bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of behavioral and emotional problems of preschool children: A comparative analysis of mothers', fathers' and caregivers-teachers' evaluations
Authors: Jusienė Roma , Raižienė Saulė
Published: January 2019

Due evaluation of possible emotional disorders in preschool age is important not only from a theoretical point of view, explaining the etiology, the development, and the prognosis of psychopathology, but also from practical positions applying early psychopathologic intervention and prevention programs. In general, in order to evaluate psychological adaptation of young children, it is necessary to collect information from several sources. This research aims to analyse the information about behavioural and emotional difficulties of children collected from three different sources – mother, father, and nurse – using CBCL/1½-5 and CTRF/1½-5 (Achebach and Rescorla, 2000) scales and compare it to each other in order to find out whether the information collected from different sources about the same child is coincident. The results show that internal coincidence of both scales is better of evaluations provided by nurses than parents. The evaluations of mothers and fathers are more coincident than that of nurses and parents. The evaluations of girls are less different and more coincident than boys. Average evaluations of parents under different scales are higher than those of nurses, except concentration difficulties and withdrawal. Summarising the results of the research, the author sets guidelines for possible further research of early child development and discusses possibilities of psychological evaluation of children.
The Psychological Time Questionnaire: The psychometric qualities
Authors: Liniauskaitė Audronė
Published: January 2019

The psychological time – rather complicated area of psychological measurement due to complexity of object, ambiguity of the concepts, the lack of solid model and valid measurement method. The most researchers of this area stimulates the creation of the new methods of psychological time measurement, the individual differences are emphasized, which are linked with cultural, ethnics, religious peculiarities of society, prevailing system of values and even with economical level. The aim of the study is to create the psychological time questionnaire using empirical strategy. Questionnaire had been created in two phases. There were 119 statements in the first version. Statements were formulated on the basis of previous experience of investigations and psychological time parameters that were mentioned in scientific literature. Primal research had been accomplished after questioning 254 participants. By the mean of factorial analysis there were distinguished 29 questions, which comprised 6 scales: Time planning, Work time / leisure mixture, Time anxiety, Orientation to the past, Orientation to the future and Orientation to the present. 6 factors that were distinguished explained 55% of the variance. Cronbach alpha of distinguished scales varies from 0.602 (in the scale of Orientation to the present) to 0.812 (in the Work time / leisure mixture scale) 687 participants attended in the second research. 6 distinguished factors explain 57.86% of variance. After new obtained data had been analyzed, 4 meaningfully indiscreet factors were noticed. The first factor shows bewilderment of work time and leisure time areas, second factor – predisposition to plan time, and the third – time anxiety. Whereas in the fourth factor alongside the statements about the past, one factor, which is associated with the future appears. The statements, related with the orientation to the future, fall to the fifth factor, but there appears the statement of time anxiety and the statement “I often plan the future” fall into this factor with negative load. The sixth factor again has clearly predictable meaning – orientation to the present.So, we decided to remove two statements. Confirmative factorial analysis that was performed showed that propositions (statements) for the scales are selected adequately (χ2 = 1387.689, df = 309, p = .00, CFI = .84, TLI = .89, RMSEA = .07). The internal consistency indices of the final version of the scale are better than the first scale. Cronbach alpha varies from 0.657 (Orientation to the future) to 0.863 (Work time/leisure time mixture).
Emotional and behavioral problems of referred and non-referred children: Analysis of associations with family socio-demographic variables
Authors: Kajokienė Ilona , Žukauskienė Rita
Published: January 2019

The focus of this paper – analysis of associations of emotional and behavioral problems of referred and non-referred children with family socio-demographic variables. For this purpose, we used data from a clinical sample (N = 780) that consists of children placed for treatment to child psychiatry centers and mental health centers, and data from a representative sample (referred children are excluded) (N = 3191). Worldwide known ASEBA instruments CBCL6/18 and YSR 11/18 were applied in this research to evaluate children's emotional and behavioral problems, also a questionnaire to collect data on socio-demographic variables about child and his family. We made a comprehensive analysis of social, demographic, economic variables in relation to emotional and behavioral problems assessed by CBCL and YSR, also comparisons between clinical and representative groups were made. Results show that gender was important variable influencing level of internal and external problems both in clinical and representative samples. Age was more important determinant in representative group. Children from incomplete families showed higher levels of emotional and behavioral disturbances (particularly, external). Children from clinical sample from incomplete families more often were receiving in-patient treatment rather than outpatient treatment. Better educational background (especially that of mothers) was important social factor determining lower levels of psychological problems in both clinical and representative samples. Family SES (income per person) negatively correlated with most CBCL and YSR scales scores, although there were no significant relations with Somatic Complaints and Rule Breaking Behavior scales. Prognostic power of socio-economic, demographic variables to predict child behavioral and emotional problems was assessed. In addition, revised norms for CBCL6/18, TRF6/18 and YSR11/18 are enclosed.
The coherence of adolescent’s emotional and behavioral problems and changes over three years: Age and gender differences
Authors: Malinauskienė Oksana , Žukauskienė Rita
Published: January 2019

Adolescent emotional and behavioural problems probably eventuate through a variety of developmental pathways and exposure to several risk factors. Several salient influences and concomitants associated with an increased risk of adolescent emotional and behavioural problems have been previously documented, including being female or male, low parental support, and substance use. The research focuses on adolescence as an important developmental period for understanding its emotional and behavioural problems and their correlations. To date, there have been few longitudinal studies on the possible structural relationships among emotional and behavioural problems in adolescent samples. The purpose of the present study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the longitudinal relationships among these factors and to demonstrate how they differ by sex. This study expands upon previous studies and upon the current body of literature by utilizing a longitudinal design and considering the stability and change of emotional and behavioural problems during adolescence. The longitudinal analyses contribute through clarifying ambiguities in previous findings of concurrent relations and longitudinal trends of emotional and behavioural problems. Finally, this investigation focused on a community sample, to enable a better generalization of the results to other community samples of troubled youth. Using a longitudinal sample, this study aims to analyze (1) how emotional and behavioural problems are associated with each other in adolescence, in different age groups, (2) how emotional and behavioural problems change over a three-year period, and (3) how these developmental tendencies are related to child’s gender. The sample consisted of 317 adolescents: 174 girls (55%) and 143 boys (45%). Emotional and behavioural problems were assessed at ages 14, 15 and 16 by the Youth Self Report (YSR) completed by the children. The study found that emotional and behavioural problems are associated: in all age groups, a coherence among anxiety/depression, somatic complaints, withdrawal, aggression and delinquency was apparent. Evidence suggests that emotional and behavioural problems, except withdrawal and delinquency, are relatively stable, however, the intensity of problems changes over time. Gender differences were apparent: in all age groups, girls scored higher than boys on anxiety/depression and somatic complaints, while boys scored higher than girls on the delinquency scale. The interactions between gender*age for anxiety/depression, somatic complaints, withdrawal, aggression and delinquency were not significant, implying that for both boys and girls these problems over a three-year period remained on the same level.
Influence of Distracter on Perceived Stimulus Length and Angle Size
Authors: Bertulis Algis , Bulatov Aleksandr , Bielevičius Arūnas
Published: January 2019

This study describes experiments in which subjects adjusted the spatial positions of spots in three different kinds of basic stimuli in order to best perceive a required spatial property: 1) vernier alignment in a three-spot line arrangement, 2) orthogonality in a right-angled triangle constructed of three spots, or 3) length equality in a Brentano type figure. The magnitudes of the perceptual errors were measured as functions of the distance between the spots and flanking objects placed in close proximity to the spot stimuli. Quantitative characteristics of the strengths of the different illusions were obtained with the flanking objects placed at varying extents of spatial separation. The data were interpreted in terms of centroid biases caused by local integration processes. An appropriate analytical description of the experimental data was proposed, and good correspondence between it and the data was obtained. The calculated spatial parameters of the local lateral integration showed a linear dependence on the stimulus size.
Anchoring Effect in Estimation of Event Occurrence Time
Authors: Martišius Vaclovas
Published: January 2019

It has been established that for choice of alternatives not only the information characterising such alternatives is important, but the manner of its presentation as well. Therefore, the question is whether a similar anchoring effect occurs in other fields of estimation. Since in the course of research it has been established that the precision of estimation of event occurrence time varies due to minor changes in inquiry methods, e.g. increase or reduction of the frequency of forward or backward telescoping, therefore the anchoring effect is presumable in the field of time estimation. Sixty undergraduate students participated in the study. The objective of this study is to determine whether the manner of time-span description influences estimations of the people involved in the experiment when they are to reply whether an event occurred within a certain interval of time. The study tested the hypothesis stating that when an instruction indicates a date of the lower limit of an interval, the subjects will be more precise in estimation whether the event occurred within the certain time-span than that specifying no date whatsoever – just putting a question whether the event took place within a certain interval of time, suppose, within the last halfyear. The experiment carried out was a between-group one. The first group was given the lower limit of an interval, while the second one was given none. Both groups were given time-spans of the same duration.  The study data proved the above-mentioned hypothesis. The group that was given the date of the lower limit of the interval made less mistakes (t58 = 4.084; p = 0.000). The study analysed the mistakes occurring due to the forward telescoping only. The impact of the intervals characterisation manner upon the number of mistakes is average (rpb = 0.42). From the point of view of classical rationality, it should be expected that both groups will make approximately the same number of mistakes, however, it has not happened, therefore it will be observed that the principle of invariance has been violated. The previous study (Gaskel et al., 2000; Loftus and Marburger, 1983) has established that when people are to estimate whether the event occurred before or after an event relevant for them, the number of mistakes is less than in the cases, where such relevant event is not indicated. The relevant events become landmarks, the time of occurrence whereof is the point of comparison to the time of other events occurrence. Further to the data of our study, undistinguished dates become the landmarks.
Psychological adjustment of preschool children with bronchial asthma and its relations to parental conflicts and parenting practices
Authors: Bieliauskaitė Rasa , Garckija Renata , Jusienė Roma
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we analyse the emotional and behavioral problems of 45 children (31 boys and 14 girls) with bronchial asthma, (BA), aged two to five years. The mothers of the children filled in the CBCL/1½-5 (Child Behavior Checklist), Block Parental Practices questionnaire, the Conflicts and Problem-solving Scales (CPS) and the demographic questionnaire. The results have shown that children with BA have more internal problems as compared with healthy children as well as with general population. Mothers of children with BA practice more of psychological control than do mothers of healthy children. The results suggest that the practice of psychological control is related to greater behavioral problems. The results also show that the use of physical punishment is related to external problems of BA children. In the BA group, the severity of parental conflicts is related to behavioral problems, and the use of physical aggression during the conflicts is related to the use of corporal punishment. The level of education of mothers proved to be an important factor in predicting the psychological adjustment of children with BA. Mothers with a lower education report more internal and external pro blems of children with BA. It appears also that the a lower education level of mothers is related to the more frequent use of corporal punishment. The regression analysis has proven the level of maternal education to be predictive of 40 % of internal problems, and together with physical aggression during parental conflicts it explains 56 % of data. Physical aggression during parental conflicts seems to be the only predictive factor and explains 33 % of data on external problems. Our results disclose the importance of psychosocial factors – the type and level of parental conflicts as the well as prevalence of psychological control –. in the adjustment of children with BA. These factors can be sources of BA-inducing stress. Our results have shown the level of mother’s education to be one of the strongest predictors of internal problems of a child with BA. An important direction of future research could be elucidation of this factor – presumably looking for hindrances in the mother–child relationship.
Stages for extracting colour information: How the brain processes colour
Authors: Kulikowski Janus J. , Daugirdienė Aušra , Panorgias Athanasios , Murray Ian J. , Stanikūnas Rytis , Vaitkevičius Henrikas
Published: January 2019

Colour information is processed by many stages in the visual system. Primate colour vision relies on three photoreceptors, cones, which sample visible light and send signals to the second stage, cone–opponent units. Surprisingly this stage determines not only the threshold detection for chromatic patches, but also matching surface colours under various illuminations. Hue discrimination at detection thresholds reveals contribution of the third stage, colour-opponency, which determines colour categories, or unique hues. These hues remain constant for para-central, peripheral field locations, providing the reference for veridical vision. However, more challenging tasks of colour identification require contributions from higher colour centres (V4–complex, TEO, IT).The aim of this study is to present key experiments illustrating the contributions of the cone opponent stage and unique hues in low-level colour vision, whereas the effect of damage to various stages will be discussed in terms of the distributed representations in the visual system.The experiments showed that the colour apparatus uses signals derived from the entire visual field (i.e. panoramic viewing), perhaps using some form of spatial and temporal integration. This observation is supported by the fact that when a matching paradigm is used to compare peripheral and central colour samples, peripherally invariant hues correspond to unique hues. And, finally, there is a trade-off between sensitivity and selectivity, and it seems likely that neurons form flexible assemblies which can act together to extract either hue, giving fine hue discrimination but poor sensitivity, or extract contrast giving high chromatic sensitivity but having poor hue discrimination.
Predictors of women’s depression during postpartum period
Authors: Zamalijeva O. , Jusienė R.
Published: January 2019

Approximately 20 percent of women suffer from postpartum depression after childbirth, which, in turn, negatively affects women’s well-being, child’s development and interactions with the child and family. Risk factors, which most significantly influence postpartum depression, have been analyzed by numerous researchers, seeking to make it possible to predict and identify women at risk before the onset of symptoms. Nevertheless, the data obtained is inconclusive and research results are contradictory. The most inconclusive results are those related to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and their impact on depressive symptoms during postpartum period. Moreover, there are inconsistencies in conclusions concerning social support, pregnancy and delivery-related factors, stressful life events, emotional and physical health and their influence on postpartum depression. The goal of this research is to identify demographic, social, psychological and health related variables that could reliably predict women’s depression half year after delivery. This research is prospective and longitudinal, participants were interviewed at several assessment points – during pregnancy, the first month and half a year postpartum. The complete data about 66 women are analyzed in this article. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM), indicate that the only significant predictor of women’s depressive symptoms during postpartum period, having direct effect, is depression during pregnancy, i.e. women who report more depressive symptoms during pregnancy are significantly more likely to be depressed during postpartum period. Women who rated their subjective readiness for motherhood as lower, also with high anxiety concerning delivery, poor quality of relationship with a partner, and who reported more stressful life events, as well as primiparous women are at greater risk postpartum depression; however these variables and depressive symptoms during postpartum period are not directly related. The readiness for motherhood and anxiety concerning delivery predicts depression during pregnancy. The quality of relationships with partner, in turn, predicts both readiness for motherhood and anxiety concerning delivery. Finally, the readiness for motherhood could also be predicted by stressful life events and primiparity. The results of our study support the necessity of psychological interventions during the pregnancy in order to prevent postpartum depression.
Estimation of affective pictures in different phases of menstrual cycle
Authors: Mačiukaitė Laura , Grikšienė Ramunė , Rukšėnas Osvaldas
Published: January 2019

Despite extensive investigation and increasing interest in gender differences of cognitive abilities and emotional processing, more questions than answers still remain. There are accumulating data that sex steroid hormones have a strong effect on the functioning of the central nervous system. However, data concerning the effects of these hormones on emotional processing in both genders and during different phases of women’s menstrual cycle are scarce and contradictory. The aim of our study was to investigate how gender and the phase of menstrual cycle influence the evaluation of affective pictures with different attractiveness. Thirty university students (12 men and 18 women), mean age 23.1 ± 2.4 years, participated in this study. Thirty-six images were selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and grouped into four sets of nine photographs each: three attractive, three neutral, three antipathetic. All subjects participated in four experimental sessions. Images were selected to represent all affective levels (from the least pleasant and arousing to the most pleasant and arousing) during each experimental session. Women were investigated during follicular, ovulatory, luteal and late luteal phases of menstrual cycle confirmed by salivary 17β-estradiol and progesterone assessment. Intervals between men’s experimental sessions corresponded to women’s inter-session intervals determined by phases. The task for subjects was to rate the pictures in valence and arousal dimensions using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) instrument.The study revealed that women estimated affective pictures with a higher valence (t = 2.72, p < 0.01) and a lower arousal (t = –5.70, p < 0.001) than men. The rating of affective images by men was stabile and independent of experimental day. Women rated pictures depending on the phase of menstrual cycle. Attractive pictures were rated as the most pleasant and arousing (statistically significant differences as compared to other phases and men) during the ovulatory (high 17β-estradiol) phase. The rating of neutral pictures did not depend on the phase of the menstrual cycle (except follicular). The rating of antipathetic pictures was less dependent on the phase of menstrual cycle, and in all cases (except luteal, high progesterone phase) these pictures were rated as less pleasant (t = –8.22, p < 0.01) and more arousing (t = 3.85, p < 0.01) as compared to estimates done by men.
The conception of phonological awareness in educational psychology
Authors: Gedutienė Reda
Published: January 2019

Significant research efforts in the field of cognitive, developmental and educational psychology over the past several decades have been focused on the impact of phonological awareness on children’s early literacy development. A substantial body of research evidence from different countries indicates that there is a powerful relationship between preschool phonological awareness and subsequent literacy achievement in alphabetic orthography. There is little research focused on the understanding of phonological awareness in Lithuania, so the aim of this article is to present a theoretical overview of the main areas of the field and to discuss them. First of all, there is a consensus on the definition of phonological awareness, and phonological awareness is broadly defined as a conscious awareness of separate linguistic units in speech and the ability to carry out mental operations on these units of speech. Unfortunately, the relationship between phonological awareness and its many operationalizations is ambiguous, resulting in both theoretical and practical difficulties. Second, there is still no consensus on the structure of phonological awareness. The question is whether the different sets of items intended to measure phonological awareness reflect a single underlying latent ability or several related abilities. Third, research has identified the general sequence of phonological awareness development as universal across languages, and the transparency of a language influences the rate of normal development of phonological awareness. The development of phonological awareness appears to progress from more global phonological characteristics of words to those representing smaller units, i.e. from the syllable level to the phonemic level. A substantial body of research evidence from English indicates that there is a powerful relationship between preschool phonological awareness and subsequent literacy achievements. However, the pattern of findings from research in transparent writing systems with simpler and more consistent letter–sound relationships than English tends to be inconsistent and sometimes contradictory. Some have reported findings more similar to those in English with a strong predictive effect of preschool phonological awareness on early literacy performance. Others have reported that preschool phonological awareness skills are either less important or irrelevant for future literacy attainment.
Factor analysis of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence: Comparison of Lithuanian and U.S. standardization samples and different age groups
Authors: Salialionė I. , Girdzijauskienė S. , Bagdonas A. , Balkūnė R.
Published: January 2019

While evaluating individuals’ cognitive functioning, it is important not only to estimate the general level of their intellectual abilities, but also to describe the strengths and weaknesses in the cognitive functioning exhibited by an individual. Recently, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) has been standardized in Lithuania. This test provides three estimates of intellectual functioning: Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Verbal IQ (VIQ), and Performance IQ (PIQ). It is important to examine whether this short test, consisting of only four subtests, can provide a reliable and valid information about two specific constructs: verbal and perceptual intellectual abilities. Objectives: The research was designed to determine whether the WASI measures the same constructs across cultures and age bands. Results: Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the WASI Lithuanian standardization total sample (N = 539; age 6 to 89 years) and six age bands (6–11, 12–16, 17–24, 25–44, 45–64, and 65–89). For each sample, the four WASI subtests were subjected to a principal-axis factor analysis followed by promax rotations. Two factors were specified to be retained. The Verbal Comprehension factor, consisting of Vocabulary and the Similarities, and the Perceptual Organization factor, consisting of Block Design and Matrix Reasoning, were identified in all analyses. The coefficients of congruence were 0.998 for Factor I and 0.993 for Factor II, suggesting factorial equivalence across the Lithuanian and the U.S. standardization samples. The high coefficients of congruence, ranging from 0.920 to 1.000, suggest the stability of factor structure across the age groups. A confirmatory analysis was performed for each of the six age bands. For each of these confirmatory analyses, a two-factor model was compared with the general one-factor model. The results support the premise that the two-factor model best fits the data for 12–89 age bands, whereas the one-factor model best fits the data for 6–11 age band. Conclusions: The structure of the Lithuanian version of the WASI is the same as in the U.S. standardization sample. The structure is stabile in adult samples across cultures. While evaluating individuals aged 12 to 89 years, it is better to interpret two factors (verbal and nonverbal abilities), whereas while evaluating individuals aged 6 to 11 years, it is better to interpret one factor general intellectual ability.
Psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of the HEXACO PI-R
Authors: Truskauskaitė I. , Kaniušonytė G. , Kratavičienė R. , Kratavičiūtė-Ališauskienė A.
Published: January 2019

During the last decade, the potential of the dominant five-factor personality model to describe the personality structure was questioned. It has been found that at least six factors are needed for the explication of personality structure (Jackson et al., 1996). Lexical research as well as factor analysis of translated five-factor questionnaires repeatedly revealed that six factors as opposed to five should be used in different languages (Ashton et al., 2004). As a result, the six-factor model providing a better insight into a personality was developed. It consists of the following factors: Honesty–Humility (H), Emotionality (E), Extraversion (X), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C), and Openness to Experience (O), represented by the acronym HEXACO (Lee and Ashton, 2004). This model, as compared with the five-factor model, has an advantage in psycholexical, theoretical as well as practical terms (Ashton and Lee, 2007). The HECAXO PI-R questionnaire (Ashton and Lee, 2009) is an empirical means of the six-factor model. Different items of the personality questionnaire based on introspection should be accurately translated into the identical meaning in different cultures. Like any other personality structure assessment tool, the HEXACO PI-R questionnaire depends on the language and cultural context, so it is necessary to evaluate the psychometric properties as well as to perform standardisation of the questionnaire in a country in which the questionnaire is applied. The article covers particular psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of the HE XACO PI-R. 369 students (aged between 19 and 28, including 278 women and 91 men) voluntarily agreed to fill in the HEXACO PI-R questionnaire and participate in this research. The results of the questionnaire have shown that the internal consistency of all the scales that assess personality dimensions is very good while the internal consistency of the subscales that assess subdimensions is sufficient, except for two subdimensions, one of which has a low reliability also in other counties, while the other can be explained by cultural differences. Factor analysis confirmed the relevance of the theoretical model of the six-factor personality model and revealed a very good structural validity of the questionnaire: all subdimensions have the biggest weight in the factors that compose these subdimensions. Also, statistically significant differences were found between men and women in the Honesty–Humility, Emotionality and Conscientiousness scales. The mean scores of women were statistically significantly higher than those of men in all scales. The study showed that the Lithuanian version of HEHEXACO PI-R can be applied in scientific research.
The dynamics of social competence in the last decade: A research of Lithuanian students
Authors: Antinienė D. , Lekavičienė R.
Published: January 2019

According to the dominant view of psychology, the construct of social competence is inseparable from the context, it is action and activity-oriented and related to the specific goals and transactions of personality.Social competence determines the level of ef­ficiency of social behaviour. Social competence of personality is one of the main factors influencing psycho-social adaptation of personality. The survey, performed in the period of 1998–1999, revealed some peculiarities of social competence of Lithuanian students. In the survey, performed in 2010–2011, it was tried to find out whether social environment, which changed in these times, and its requirements for a young person had an impact to the changes of social competence, or, more precisely, to the change of priorities of social skills, which are one of the indica­tors of social competence. The students from different Lithuanian universities participated in the surveys: in the first survey participated 623 students and in the second survey participated 590 students. In the surveys Ullrich and de Muynck social competence assessment questionnaire (Ullrich and de Muynck, 1998, adapted by Lekavičienė, 1999), which analyses the behaviour according seven factors – (F1) General self-confidence, (F2) Resistance to failures and criticism, (F3) Ability of expressing feelings, (F4) Ability of asking for a favour, (F5) Unyielding, (F6) Ability of demanding, (F7) Feeling not guilty, was used. On purpose to test the psychometric validity of social competence assess­ment questionnaire, in 2010–2011 the analysis of the reliability of scales was performed repeatedly. Internal consistency of the scales of social competence assess­ment questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha varied from 0,6 to 0,8 in both surveys), resolution (itt), minimal and maximal intercorrelation between the items of every scale were re-tested. In conclusion it can be predicated that the psychometric quality of Ullrich and de Muynck social competence assessment questionnaire after the second measurement was good. Data analysis revealed that some particular changes of students’ social skills, reflecting the level of social competence, happened in the last decade: students became more self-confident, decisive and less dependent on other people, they are capable to express their feelings more spontaneously. Equally, contemporary young people are less used to ask other people for a favour or for some information and that can be related to both positive reasons, i.e. to higher self-confidence, and to negative reasons, for example, to the fear of repulse or commitment to other people. During the analysis of the whole struc­ture of social competence assessment questionnaire the method of multidimensional scales allowed to make the sequence of scales in which two aspects are reflecting – emotional strain, experienced by a person at the time of realisation of social skills and the inner or outer plan of realisation of a social skills.
Effect of bias on the perception of two simultaneously presented ambiguous figures
Authors: Intaitė M. , Šoliūnas A. , Gurčinienė O. , Rukšėnas O.
Published: January 2019

Ambiguous figures are pictures that reverse their appearance during prolonged viewing and can be perceived in two (or more) available interpretations. Explanations for this phenomenon favour either early bottom-up processes or higher-level top-down processes. This study aimed to investigate the perception of simultaneously presented neutral and biased (i.e. with a slight modification towards one or another of the available interpretations) ambiguous figures. Our results have indicated that observers tend to perceive two adjacent identical figures as reversing simultaneously, and the same percepts dominated both in the reversal rate and the duration of perception. In the case of biased and neutral figures presented in pairs, modifications of interpretation either increased or decreased the frequency of a biased percept. The results show that both bottom-up and top-down perceptual processes influence the perception of ambiguous figures.
Employee psychological empowerment: Psychometric properties of the Lithuanian questionnaire
Authors: Tvarijonavičius M. , Bagdžiūnienė D.
Published: January 2019

Employee psychological empowerment is treated as a multidimensional construct manifesting in several dimensions. It has been researched for several decades using various scales depending on the definition of psychological empowerment chosen by a reasercher. However, there is a lack of widely applicable, compact instruments for a reliable and valid assessment of psychological empowerment. Furthermore, there has been a lack of empowerment research in Lithuania. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to construct a Lithuanian psychological empowerment questionnaire and to evaluate its psychometric properties (reliability and validity). The strategy of the empirical construction of a questionnaire was used. At first, statements to describe the concept of psychological empowerment were generated, using group interviews and expert evaluation. Fifteen final items were included into the Lithuanian Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (LPEQ). Then, an empirical research was performed: 189 respondents from 8 organizations filled up the LPEQ, G.M. Spreizer (1995) Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (PEQ), B. E. Ashforth (1990) Helplessness Scale, Intrinsic Motivation Scale (Warr et al., 1979), and socio-demografic questions. The results of the study have revealed that the LPEQ has a high internal reliability (Cronbach α = 0.909). Five factors were extracted using the exploratory factor analysis, three items each. Psychological empowerment was defined based on five dimensions: meaning, enthusiasm, decision making, authonomy, and trust in competence. The Cronbach α was between 0.755 and 0.880 for the dimension level. These five dimensions show support for the existing models of psychological empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995; Menon, 2001), but also they supplement these models with for instance, the dimension of enthusiasm. The convergent validity of the LPEQ was confirmed by strong correlations (p < 0.01) between the LPEQ and the PEQ subscales, and the Intrinsic Motivation Scale. It was supported by a negative correlation between the LPEQ subscales and the Helplessness Scale. Based on the analysis of correlations, the discriminant validity of the LPEQ dimensions’ levels was confirmed. In conclusion, the Lithuanian Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (LPEQ) can be characterized as an instrument with appropriate psychometric properties for the use in research and practice. Directions for the future research in the field have been offered.
Psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC)
Authors: Grauslienė I. , Barkauskienė R.
Published: January 2019

The Five-factor Model (FFM) is currently the most common dimensional approach to personality traits. Research of children’s personality traits is a new challenge for scientists, which motivates to step into an almost unknown area. These investigations were encouraged by the success of the Five-factor Model research on adults: scientists quite intensively started going deeper into the research of children’s personality traits starting from early childhood till late adolescence. The present study was designed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC, Mervielde and De Fruyt, 1999). The HiPIC is an instrument to assess the five dimensions of the five-factor model for children between 6 and 12 years. The HiPIC measures 18 facets grouped into five dimensions: Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Benevolence, Emotional Stability, and Imagination (Mervielde and De Fruyt, 1999). This inventory, contrary to the NEO PI-R, was developed using a bottom-up strategy (Mervielde and De Fruyt, 2002). The present research included three phases. A parent rating was obtained for 739 children all aged between 7 and 11. Some children were rated by their both parents, some by mother or farther; 1081 parents filled the questionnaires. The HiPIC was distributed in the classroom by the researchers to the children who had to bring the questionnaire to their parents. All 144 HiPIC items were translated and retranslated into Lithuanian by professional translators with the author of the inventory supervision during all three phases of the research.The facets’ internal consistency was estimated by the Cronbach alpha coefficient. At the domain level, the internal consistency ranged from 0.808 to 0.909, and at the facet level the internal consistency ranged within 0.574–0.873. In order to assess the construct validity, we conducted a principal componentexploratory factor analysis with the varimax rotation of the 18 facet scales. In order to compare the factorial structure with the theoretical structure of the inventory, first we chose to extract five factors, but the further factor analysis showed that the Lithuanian HiPIC version had more arguments for a four-factor structure with a blend of the Conscientiousness and Imagination domains and explaining 71.93% of variance. The Lithuanian version of the HiPIC is reliable, although construct validity indicators had some weaknesses. The internal consistencies are satisfactory and similar to those found with the original Flemish version and the French version. To conclude, the Lithuanian HiPIC version can be used in scientific research in assessing children’s personality traits. This research was funded by a grant (No. MIP-016/2012) from the Research Council of Lithuania.
Child’s temperament and maternal coping with child’s negative emotions related to four-year-old children’s delay of gratification
Authors: Breidokienė Rima , Jusienė Roma
Published: January 2019

Numerous researchers agree that the early development of a delay of gratification abilities is crucial for a successful adjustment in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, thus it is very important to understand its precursors and antecedents. Although strong evidence indicates the temperamental nature of the ability to delay gratification, socialization factors also shape the way innate characteristics are expressed and developed. However, there have been relatively few studies examining how early parental and child’s innate variables jointly predict the development of delay of gratification in early childhood in a low-risk healthy children’s sample. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to analyze the child’s temperament traits, maternal distress, and coping with the child’s negative emotional responses related to delay of gratification of 4-years-old children.The participants of this study are 142 children (71 boys and 71 girls), participating in the ongoing longitudinal study on the early development of self-regulation. Children’s delay abilities were evaluated using two laboratory tasks at the age of 4 years: “Delay of Snack” and “Wrapped Gift” (adopted from Kochanska et al., 1996). The empirical data about biological and psychosocial factors was provided by mothers on the 2nd-3rd day after delivery, 3 and 18 months, 2 and 3 years after the child’s birth. Maternal responses to children’s negative emotions at children’s age of 3 years were assessed using the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotion Scale (CCNES, Fabes, Eisenberg & Bernzweig, 1990) and child’s temperament (effortful control, negative affectivity, and extraversion) at children’s age of 3 years was assessed using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire Short Form (Rothbart et al., 1994; Rothbart et al., 2001).Children whose mothers reported less negative experiences during the second and third years of the child’s life demonstrated higher abilities of a delay of gratification. This may show the importance of maternal emotional wellbeing for the development of children’s self-regulation. Optimal delay abilities, measured by “Wrapped Gift”, were predicted by the non-presence of maternal stressful events. Optimal delay abilities, measured by a “Delay of Snack”, were predicted by a lower maternal distress 2 years postpartum and higher non-supportive maternal responses to children’s negative emotions. However, the latter non-supportive maternal responses were related to higher abilities of a delay of gratification only for children with a higher negative affectivity and a higher extraversion. This may show that maternal non-supportive responses may be beneficial for children with certain temperamental traits.
Quality control of radiotherapy treatment plans with electrons
Authors: Campos Luciana Tourinho , Da Rosa Luiz Ribeiro , Batista Delano Valdivino , Braz Delson
Published: January 2019

In this work the quality of the treatment planning generated by EclipseÒ commercial treatment planning system for electron beams of energy 9 and 20 MeV was verified and their accuracy in the calculation of dose distributions for several clinical situations was evaluated. Tests cases had been developed according to the Brazilian reality, having as reference the radiotherapy treatments carried out in the National Institute of the Cancer.The system developed for checking the quality of treatment planning systems with electrons was efficient in evaluating the Eclipse planning system by identifying the failures of their algorithms, especially in planning the isodose. The verification system has been validated against the Monte Carlo method and the experimental data with an ionization chamber and showed the shortcomings of generalized pencil beam and eMC algorithms.
Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase activity and chemokine (CXCL12) supplementation can improve hematopoietic reconstitution in mice lethally irradiated by 60Co gamma radiation
Authors: Vieira Daniel Perez , Galisteo Jr. Andrés Jimenez , De Andrade Jr. Heitor Franco
Published: January 2019

Reduction of nitric oxide (NO) production is related to increased survival in some models of infection and ionizing radiation (IR) exposure. The work used lethally irradiated (60Co, 8Gy) C57Bl6j mice, treated or not with aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of an isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Also tested iNOS-/- knockout mice and a distinct group treated intraperitoneally with synthetic CXCL12, a homing chemokine related to hematopoietic reconstitution after IR exposures. Aminoguanidine treatment lead to an overshoot of proliferation of hematopoietic CD34+ cells in bone marrows (2nd day after IR) and spleens (2nd to 4th day after IR) of irradiated mice, showing a compensative response of these organs against deleterious effects of radiation. CXCL12 mRNA production was increased in spleens of AG-treated mice at 2nd day after IR, but not in other periods neither in bone marrows. CXCL12 administration did not alter CD34+ counts but seemed to keep circulating platelet counts in levels comparable to controls. Thus, CXCL12 and AG administration could help on bone marrow repopulation after critically exposed individuals.
Validation study of voxel phantom monte carlo simulations with EGSnrc C++ class library
Authors: Paixão Lucas , Mendes Bruno Melo , Fonseca Telma Cristina Ferrera
Published: January 2019

The aim of this work is to validate an in-house tool which writes voxel phantoms input files according to EGSnrc C++ class library (egspp) for Monte Carlo simulations. This tool was developed to read a phantom binary file and write a voxel phantom input deck file according to egspp structures. For the validation of the new tool, three voxel phantoms from literature considering different levels of complexity were used. They are the DM_BRA mouse phantom, Golem anthropomorphic phantom, and Case 5 XCAT model phantom from AAPM TG 195 report. For the different cases of study, internal and external photon sources were set and the energy deposition for different source and target tissue/organs were calculated. The results showed good agreement when comparing to dose calculates obtained with other Monte Carlo codes and published in the literature. The new tool was then validated for the egspp Monte Carlo studies with voxel phantoms.