Factor Structure, Psychometric Properties, and Validation of the Hungarian Version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Revised (ECR-R-HU) Questionnaire in a Nationally Representative Community Sample.

The Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised (ECR-R) is a widely used self-report instrument to assess adult romantic attachment. The present study aimed at examining the factor structure, reliability, construct validity, and temporal stability of the Hungarian version of the ECR-R (ECR-R-HU) in a nationally representative community sample (N = 958). The original avoidance and anxiety dimensions of the ECR-R could only be identified, when reversed-item method factors and residual correlations were included in the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Avoidance and Anxiety subscales of the ECR-R-HU showed high reliabilities and adequate temporal stability over 4 months. The subscales were not significantly associated with respondents' age, gender, and residence type, while being engaged in a romantic relationship was related to significantly lower scores on both subscales. Correlations with measures of family functioning problems, perceived stress, depressed mood, and well-being were significant and in the expected directions. These results confirm the ECR-R-HU as a reliable and valid assessment tool.

Cognitive deficits and psychopathological symptoms among children with medulloblastoma.

Children with medulloblastoma (MB) are predisposed for negative cognitive sequela, which has been widely identified in this population. The purpose of the present study was to explore cognitive deficits and psychopathological symptoms and analyse their relation among MB survivors. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-KID) was administered to 34 MB survivors to measure cognitive functioning and psychopathological symptoms. The MB survivors had lower global IQ (86.41 [79.70-93.13]) compared with the control population mean. We found impaired functioning in all IQ subscales in the MB survivors group, of which processing speed (84.15 [77.71-90.58]) was the most affected. Higher radiation dose and high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue were significantly associated factors for lowered global IQ, while age at diagnosis, sex and time period from diagnosis were not significantly associated. Compulsive disorder, generalised anxiety, separation anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder were significantly more prevalent in the MB survivor group than a group of 46 control participants. No correlation was found between the cognitive deficits and the psychopathological symptoms. Our results identify that MB survivors suffer from cognitive and psychopathological impairments, and these could exist independently from each other.

Training therapists in emotionally focused therapy: A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis.

Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data, our study looks at the effectiveness of the Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship and Core Skills trainings. It is the first study to evaluate EFT Core Skills trainings and the first to evaluate change longitudinally throughout the standardized EFT training program. We used the Hungarian EFT Knowledge and Competency Scale (Hungarian EFT-KACS) to examine self-perceived knowledge, competency, and alliance over three 4-day training blocks (Externship, Core Skills Modules 1&2, Core Skills Modules 3&4). Results indicate that each training block significantly increased self-perceived knowledge, competency, and alliance. During the Externship, participants' knowledge increased the most and remained at this level after each training block. Competency showed a more modest but significant increase during the Externship. However, by the end of the Core Skills training, competency showed a significant increase compared to post-Externship results, demonstrating the unique role of Core Skills training in developing competency in EFT.

Parent-child agreement on health-related quality of life: the role of perceived consequences of the child's chronic illness.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the parent-child agreement on various domains of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a Hungarian pediatric sample. We examined the associations of demographic, illness-specific factors and the perceived consequences of the illness with the parent-child disagreement. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was carried out with child-parent pairs in a heterogeneous pediatric sample (n = 259). OUTCOME MEASURES: Child and parent versions of Kidscreen-52 and the consequences scale of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) were applied. We used intraclass correlation coefficients to measure agreement. We computed directional discrepancies as dyadic indexes and applied them in multinomial regression analysis to identify factors influencing agreement. RESULTS: Agreement between children and parents on the KIDSCREEN-52 instrument was moderate to good (ICC = 0.41 to 0.66). Significant (p < 0.005) parent-child disagreement was observed on 6 out of 10 dimensions of HRQoL: Parents rated their children's well-being lower on Physical Well-being, Psychological Well-being, Parent Relations and Home Life, Social Support and Peers, and Financial Resources scales and rated higher on Moods and Emotions compared to child-reported HRQoL. Both parent's and child's higher perceived illness consequences made disagreement significantly more likely on various domains. CONCLUSIONS: Direction of disagreement may draw attention to potentially vulnerable domains of the child's well-being, like moods and emotions and self-perception.

Health-related quality of life changes of children and adolescents with chronic disease after participation in therapeutic recreation camping program.

BACKGROUND: The principals of therapeutic recreation underpin a camping program for children and adolescents living with chronic disease. This study aimed to evaluate the campers' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) before and after the program. METHOD: We used the Hungarian version of Kidscreen-52 questionnaire to assess HRQoL. The study sample (n = 115) consisted of children and adolescents aged 10-18 (Mean Age: 13,34; SD: 2,20) collected two months before and two months after camp with the following illnesses: oncology patients (n = 32), diabetes (n = 55) and juvenile immune arthritis (JIA) (n = 28). Repeated measures of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) evaluated pre and post camp changes. We used the Reliable Change Index (RCI) to calculate all the 10 subscales of clinically significant changes. RESULTS: The Self-perception subscale showed significant positive change from pre camp to post camp with small effect size. Autonomy scores showed time related decline as well as significant time and age group interaction: children under 14 years of age showed a significant moderate effect size decrease on the Autonomy subscale. 32 children (27.8%) showed clinically significant improvement (RCI > 1.96) at least on one subscale. All positive changes were independent of the type of disease, age, gender, and previous camp experience. CONCLUSION: The therapeutic recreation camping program had a positive impact on HRQoL of children and adolescents living with cancer, diabetes mellitus and JIA. The experience enhanced their self-perception in all age groups and reduced the autonomy of children under 14 years of age. This study is an innovative use of the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire to measure the outcome effectiveness of a psychosocial rehabilitation program and to assess and compare HRQoL of children living with different chronic diseases.

Psychometric properties of the original and short Hungarian version of the Iowa infant feeding attitude scale.

BACKGROUND: The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) is a widely used tool to assess attitudes towards infant feeding. Attitudes towards breastfeeding are one of the main influencing factors of feeding choice and breastfeeding duration. Adaptation of the IIFAS to the Hungarian context provides an opportunity for cross-cultural comparisons and helps to target breastfeeding support interventions. The growing number of shortened scales in various fields of research, demonstrates the necessity to adapt to a changing context of data collection to avoid fatigue and dropout among respondents. However, international comparisons are difficult due to the lack of a consensual shortened form of the scale. The aim of our study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the IIFAS (IIFAS-H) and propose an 8-item short version that has appropriate construct validity. METHODS: The original IIFAS was translated into Hungarian and then translated back to English. A cross-sectional study based on an internet survey in 2019 was conducted among 553 mothers whose most recent child's age was between 6 and 36 months. Psychometric properties of the Hungarian IIFAS were determined and compared with international results. In order to obtain a shorter version of the Hungarian scale, we preferably kept those items that are common with other international abbreviated IIFAS versions and deleted items with a corrected item-total correlation or factor loading of less than 0.3, where factor loadings came from a principal component analysis forcing the extraction of one principal component (factor). RESULTS: The 17-item IIFAS-H showed good psychometric properties with a Cronbach's alpha of0.73. Further analyses proved that the examined three shortened versions of the IIFAS consisting of 11, 9, and 8 items also showed good properties (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79, 0.79, 0.76, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The Hungarian version of the original 17-item long IIFAS proved to be a good measurement tool with good psychometric properties. Based on our analyses, we suggest the use of the 8-item short version (IIFAS-H8) of the scale.

Measuring the Effectiveness of the Emotionally Focused Therapy Externship Training in Hungary done through Translation.

Our study adds to the rising field of dissemination and implementation research on Emotionally Focused Therapy. We evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the Hungarian EFT-KACS, examined the impact of the EFT Externship training done through translation on Hungarian therapists, and we investigated how therapist background characteristics related to outcomes. A total of 340 Hungarian professionals completed the questionnaires (N = 152 in 2016; and N = 188 in 2018) at three data collecting points-prior to (N = 329), after the training (N = 254), and 6 months later (N = 101). Results suggest the Hungarian EFT-KACS has similar psychometric properties as the original English version and shows high internal consistency. The 4-day EFT Externship trainings done through translation provided significant, lasting increases in perceived EFT-specific knowledge and competency, and in alliance, similar to findings in English- and Spanish-speaking countries. Externship outcomes were also found to be related to specific therapist experience and background characteristics.

Differences in illness perception between children with cancer and other chronic diseases and their parents.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in illness perception between children with cancer and other chronic diseases. A secondary aim was to examine the similarities and differences between the illness perception of these children and their parents. METHODS: The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) was used to measure the children's and parents' illness perceptions. In this study, 184 children (ages 8-18 years) and their caregivers completed the questionnaires. RESULTS: This study shows that children with cancer feel that they have greater control over their treatment compared to the other two groups. The children's parents have more pessimistic views of the illness than their children. CONCLUSION: Examinations of illness perceptions among paediatric cancer patients and their families are essential in designing psychosocial interventions for these families. The clinical value of our results can help better understand the cancer-specific features of illness perceptions.

[Epidemiologic surveillance of childhood leukemia in Hungary over the past 21 years (1980-2000)]. / A gyermekkori leukaemiás megbetegedések epidemiológiai vizsgálata hazánkban az 1980 és 2000 közötti 21 évre vonatkozóan.

INTRODUCTION: Investigation of trends in incidence rates of childhood malignancies, especially leukaemia and thyroid cancers, is essential for the objective assessment of health consequences of the nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine in 1986. AIMS: This paper reports the results of the epidemiological surveillance of childhood leukaemia in Hungary from 1980 to 2000, according to the database of the Hungarian Paediatric Cancer Registry. METHODS: All childhood leukaemia cases diagnosed between the period of 1 January 1980 and 31 December 2000, age of 0-14, throughout Hungary have been recorded. The registration was done by the ten Paediatric Oncology Centres in Hungary. The total number of diagnosed and analysed cases was 1563. RESULTS: The incidence rate of childhood leukaemia showed a gradual, slow but significant increase of 1.2% per year over the observed period of time. There was neither any additional increase in the incidence following the accident, nor an increase in the cumulative incidence among the children born around the date of the accident. The accident did not cause a change regarding the infant leukaemia incidence in Hungary either. Apparent change in the geographical distribution of childhood leukaemia, which could be the result of the accident, was not detectable. CONCLUSION: The authors did not detect any change in the incidence of childhood leukaemia over the past 21 years in Hungary, which can be attributed to the nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine in 1986.

[Incidence of pediatric brain tumors in Hungary between 1989 and 1999]. / Gyermekkori agytumorok incidenciájának alakulása Magyarországon 1989 és 1998 között.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of primary brain tumors in childhood has increased all over the world in the last decades, so it is the second most frequent tumor after leukaemias. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to examine the incidence and relative frequency of central nervous system tumors diagnosed under 15 years of age in Hungary. METHODS: The data obtained from the Hungarian Pediatric Oncology Group and the National Neurosurgical Institute between 1989 and 1998, and the reports of the head pediatricians of the counties were used. RESULTS: There were 685 reported cases between 1989 and 1998. The prevalence of cerebral tumors has increased during the last decade in Hungary like that in several developed countries. The increase of the incidence of primary central nervous system tumors in the last ten years was 4.2% per year. In 1998 the incidence of central nervous system tumors was 42.9 cases per million children. The most frequent histological categories were: astrocytoma (30%), medulloblastoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors (21%), ependymoma (9%) and other tumors (40%). CONCLUSION: The results suggest an increase in the incidence of primary brain tumors in Hungary, similar to those reported in several countries.

Outcome effectiveness of therapeutic recreation camping program for adolescents living with cancer and diabetes.

Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Global Perceived Self-efficacy Scale, and Trait Form of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered precamp, postcamp, and at 2 months follow-up to 97 adolescents. Within-subjects repeated measures analyses of variance were performed. Significant positive changes were observed regarding self-esteem and self-efficacy. Trait anxiety changes proved to be mixed.

Childhood leukaemia incidence in Hungary, 1973-2002. Interpolation model for analysing the possible effects of the Chernobyl accident.

The incidence of childhood leukaemia in Hungary has yet to be reported, although data are available since the early 70s. The Hungarian data therefore cover the time before and after the Chernobyl nuclear accident (1986). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the Chernobyl accident on childhood leukaemia incidence in Hungary. A population-based study was carried out using data of the National Paediatric Cancer Registry of Hungary from 1973 to 2002. The total number of cases was 2204. To test the effect of the Chernobyl accident the authors applied a new approach called 'Hypothesized Impact Period Interpolation'-model, which takes into account the increasing trend of childhood leukaemia incidence and the hypothesized exposure and latency times. The incidence of leukaemia in the age group 0-14 varied between 33.2 and 39.4 per million person-years along the observed 30 year period, and the incidence of childhood leukaemia showed a moderate increase of 0.71% annually (p = 0.0105). In the period of the hypothesized impact of the Chernobyl accident the incidence rate was elevated by 2.5% (95% CI: -8.1%; +14.3%), but this change was not statistically significant (p = 0.663). The age standardised incidence, the age distribution, the gender ratio, and the magnitude of increasing trend of childhood leukaemia incidence in Hungary were similar to other European countries. Applying the presented interpolation method the authors did not find a statistically significant increase in the leukaemia incidence in the period of the hypothesized impact of the Chernobyl accident.