Patience with foster children as a major problem for grandparents in the role of kinship carers aged 60 + and the psychosocial determinants of this deficit.

Kinship care represents the most prevalent form of foster care in Poland. Most commonly, the role of kinship carers is taken on by grandparents, who may struggle with various problems, needs and deficits in this role. The aim of this study was to investigate the problem of patience in kinship carers aged 60 + and its impact on deficits in the performance of roles and duties.Methods Seventy-five foster grandparents (63 female, 84%) aged from 61 to 97 years (M = 69,12; SD = 6.22) were investigated in north-western Poland in 2018 and 2019. The study was based on the diagnostic survey method.Results Psychological disposition, functioning, health problems and parental needs and deficits were assessed using standardised psychometric scales and tools self-constructed for this research study. A lack of patience with foster children was reported by 46.7% (n = 35) of the respondents. Patience deficits corresponded with a significantly lower sense of coherence, especially in the manageability domain (p < 0.001) and such stress coping strategies as lower positive reappraisal (p = 0.016) and seeking of emotional support (p = 0.025), as well as a greater tendency for suppression of activities (p = 0.014) and venting of emotions (p = 0.035). Relatively permanent personality traits and general self-efficacy were not differentiated by patience with children.Conclusions The results suggest that patience - so important for biological and foster parents - is related to psychological competencies that can be improved through psychoeducation and skills-training, which may be beneficial for improving foster carers' effectiveness.

Is Physical Activity an Effective Factor for Modulating Pressure Pain Threshold and Pain Tolerance after Cardiovascular Incidents?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether regular physical activity can alter the pressure pain threshold, pain tolerance, and subjective pain perception in individuals who have experienced a cardiovascular event. The study involved 85 individuals aged 37 to 84 years (M = 65.36) who qualified for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, which consisted of 24 physical training sessions. The patients were all tested twice: on the first and last day of the outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. Assessments of the pressure pain threshold and pain tolerance were performed with an algometer. To assess the pain coping strategies, the Pain Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and parenting styles were measured retrospectively with subjective survey questions. The main results of the study showed that patients achieved significantly higher pressure pain thresholds after a physical training cycle (ps < 0.05, η2 = 0.05-0.14), but found no differences in the pain tolerance (ps > 0.05). A lower preference for the better pain coping strategy explanation (ß = -0.42, p = 0.013) and growing up in a family with a less neglectful atmosphere (ß = -0.35, p = 0.008) were associated with increased pressure pain threshold after physical training. The results suggest that physical activity is an important factor in modulating the pressure pain threshold.

The effect of cosmetic surgery on mental self-image and life satisfaction in women undergoing breast augmentation: An intermediate role of evaluating the surgery as one of the most important life events.

AIM: To estimate changes in self-perception and satisfaction in women undegoing breast augmentation surgery (BAS). METHODS: Using a quasi-experimental questionnaire study design, we enrolled a cohort of BAS women treated at a private clinic during a 5-year interval. The primary predictor variable was treatment (before/after). The main outcome variables included effect of considering breast augmentation as one of the most important life events on self-image (BAOMILE), and subjective evaluation of physical appearance and life satisfaction. Other study variables were demographic data. The Mann-Whitney and the Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare the outcomes between before and after the surgery. The Spearman rank correlation and the Pearson chi-squared test were computed to analyze the relationships among variables. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 53 subjects (52.3% married; 40.9% from medium-sized towns) with a mean age of 33.2 ± 6.4 years (range, 21-46). Life satisfaction was significantly increased after BAS in the whole cohort (preop., 7.83 vs. postop., 8.42; P = .003; 95% CI, -0.95 to -0.22) as well as in the BAOMILE subgroup (preop., 7.87 vs. postop., 8.56; P = .011; 95% CI, -1.20 to -0.17). Within the BAOMILE subgroup, there was a positive correlation between the appearance assessment and the number of positive traits before surgery (ρ = 0.63; P = .002; 95% CI, 0.27-0.83) and life satisfaction after surgery (ρ = 0.480; P = .03; 95% CI, 0.06-0.74). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that BAS improves self-perception and life satisfaction of the patients. The psychologist's role in understating patient's motivation for cosmetic surgery and the revision of their attitudes towards expected effects require further investigations.

Perceived Decrease in Workplace Security Since the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Importance of Management Styles and Work-Related Attitudes.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reduced the sense of security of people in everyday life. The efforts of managers in the workplace to minimize the health risks and economic damage, however, can provide the employees with a greater sense of security. The aim of this study was to identify the types of workplace responses to the pandemic outbreak with respect to the characteristics of employees and their employers accomplishing the differences in subjective sense of workplace security before the pandemic and during the outbreak. Three hundred and thirty-seven Polish employees completed an online survey during the first 2 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Using the cluster analysis, we identified four subgroups of employees differing in their sense of workplace security, work-related psychological factors, and perceived management styles of their supervisors. Employees led by developers and executive managers sustained a high sense of work security and positive attitude to work, while those led by compromisers and deserter managers suffered from the highest drop of subjective security. In this study, we proposed how employees can be protected from overreactions and unnecessary panic in a time of global crisis by virtue of the psychological competences of their supervisors and employers.