emotional, physical and sexual abuse, associated risk factors and trauma symptoms in a crosscultural comparison between two Baltic countries. Six hundred six chilren ages 10-14 from Latvia (306), Lithuania (300) participated in the study. They were assessed by questionnaires concerning experience of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. The children also responded to questionnaire items concerning parental risk-factors and trauma symptoms: depression, anxiety, anger, PTSD, dissociation, sexual concerns and psychosomatic complaints. Levels of reported incidence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse differed by country, as did levels of reported trauma symptoms. Incidence of emotional and physical abuse differed by region, with higher levels of abuse reported in the rural regions. In both countries generally similar levels of high association between emotional/physical abuse and trauma symptoms were found. Children who had experienced abuse possess more traumatic symptoms rather than those who had not experience the abuse; self assessment of children who experience abuse is lower; there are substantial differences between data from Lithuania and from Latvia, children in Lithuania much more often dream and fantasize and tend to dissociate themselves from unpleasant experience.
Detection of change: Role of stimulus type versus stimulus complexity
Authors: Norvilas Algis , Mackey Teresa
Published: January 2019

This study has investigated the claim that detection of change for spatial configuration is inherently easier than for object identity. Specifically, it looked at whether a difference in complexity, which was much greater in object than in configuration stimuli, might have mediated the difference in performance. In order to assess this possibility, participants were asked to detect change both for object and configuration stimulus pairs at two levels of complexity: simple and complex. The results showed that participants were much better at detecting change for simple stimuli than for complex stimuli, regardless of the type of stimulus involved. These findings, then, do not support a special status for configuration, rather they point to stimulus complexity as playing a determinate role in change detection.
Life-threatening experiences, posttraumatic stress disorder, and adaptation in Lithuanian men 17 years after military service in Afghanistan and the USSR
Authors: Domanskaitė-Gota Vėjūnė , Gailienė Danutė , Kazlauskas Evaldas
Published: January 2019

A sample of 268 Lithuanian men who served in the Soviet Army in 1979–1989 was investigated on the

average 17 years after the service; the questionnaire was completed focusing on life-threatening expe-

rience, posttraumatic stress reactions, and adaptation variables. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress

disorder was 30% in the group of the men who served in Afghanistan and 2% in the group of the men

who served in various places of the USSR. Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans experienced significantly

more service-related and non-service-related traumatic events and conditions, and their adaptation after

the service and nowadays were poorer than in the men who served in the USSR. Life-threatening expe-

rience, PTSD and adaptation were correlated in both groups.
Coping with Stress Questionnaire: Application of the four-factor model
Authors: Grakauskas Žygimantas , Valickas Gintautas
Published: January 2019

The article introduces the Lithuanian stress coping assessment method. The lack of stress coping assessment methods adapted for the Lithuanian population fostered its composition. The method was constructed using the strategy of empirical scale development. The research was carried out in three stages. In the first and second stages, statements were selected from various stress coping questionnaires (WCQ, COPE, CISS etc.) and classified using the mathematical model of explanatory factor analysis. In the first stage, the original list consisting of 167 statements was submitted to 178 participants of the study. In the second stage, the list consisting of 90 statements was submitted to 147 participants. The participants were students of Vilnius University and the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, average age – 20.4 years. On the basis of mathematical criteria and semantic analysis of the statements, the number of the statements was reduced to 24 in the final version of the questionnaire; 4 factors were xtracted: social support, problem solving, emotional discharge, avoidance. 208 participants took part in the third stage of the study, during which some psychometrical characteristics of the questionnaire were assessed. It was established that these four factors explain for 47.93 per cent of data dispersion. The following indexes of scales reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) were found: social support (α = 0.832), problem solving (α = 0.760), emotional discharge (α = 0.721), avoidance (α = 0.624). Confirmatory factor analysis data indicate a satisfactory suitability of the model of four factors (Chi-Square = 140.81; RMSEA = 0.055; GFI = 0.89; CFI = 0.87; NNFI = 0.84).While composing the questionnaire, the problem of optimal balance was encountered between choosing a good method in the sense of content and a method distinctive characterized by good psychometrical characteristics. There is a plan in the future to verify the psychometrical characteristic of the composed stress coping assessment method on the basis of data of a more representative sample, to assess the relation of the questionnaire to the other methods of stress coping and to improve separate scales of the questionnaire, especially those dealing with the factor of avoidance.
Broadcasting of Violence on Lithuanian Television Programs
Authors: Kiguolytė Rugilė , Valickas Gintautas
Published: January 2019

Constant demonstration of violence and aggressive models on television threatens to the safety of the society, as by this a young person’s knowledge of the world is perverted and the usage of aggressive behaviour is stimulated. The purpose of the present research was to identify the violence demonstrated on the main Lithuanian TV channels (LRT, LNK, TV3). For data collecting we were using a DVD player, which was programmed to record random 15-minute episodes three times per day on different TV channels on October and November in 2006 and on January, 2007. The total material contained 18 hours of recording. 194 occasions of violence captured were evaluated according to the criteria developed by the authors of this paper. It was looked at the type of the violence demonstrated, the complexion and purpose of the demonstration of the violence, the degree of its gravity and particularity, the final effects of the violence demonstrated, the presented evaluation of the violence and the frequency of violence acts in different channels and programs at different times of the day. Besides the authors of this paper, two independent members from the Board of Experts of the Office of the Inspector of Journalists Ethics were asked to evaluate the violence acts according to developed criteria. The results revealed that the average frequency of broadcasting violence on TV is 10.8 violence acts per hour. The highest frequency of broadcasting violence was on TV3 channel – it makes 16.3 violence acts per hour, while LRT channel had least rate of violence – 6 acts per hour (p ≤ 0.001). Most violence acts (38.1 percent) were recorded from 18.00 to 23.00 h, least (25.8 percent) – from 6.00 to 12.00 h (p ≤ 0.031). In this general complexion of all Lithuanian programs the most frequent is physical violence and both – physical and psychical – types of violence are shown only with a reason to call emotions and viewers attention to television. 46 percent of violent acts were demonstrated without any noticeable ravage to victim and 49 percent there were no clear evaluation of the violent act or aggressor itself. Contrarily, violent behavior was shown to bring positive after-effect to the aggressor. It was also noticed that the biggest number of physical and psychical violence acts occurs in cartoons, which is significantly different from the number of violence acts demonstrated in feature films (p ≤ 0.001) and during the announcements (p ≤ 0.024). As cartoons are aimed at the audience of children of the preschool age and early school age, the conclusion can be drawn that the youngest and the most sensitive group of habitants in our country is under the biggest threat of the violence broadcasted by the Lithuanian television programs.
Relation between traumatic experience and post-traumatic symptomatics in Lithuanian Afganistan war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder
Authors: Domanskaitė-Gota Vėjūnė , Gailienė Danutė , Kazlauskas Evaldas
Published: January 2019

The aim of this paper is to assess what potential traumatic life-events and experiences are related to PTSD in the Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans (N = 174). Data in this study were collected from a questionnaire survey with a sample of 268 Lithuanian men aged 32 to 52, who were on military duty (compulsory military service) in the Soviet army in 1979–1989. Four regions (capital cities, cities, small cities, and countryside), with the sample allocation proportionate to the distribution of Lithuanian population, geographically stratified the sample; 174 men served in Afghanistan during the Soviet Union – Afghanistan war. They were divided into two groups according to the manifestation of posttraumatic stress disorder. One group consists of 108 men without PTSD and 46 men with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD (25 and 21 respectively). The following variables were investigated: demographics, traumatic life-events or conditions, PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, Mollica et al., 1992). The Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD reported significantly more lifetime traumatic events and conditions. The average number of traumatic events per man with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD was 12.4 and 10 for those without PTSD (F = 1.58, df =152, p < 0.05). The average number of direct exposure events per Lithuanian Afghanistan war veteran with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD was 8 and 6 for veterans without PTSD (F = 10.2, df = 152, p < 0.002). There was a significant correlation between PTSD and the amount of direct exposure and particular traumatic experience: neglect in childhood, loss of a family member, mental illness in the family, absence of parents, violent assault, persecution, and struggle for existence.The Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD and without PTSD had a very similar experience of military operations and combats and the duration of their service didn’t differ. Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD experienced more traumatic life-events and conditions than did veterans without PTSD, Veterans with PTSD and a sub-clinical level of PTSD, more often than veterans without PTSD, experienced traumatic exposure related to the family, violent assault and struggle for existence. Mental illness in the family, loss of a family member and violent assault were predictive of PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD in the Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans.
Psychometric characteristics of the improved four-factor coping with stress questionnaire
Authors: Valickas Gintautas , Želvienė Paulina , Grakauskas Žygimantas
Published: January 2019

The article presents the process of improving the Lithuanian coping with stress questionnaire (Grakauskas ir Valickas, 2006). To assess the reliability and construct validity of the four-factor questionnaire, three studies with the participation of 831 respondents were conducted. The respondents were students of Vilnius University (average age 21.04 years) and of Vilnius gymnasiums (average age 16.42 years). In the first study, the questionnaire was submitted to 417, in the second study to 103 and in the third study to 311 respondents. In the first and second studies, statements of the questionnaire were improved, and the four-factor structure of the questionnaire was assessed. In the third study we assessed some psychometrical characteristics of the questionnaire. The following indexes of scales’ internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) were found: social support (α = 0.864), problem solving (α = 0.760), emotional venting (α = 0.692), avoidance (α = 0.661). The test–retest score reliability (Pearson’s correlation coefficients) varied from 0.630 (avoidance scale) to 0.802 (social support scale) (test–retest time interval was two weeks). It has been established that four factors of the questionnaire explained 48.504 per cent of data dispersion. The exploratory factor analysis also indicated a satisfactory suitability of scale items (factor loadings varied from 0.415 to 0.832). Confirmatory factor analysis data indicate a satisfactory suitability of the model of four factors (χ² = 287.58, df =74; RMSEA = 0.077; GFI = 0.93; CFI = 0.87; NFI = 0.84). A correlation between the four-factor coping with stress questionnaire and the COPE questionnaire was also assessed. The Pearson’s correlation indexes between similar scales of the two questionnaires varied from 0,360 to 0,809. Differences were also found between age and gender. University students used the problem solving and social support stress coping strategy more often than gymnasium students, while women used the social support, avoidance and emotional venting stress coping strategy more often than men.
Aggressive driving: The role of aggression, driving anger, and self-efficacy
Authors: Čėsnienė I. , Kašinska A.
Published: January 2019

According to the World Health Organization (2004), road traffic accidents are one of the ten leading causes of death. Many of these fatalities involve aggressive driving. P. Ellison-Potter et al. (2001) suggest that aggressive driving is any driving behaviour that intentionally endangers others psychologically, physically, or both. Examples of aggressive driving include behaviours such as excessive speeding, tailgating, horn honking, traffic weaving, profanity, obscene gestures, headlight flashing, etc. In order to understand this phenomenon, researchers have examined aggressive driving in terms of several levels of variables such as sociocultural, situational or personal (Valleries et al., 2005). Moreover, self-assessment of driving skills is a central dimension of driving activity. The evaluation of specific skills may be conceptualized by self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to individuals’ belief in their ability to accomplish specific goals (Bandura, 1995).The article reports the findings concerning the relationship between aggression, anger and self-efficacy among Lithuanian drivers. The sample consisted of 196 drivers (99 males, 97 females) aged 18 to 74 years. The Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (Buss and Perry, 1992), the Driving Anger Scale (Deffenbacher et al., 1994), and the Adelaide Driving Self-efficacy Scale (George et al., 2007) were used in the study. Participants were administered also a questionnaire measuring a variety of demographical characteristics and driving-related factors. The results showed that more aggressive drivers tend to express the higher levels of driving anger than do less aggressive drivers. A negative relation between driving anger and driving self-efficacy was found. Further, the driving self-efficacy was higher in males than in females. Research findings indicate that there are gender differences in aggression, i.e. male drivers are more aggressive than female drivers. There are significant age differences in driver anger. In addition, high anger and aggression were related to unsafe driving behaviours. Seat-belt wearing tends to be less frequent among male drivers than among females. Aggression was found to be a predictor of crash-related outcomes. Finally, limitations of the study are discussed.