Prosocial behavior is correlated with better social adjustment among adolescents, while emotional abilities are prominent factors that enhance prosocial behaviors. Attention to emotions and clarity of emotion were found as two core dimensions of emotional abilities. In the presented study the relationships between attention to emotion and clarity of emotion and prosocial behavior were examined with gender as a moderator. Two hundred and fourteen adolescents participated in the study (86 males). The participants filled in the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS), and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ). Two dimensions underlying the subscales of TAS-20 and TMMS were found: inattention to emotions and unclear emotion. Gender differences appeared in emotion awareness dimensions and prosocial behavior. Using structural equation modeling it was shown that inattention to emotion, yet not unclear emotion, inhibits prosocial behavior.

The present study was the first to investigate the influence of artistic images of women on adolescent girls’ body attitude. The results have shown that a 10-minute exposure to artistic images of women by such great masters as Titian, Botticelli or Degas significantly changed body attitude in teenage girls, which was expressed through increased body satisfaction, decreased body dissatisfaction, and weakening of negative body emotion. Those outcomes have also confirmed the results of the existing studies exploring the negative influence of magazine advertising on teenage girls’ body experiencing. The comparison of two study groups has shown that girls looking at women in works of art expressed a significantly higher level of body satisfaction than girls exposed to women in advertisements.

The contribution presents a new education and training programme “Stepping into Life with the Right Values,” aimed to improve integration of mentally disabled pupils into the system of vocational training centres and thus also society. The goal of the presented programme was not only to create suitable conditions for pupils’ harmonious adaptation to the dormitory environment, but also to teach them appropriate orientation in various life situations. Effectiveness of the programme was verified experimentally at selected vocational training centres in Slovakia during the 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 school years. Our research confirmed that pupils who had gone through the adaptation process using the new programme were statistically significantly better oriented in ordinary life situations at the school dormitory, but also in ordinary life situations outside.

A positive perspective in social sciences is one of the key directions in contemporary youth studies and an important point of reflection on education. In recent decades, the Positive Youth Development concept (PYD) has been a particularly clear and significant perspective for studying adolescence on a global scale. This perspective is crucial for many theoretical assumptions and educational projects. The aim of this article is to analyse the concepts and theories (directly and indirectly) related to this concept in youth studies. In this paper, significant changes in the reflection on adolescence have been analysed, which turned the vision of a developmental stage full of tensions and conflicts into a period of great opportunities for the personal development and also gave new meaning to youth’s good life. The PYD key concepts and theories plus practical education have been presented. Additionally, critical remarks on positive concepts in youth studies have been analysed.

The aim of the research is to define individual psychological traits of adolescents that influence the formation of their self-perception. An empirical study was conducted on the basis of general education schools, boarding schools for the hearing impaired students and orphanages of the Kharkiv region (Ukraine). The study included 86 children. In accordance with this aim empirical methods were applied: Self-perception profile for adolescents (SPPA), Freiburg Multifactorial Personality Questionnaire (FPI), An Adolescent’s Character Traits Questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. It has been found that self-perception of general education school students is determined by depressiveness, shyness, extroversion, and stuck type of accentuation; in adolescents with hearing impairments - friendliness, reactive aggressiveness, extroversion, emotive and anxiety types of accentuation; in orphans - pedantic and dysthymic types of character accentuation.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global menace that has taken worrisome dimension in the Nigerian society especially among in-school adolescents. It is one of the challenges militating against total development of school aged children in Nigeria; hence, the purpose of the study was to investigate the form, causes and consequences of gender based violence among in-school adolescents in Ilorin metropolis in Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive research of the survey type. There are 18 secondary school in Ilorin. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 10 schools from the available schools in Ilorin metropolis while random sampling technique was used to select 20 representatives from each selected secondary schools. A total of 200 representatives were used for the study. The result revealed a significant difference in the violence against male and female in-school adolescents. Females were shown to be more physically and sexually harassed as well as marginalized when compared to their male counterparts. The result would enable education stakeholders in Nigeria, especially classroom teachers, to be aware and alert on potential gender based violence against female students.

The aim of the study is to identify the typology of adolescents in terms of manifestations of risk behavior and to find out the differences between them from the perspective of parental conditions. The research tools are the E.M.B.U Questionnaire - My memories of upbringing, ECR - Experience in Close Relationship, the author’s questionnaire aimed at identifying substance use and selected items of the Questionnaire on belonging to a Delinquent Group. The research sample consisted of 850 adolescents. Cluster analysis identified three types of adolescents in terms of manifestations of risk behavior. Differentiations between groups in the parental conditions were identified.

The aim of the cross-sectional study is to map the development of self-concept in adolescents in terms of the Piers-Harris domain approach as well as to capture gender specifics, if any, in the process of its formation. Research involved 290 adolescents, divided in three age categories. The Piers-Harris Children’s and Adolescents´ Self-Concept Scale (Obereignerů et al., 2015) was used as the research tool. Results do not indicate statistically significant differences between groups of adolescents in their overall self-concept by age, except in certain self-concept dimensions. More specific results are provided by the gender analysis of age differences. Over time, change in physical self-concept (PHY) occurs in boys, and changes in behavioural self and anxiety (BEH, FRE) occur in girls. Results of the study can be taken into consideration by all school professionals in their work.

We examined the effects of gender and classroom membership on moral disengagement-cognitive justifications of detrimental conduct. Sixth-graders aged 11 to 13 years (N = 273) participated in the study. Bullying was registered using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and moral disengagement was measured on a 14-item scale designed for this study. The study showed that moral disengagement related to bullying and varied as a function of gender, which supports the relevance of considering gender in moral education anti-bullying programs. Next, the study revealed significant differences in moral disengagement between classrooms. This finding points to the need to elucidate associations between moral disengagement and classroom characteristics.

The article discusses the concept of “meaning-making” and age crises as one of the main categories of psychology, and their relationship with the humanities. Existing scientific developments do not pay enough attention to the study of conscious motives and meaning in adults. The practical relevance of this problem is determined, on the one hand, by dynamic processes in the education system, on the other hand - the need to increase life experience, improve the quality of life in general. The article presents a semantic model of the process of meaning-making. The system of meaning-making is connected with the educational system, which includes the semantic sphere. The structure of the system of meaningmaking is the interaction of objects of social development of ways of thinking, views, and cultural activities. The article also describes the concept of age crisis and how it depends on meaning-making. Age development to a new qualitatively specific stage of meaning-making is characterized by abrupt psychological changes in a person’s life. The processes and psychological features of meaningmaking of adults is studied in the current uncertainty of the social, economic, and political situation which forces a person to constantly determine their position and view of the world. The solution of this important question is primarily associated with the activity of a person’s consciousness, which is aimed at identifying the meanings of ongoing events, the constant search for new meanings on the basis of which it would be possible to determine one’s place and vital role in the changing reality. It is found that meaning-making of a personality, its clear awareness, and its reliability are determined by viability, professional, family, and age self-determination in life, which depends on an individual, their life position, sociopsychological, and social maturity and activity. Based on the empirical study, it is concluded that age largely determines the importance of life values and spheres for a person, the level of realization of value orientations, the level of motivation and the level of self-actualization of the adult personality.

We examined a retrospective assessment of their parenting style and its relation to procrastination. Most studies focus on parents’ reports; therefore, we sought to determine how children see it. The association between parenting style and the behaviour of their offspring seems obvious. Nevertheless, reports on associations between parenting styles and procrastination raise questions. All the more so because procrastination results in academic and work failures, the disruption of family life, and mental and health problems. The target group encompassed 130 Polish high school students (92 girls and 38 boys), all aged 17, and came from middle-class families. We used two tests: the Parental Authority Questionnaire and the Pure Procrastination Scale. The correlation analysis did not confirm the relationship between procrastination and gender or the number of siblings. The study showed that parenting style is essential for children’s well-being, self-regulation, and academic achievements, which are closely linked to procrastination behaviours. The coupled parenting styles of both parents have a greater impact on children’s well-being, self-regulation, and academic achievements than the mother’s and father’s styles considered separately. It shows a need to offer parents support in the raising of their children, which should be taken into consideration by educators and policymakers.

The study aimed to replicate our research findings of 2019 by comparing the incidence of emotional disorder symptoms and global trait emotional intelligence (EI) and assessing the closeness of relationships of the observed variables in the context of the new COVID-19 pandemic situation. The data were gathered by self-report tests measuring levels of fears (KSAT), anxiety (STAI), depression (CDI) and trait emotional intelligence (TEIQue-ASF) in Slovak adolescents (N 270) aged 18 to 20 years (AM 18.42; SD 0.59) before (N 138) and during (N 132) the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed an increased incidence of emotional disorders (situational anxiety, stage fright, fear, and trait anxiety) and also a decreased level of global trait EI in the pandemic of 2019. Strong negative relationships were identified between global trait EI and trait anxiety (r -0.578; p ≤ .001), as well as medium negative relationships with overall fear (r 0.398; p ≤ .01) and stage fright (r 0.398; p ≤ .01). There were weak or no relationships between global trait EI and the other variables. Thus, higher global trait EI is related to a lower incidence of symptoms of specific emotional disorders. Our findings point to the validity of implementing socio-emotional learning elements into secondary school students' education.

The Phenomenon of Grudziądz. The Case of a City without a Higher Education Facility

The article is an attempt of characteristic – Grudziądz as a specific educational environment - phenomenon. As it was proved, Grudziądz is the biggest (almost 100 000 citizens, #40 in the biggest Polish cities list) city with no own university. This status might be both a cause and a result of other city’s problems. First of all – Grudziądz has the highest unemployment rate among all Polish cities – over 23%. Secondly Grudziądz has less investments than other cities in that region. Moreover, thirdly, there’s an proved opinion, that Grudziądz is unpopulating and is so called “town for a rent”. Situation on a educational market and a general economic and social condition causes in specific choices of young Grudziądzans. 1. They plan higher education more often. 2. They declare different set of majors than young Poles in general. Dominating faculties are: medicine, law, education, economics, architecture. 3. We’re finding a huge different – again in comparison to a general data – in a category of school type. Domination of universities, and no private universities. 4. Major – over 78% – chose regular full time studies. Specific a above mentioned choices indicates conservative and safe approach to youths future. Moreover it proves a responsibility. What’s even more important those date may be related to an information about leaving family home plans – that is why we may call it the accelerated adulthood and independence.

The contribution analyzes the most important risks of the present youth subcultures and the opportunities for social work and social pedagogy with regard to the problems of youth subcultures. The basic characteristics of youth subcultures is described as well as their social development, types and forms. The central meaning is inscribed to the possibilities of interdisciplinary coaction of social pedagogy and social work when solving specific problems of youth subcultures in the process of socialization during free time or at the penetration of social deviations. A specific attention is paid to the definition of the professional roles of social workers and social pedagogues in relation to the risky youth subcultures.

This study attempts to find an answer to the question of how adolescents handle their educational and vocational career planning process in the context of cultural and economic transformations. It becomes particularly important to know how to knowingly shape one’s own vocational biography in the market environment characterized by competitiveness and a high unemployment rate. A diagnostic questionnaire method was applied in the research. A statistical analysis of the research results demonstrated three groups of young people that handle their career planning in diverse ways: one applying perspective strategies, one preferring strategies that focus on the present only and one group including people who gave up their planning of the future either following a conscious choice or due to practical helplessness. Each group requires different forms of counselling and educational support in shaping their vocational biographies and has different requirements towards vocational counselling. The counselling activities, as demonstrated by the research results, require increasingly more psychological and educational skills, significantly exceeding a narrowly defined professional orientation.

The process of identity formation during the transition from adolescence into adulthood and its determinants are currently a central issue in the social sciences. On the one hand, the huge variety of possibilities presents the opportunity to expand the fields of exploration and to tailor commitments to individual aspirations and preferences. On the other hand, increasing instability and Bauman’s liquidity of the social environment of development may create threats that impede the making of decisions, engaging in their realization, and identifying with the choices made. James Marcia’s two-stage model of identity formation no longer adequately describes and accounts for paths of identity development. The dynamic dual-cycle model of identity formation developed by Koen Luyckx and collaborators is much more accurate. Although identity continues to develop throughout course of life, childhood, and adolescence in particular, seems to be pivotal from the point of view of which developmental trajectory the individual is on at the moment of his/her entry into adulthood. From this point of view, the factors which we regard as crucial for identity formation are shame proneness and shame regulation strategies on the one hand, and the system of personal beliefs about one’s life and related key social experiences which define the quality of social participation of adolescents on the other hand.

The paper deals with the issue of achievement motivation in adolescents and with the research into the level of the structure of this motivation. The LMI method was used to carry out a side study of a randomly selected sample of students at secondary commercial schools, branch management. Achievement motivation is used as a concept to explain the differences in individual behaviour in various parts of life. Our investigation was focused on finding out the total and partial scores in achievement motivation, including the description of each dimension both in boys and girls