This paper discussed a case study of a 15-year-old girl who had had a hemorrhagic stroke, caused by arteriovenous malformation. A brain arteriovenous malformation is a defect in the vascular system, a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. The patient attended regularly neuropsychological rehabilitation and several various therapeutic methods were applied. A neuropsychological diagnosis was performed before and after therapy. The first assessment showed some cognitive disturbances: difficulties in the organization of memorized material, difficulties in maintaining attention and deficits in abstract thinking. Furthermore there were observed emotional problems: depression and high perfectionism. The patient participated in individual therapy lasting one year. Neuropsychological rehabilitation took into consideration the personal psychological resources and cognitive and emotional difficulties. As a result, there was observed an improvement in consequent cognitive functions: organization of memorized material, working memory, abstract thinking and verbal fluency. The emotional state was stable. It is important that the therapy should be holistic and includes all aspects of the patient’s functioning, which may have an influence on the final result of rehabilitation. One of the most important aims of the therapy psychologist was an acceptance of the disease. The cognitive tasks can also include psychological and therapeutic exercises.
The goal of the current study was to juxtapose the satisfaction with life and empathy along with the sense of locus of control among homeless women. We used Diener’s Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), adapted to Polish by Z. Juczyński; Rotter’s Internal-External Control Scale, Kazimierczak & Plopa’s Emphatic Sensitivity Scale (scale originally in Polish under the name Skala Wrażliwości Empatycznej, SWE), as well a questionnaire constructed by the author for the purposes of this study. 21 homeless women inhabitants of homeless shelters (Prometeusz and Monar-Markot in Gdańsk, Poland) and residential training and rehabilitation centre (Osiedle Na Sitowiu, Gdańsk, Poland) took part in the study. Results suggest a correlation between the demographic along with psychosocial factors and the assessment of satisfaction with life as well as the levels of empathy of the investigated group. Participant’s satisfaction with life was either low or very low. The empathy levels were also low. The group was characterized by average levels of sense of internal control. A relationship was observed between the levels of satisfaction with life and the locus of control. Homeless women characterized by a higher sense of satisfaction with life had a sense of external locus of control.
Functioning of a family, in terms of premature birth and potential developmental disorders related to prematurity, disease and/or disability of a child, is conditioned by a configuration of the following factors: premature birth, giving birth to a premature baby (especially with extremely low birth weight), the onset of a disease, its course, the child's disability resulting from the disease and family resources. Difficult parenting, which is the subject of the following analysis, can begin already during the pregnancy, from the moment parents hear the diagnosis that the pregnancy belongs to the high perinatal risk group. Currently one of the most frequent reasons of qualifying pregnancy to the risk group is the threat of premature birth. Therefore the article is focused on difficult parenting resulting from the sole fact of prematurity (e.g. long-term health problems, for example respiratory, sensory, motor disorders), and premature birth (considered in terms of a distressing and traumatic event). The article was illustrated with casuistic cases, referring to: 1. the difficulty of being a parent of a child born prematurely with cerebral palsy, 2. the inaccurate (detrimental) perception of a prematurely born child by its mother in the period of early childhood. The article presents phases of adaptation to the chronic disease, both of the child and of its parents. The significant role of the parents' adaptive abilities was emphasized. Depending on the way the parents perceive the situation (as harm, threat or challenge), they are featured by different emotions, parental attitudes, perception of prematurity and illness, and the quality of life.
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Funkcjonowanie rodziny w kontekście porodu przedwczesnego i ewentualnie wynikających z wcześniactwa problemów rozwojowych, choroby i/lub niepełnosprawności dziecka uwarunkowane jest konfiguracją następujących czynników: porodem przedwczesnym, urodzeniem dziecka wcześniaczego (szczególnie o ekstremalnie niskiej masie urodzeniowej), początkiem choroby, jej przebiegiem, niepełnosprawnością dziecka wynikającą z choroby oraz zasobami rodziny. Trudne rodzicielstwo, które jest tematem niniejszej analizy, może pojawić się już w czasie ciąży od momentu uzyskania przez rodziców diagnozy, że ciąża należy do grupy wysokiego ryzyka perinatalnego. Aktualnie jedną z najczęstszych przyczyn zakwalifikowania ciąży do grupy ryzyka jest zagrożenie porodem przedwczesnym. Stąd w artykule skupiono się na trudnym rodzicielstwie wynikającym z samego faktu wcześniactwa (np. długofalowe problemy zdrowotne, jak zaburzenia oddechowe, sensoryczne, ruchowe), jak i z porodu przedwczesnego (traktowanego w kategoriach wydarzenia stresogennego i traumatogennego). Artykuł został zilustrowany przypadkami kazuistycznymi: 1) odnosi się do trudności bycia rodzicem dziecka urodzonego przedwcześnie z mózgowym porażeniem dziecięcym, 2) do braku trafności spostrzegania umiejętności dziecka urodzonego przedwcześnie przez matkę dziecka w okresie wczesnego dzieciństwa (na jego niekorzyść). Pokazano fazy przystosowania się do przewlekłej choroby dziecka, jak również przewlekle chorego dziecka do choroby. Podkreślono istotną rolę zdolności przystosowawczych rodziców w procesie przystosowania się do choroby dziecka. W zależności od przyjętego przez rodziców sposobu percepcji sytuacji (jako krzywda, jako zagrożenie lub jako wyzwanie), dominują u nich inne emocje, postawy rodzicielskie, percepcja sytuacji wcześniactwa i choroby oraz jakość życia.
The subject literature identifies many predictors of a feeling of burden, yet it often ignores aspects of the psychological and social functioning of caregivers, i.e., resources for efficiently coping with a difficult situation. This study aimed to verify the predictors of a feeling of burden experienced by the caregivers of individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease, taking into account the cognitive functioning of the patients as well as the psychological resources and social competences of the caregivers themselves. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers. It included a neuropsychiatric examination of the patients, with a special focus on executive functions, as well as an assessment of the psychological and social resources of their caregivers using standard psychometric methods. Self esteem was measured using the SES scale and sense of coherence was measured using SOC-29. The statistical analysis included correlation analysis and multiple hierarchical regression. The duration of the disease as well as cognitive impairments, especially executive dysfunction, are significant predictors of a feeling of burden. A high sense of coherence is associated with a positive assessment of one’s own resources in the context of coping with a difficult situation. The feeling of burden experienced by caregivers of individuals suffering from neurodegenerative disorders is a complex phenomenon, composed of many factors. The predictors discusse in this study point to various individual differences in the psychological resources possessed by caregivers.
Cognitive problems and a deepening dependence on one’s immediate environment inherently accompany Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The disease is progressive, and the size of the dystrophin gene determines the extraordinary complexity of the causes of this disease at the genetic and molecular level. The aim of the study was to characterize the cognitive problems and the extent of independence of patients with genetically confirmed DMD. An attempt was also made to reconstruct the patient's life history in three periods: before the appearance of the first symptoms, during the search for a diagnosis and after confirming the diagnosis of DMD. The study group consisted of male patients between 10 and 13 years of age (N = 14). The Diagnosis of Cognitive Functions Battery - PU1 and an experimental tool for studying autonomy were used. Information on the condition of the attention, memory and executive functions of patients was obtained. The study of autonomy measurably supplemented knowledge in terms of the degree of the patients’ dependence on the environment with regard to everyday functioning. The best functioning component of attention in the examined patients is orientation (o) (13 patients achieved average results in this aspect). Selectivity (s) turned out to be the weakest component, as only five patients obtained average results (the others obtained low results) in this aspect. Autonomy results (AU) indicate group diversity and inter-subject variability in the disease progression (subjects scored from 6 to 47 points). The clinical picture of the disease is not homogeneous. Patients, despite their similar age, differ in the progression of the disease and the resulting effects. This induces the need for an individual approach to each patient and the preparation of a unique set of therapeutic interactions for each of them.
Poród przedwczesny jest jednym z głównych problemów medycznych, psychologicznych i społeczno-ekonomicznych na świecie. Dzieci przedwcześnie urodzone znajdują się w grupie ryzyka śmiertelności okołoporodowej, powikłań okołoporodowych, a także zaburzeń, deficytów czy długotrwałych problemów zdrowotnych. Celem podjętych badań była ocena rozwoju psychoruchowego jedynaków i bliźniąt urodzonych przedwcześnie w okresie wczesnego dzieciństwa. W badaniu wzięło udział 49 wcześniaków, w tym 21 jedynaków i 28 bliźniąt. Rozwój psychoruchowy dzieci przedwcześnie urodzonych został oceniony na podstawie skali Bayley-III w nieskorygowanym wieku 33,80 miesięcy (SD = 5,16). Wyniki badań wskazują na brak różnic istotnych statystycznie w sferze poznawczej, językowej i motorycznej pomiędzy jedynakami i bliźniętami. Obserwuje się natomiast różnicę istotną statystycznie między badanymi grupami w zakresie umiejętności motoryki dużej, przy czym jedynacy przedwcześnie urodzeni uzyskują niższe wyniki w porównaniu do bliźniąt przedwcześnie urodzonych. Niniejszy artykuł przedstawia analizę i dyskusję nad uzyskanymi wynikami.
The aim of the study was verifying, whether speech development is conditioned by a preterm birth, multiple pregnancy or pregnancy complicated with TTTS. We examined 52 preterm children, 15 of which were born after a single pregnancy and 42 after a multiple pregnancy. 23 children came from a pregnancy complicated by TTTS. The average age of the subjects was 32.5 months (SD=5.54). The research methods used in our study were as follows: analysis of medical documentation, a structured clinical interview and psychological conversation. Speech development of a child was assessed using BSID-III. An analysis of the results we obtained showed that there was a lower level of EC in the TTTS children in comparison to multiple-birth children without TTTS and single-birth children. We also found statistically signifi cant relations between the EC scores and gender, age at the time of testing, disability, gestational age, birth weight.
Artykuł jest wieloaspektowym teoretycznym wprowadzeniem do projektu badawczego poświęconego problematyce związanej z wpływem więzi z własną matką na szeroko rozumiane przystosowanie się kobiety do macierzyństwa. W pracy podkreślony został wpływ stylu przywiązania do matki na kształtowanie się tożsamości macierzyńskiej, rozumianej jako myślenie kobiety o sobie jako o matce. Relacja ta jest bardzo istotna w czasie kształtowania się więzi kobiety ze swoim dzieckiem już w ciąży, a także po narodzinach dziecka. Zasygnalizowano także niezmiernie istotne połączenie pomiędzy jakością więzi z własną matką a wystąpieniem depresji poporodowej.
Psychology, as the science exploring multi-dimensional functioning of a man, definitely can be classified as one of the health sciences. Despite distinct ontological and epistemological backgrounds of life sciences – biology and medicine – they can co-exist with psychology, because they have a common focus: a human being. It is likely that representatives of health sciences will have the same moral problems, faced with the same subject: a patient. Due to this, the aim of this work is discussing ethical problems in health sciences, on the example of clinical psychology and rehabilitation psychology. Problems, which psychologists face, originate from the ancient times, when the job of the psychologist was unknown. The problems are primarily related to strong interpersonal influence and the risk of ‘power’ abuse. They can be categorized to four groups, including: diagnostic tests, psychological help, therapy and scientific research, including studies involving the use psychological experiments. Identifying the ethical dimension with the competence one, ethical problems occurring in those areas were analyzed in detail. Therefore we provide the reader with an opportunity to become acquainted with the ideal ethical behaviors model, i.e. the Psychology Profession Act, Mental Health Act and Ethical Code of this professional group. We will also show case common behaviors, which nevertheless are contradictory to the desired and expected ones.
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