Stigmatization of cancer patients, school integration
- Belief in a Just World as a Basis for Biased System Attitudes and Their Palliative Effect: The Context Matters
- In the face of crisis: Expatriates' priorities in work, life, and support amid the pandemic
- The role of stigma and depression in the reduced adherence among young breast cancer patients in Hungary
- Development and improvement of the conscious aspects of interoception
- Soft skills of business students in relation to higher education internships
- The role of the local community in school integration : A case study of Roma people from a Hungarian settlement.
- Youth (Work) and Pandemic
Belief in a Just World as a Basis for Biased System Attitudes and Their Palliative Effect: The Context Matters
Although system-justifying beliefs can have a palliative effect on citizens, the underlying mechanisms and contextual moderators of this association are relatively unknown. Because system threats are likely to strengthen a defensive bolstering of the system, we assumed that the motivational factors behind system justification exert a stronger palliative effect in more dysfunctional systems. Specifically, we hypothesized that belief in a just world (BJW) would enhance well-being, particularly in countries with low system performance. Using nationally representative data from 29 countries (N = 49,519), multilevel analyses revealed indirect effects of BJW on subjective well-being via attitudes toward the system. Notably, these effects were stronger in countries with lower system performance. Our findings suggest that dysfunctional political-institutional systems can catalyze the bias of BJW in citizens’ perception of system performance, thus influencing subjective well-being. This highlights the importance of considering the social context when examining the palliative and system-justifying functions of BJW.
In the face of crisis: Expatriates' priorities in work, life, and support amid the pandemic
In a longitudinal study conducted by an international research group, the researchers examined how expatriate workers and their families experienced the restrictions during the pandemic and the resulting changes. They were interested in how the work, personal and family life of expatriates changed, what forms of support they found effective during this period, and how their priorities and motivations changed during the pandemic. The study explored participants' experiences in various phases of the pandemic, examining coping mechanisms and skills they found effective during this time and how their previous experiences gained during their foreign life proved useful.
The research results shed light on the fact that during a crisis, such as the pandemic, the nuclear and extended family come into focus and concern. A prominent theme was the feeling of “falling between two stools," where participants experienced that during the crisis, they were not entitled to support either in their home country (according to their passport) or the current host country. The study's findings contribute to formulating questions about the future of global work, highlighting that international projects in the future require a more nuanced approach, presuming a less binary option for global workers and their families.
The role of stigma and depression in the reduced adherence among young breast cancer patients in Hungary
The main aim of our study was to investigate the role of depression, stigmatization, body shame and self-compassion in the adherence of young Hungarian breast cancer patients aged between 18 and 45 years.
In a cross-sectional online survey, data were collected from 99 young breast cancer patients (BC). Participants completed self-report questionnaires on socio-demographic and cancer-specific parameters as well as psychological factors (adherence: 12-item Medication Adherence Scale; depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; stigmatization: Stigma Scale for Chronic Illnesses; body shame: Experience of Shame Scale; self-compassion: Self-Compassion Scale). We tested the predictors and mediators of adherence using hierarchical regression, mediation and moderation analysis among BC patients.
We found that adherence was significantly associated with body shame and stigmatization in our BC sample. In addition, stigmatization alone was a significant predictor of lower adherence. Finally, in mediation models, where body shame was a mediator, we found a significant direct effect between stigma and adherence, in other words body shame had a significant mediating effect between these variables. According to our moderation analysis, self-compassion as a significant moderator acts as a protective factor in the linear relationship between stigma and lower adherence.
Our results highlight the importance of stigma and body shame in the development of adherence in oncological care among young Hungarian BC patients aged between 18 and 45 years. Assessment of stigma, body shame, self-compassion, and the improvement of the availability of evidence-based psychological interventions may increase the adherence of young Hungarian BC patients, leading to more favourable rates of survival.
Development and improvement of the conscious aspects of interoception
After birth, interoceptive information and its integration is inportant in survival and psychological functioning. This can be divided into three categories: interoceptive accuracy, sensitivity and awareness. This paper is provides an overview of the developmental aspects and present empirical findings on correlated of interoception in childhood and opportunities for its improvement. We first review how interoception is included in different developmental theories, then we present the empirical results available in the literature, and finally we summarise the options for improvement. György Ádám gives the most complex approach; the central element of his theory is that the individual’s attention is increasingly directed towards external stimuli after birth. Nevertheless, it seems that the perception of interoceptive feelings can be relearned later. Some factors (symptoms of anxiety and panic) show a positive correlation with interoceptive accuracy. In other cases, (obesity, chronic tic disorder) a negative association was found while in autism spectrum disorder results were ambiguous. Regarding the improvement of different aspects of interoception, findings show that sensibility can be improved; with respect to accuracy, by some contemplative interventions and body panning. Positive results on sensibility may be explained by the fact that accuracy stable in adulthood, but it is assumed that it may still be possible to influence it in childhood.
Soft skills of business students in relation to higher education internships
University internship is the transition between higher education and the labor market. The study was motivated by the fact that research on the effectiveness of internships is on the rise in many countries but is less widespread in Hungary, especially from the students’ perspective. The aim is to determine how students in business education choose a workplace for their internship, whether they consider their own employability or the management aspects of the workplace. The questionnaire was conducted in Budapest, Hungary, covering all (7 in total) higher education institutions of economics, with 406 participants. The focus is to build a model of the interaction between different variables: the development of students’ skills at the university, the specific internship placement, and the desirable work students would like to do during their internship. The results show no correlation between the type of skills students develop during their studies and the type of work they want to do during their internship. Moreover, the correlation between the soft skills they develop at work and those they acquire at university is only coincidental, therefore not supporting their employability. These results can be important for workplace management to effectively lead and inspire their teams, manage conflict, and communicate. The study offers implications for education policy, i.e., recommendations for changes to output requirements, which will also allow for developing training structures that are more responsive to employer needs.
The role of the local community in school integration : A case study of Roma people from a Hungarian settlement.
The Alliance3 - School, family and community Alliance against early school leaving, an international project, has produced a book of studies on the project's theoretical and practical approaches to the topic. András Déri's paper interprets the results of an interview and focus group research for the project, embedded in the theoretical framework of social and school inequalities. The subjects of the 2020 research were Roma students, their parents and local teachers living in a small town in Central Hungary.
The main findings of the research were that children perceived finishing school as a school success (especially in primary school). Parents who were better integrated into the community attached more importance to further education. Conversely, disintegrated positions and negative experiences of school led to mistrust, and perceptions of both schooling and education in general were lower among less integrated parents. The research also confirmed that gender and age roles can be a major problem in the school integration of older children. The results suggested that non-formal learning and community development might be most effectively achieved through sport in the community studied.
Youth (Work) and Pandemic
The study, which was produced in international collaboration and was completed by the two Hungarian authors, András Déri and Barnabás Gulyás, presents some sections of the effects of the Covid-pandemic on young people, primarily in the light of the responses of youth work, using Hungarian, Estonian and Georgian examples and research through experiences. The study provides a short theoretical overview of the impact of the epidemic situation and closures on young people and the possibilities of youth work, and then describes the qualitative research on the topic. The semi-structured interviews with Georgian youth professionals summarize the main experiences of the professionals in terms of the lack of social life of young people and the deterioration of their mental health. The Hungarian results present the coping strategies of young people based on focus group interviews, while the Estonian results describe the changes in the practice of youth work based on interviews with youth professionals. The results illustrate how the issue of mental health of young people has become one of the central topics of youth work practice.