Monica Albu

The Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) was developed to define and assess the basic factors of personality, expressed in a new model. The guiding assumption for this model (Alternative Five-Factor Model /AFFM) was that basic personality traits are those with a strong biological-evolutionary basis. AFFM emerged from a series of factor analyses based on data collected, mainly from psychobiological research. In the present paper we have assessed the psychometric properties of a Romanian translation of ZKPQ. The questionnaire was administrated to a total sample of 825 subjects (305 male and 520 female) with age range from 18 to 54. The data collected were used in order to test the reliability and validity for the Romanian sample. The results revealed a good consistency of all the scales and good construct validity. In the same, time, by making comparative analyses with other language versions, our data demonstrate a good cross-cultural reliability of the questionnaire. All findings proved the Romanian version of the ZKPQ is a reliable tool to assess personality’ structure and process for research and assessment purposes.

DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales) is an instrument of selfassessment built by S. H. Lovibond and P. F. Lovibond. It is composed of three scales that measure depression, anxiety and stress. Each scale contains 14 items. The DASS variant adapted in Romanian language (DASS−r) does not have a good validity: its scales correlate pretty strong between them and the coefficient of correlation between the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Anxiety scale (r=.68) is higher than the one between BDI and the Depression scale (r=.63). For this reason, we built a reduced variant (DASS21−r), in which every scale contains 7 items extracted from DASS−r. DASS21−r has a factorial structure similar to the one of the DASS−r variant. The coefficients of correlation betwen the scales from DASS21−r are comprised between.73 and.76, being smaller than the ones between the scales from DASS−r (that are comprised between .79 and .83), and the coefficient of correlation between the Anxiety scale and BDI...

ABSTRACTThis study reports the psychometric properties of the Child Symptom Inventory (CSI-4; Gadow & Sprafkin, 2002) on the Romanian population. Psychometric properties were measured both in clinical and non-clinical groups of children aged between 7 and 12 years, using a multi-informant perspective. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that CSI-4 is a reliable and valid screening tool for Romanian children's mental health, being in consonance with the original version of CSI-4. CSI-4 is a useful screening tool for psychiatric problems in school-aged children. This instrument can be used for assessment, intervention, treatment follow-up, as well as for research purposes.KEYWORDS: children's mental health, screening instrument, behavior problems, multi-informant evaluation, CSI-4.INTRODUCTIONOnce every year, the proportion of the European Union's population suffering from a mental disorder is 38.2% (164.8 million people) (Wittchen et al., 2011). The most comm...

The EMAS (The Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales) and the EMAS-SAS (The EMAS Social Anxiey Scales) are useful instruments for assessing seven dimensions of trait anxiety: social evaluation, physical danger, ambiguity, daily routines, separation, and self-disclosure to family members and to close friends. Every dimension is assessed using a separate subscale, along with another scale for measuring state anxiety. All subscales measuring trait anxiety have the same 15 items but they differ regarding the situation they evaluate. The present study aims to identify the psychometric characteristics of trait anxiety subscales. The study was performed on 905 subjects, age between 14-85 years. Three items were found to be subject of exclusion from each subscale. The short versions of these subscales have better psychometric characteristics (internal consistency and construct validity) than original subscales.

ABSTRACTThis study presents an overview of the adaptation process of the Adolescent Psychopathology Scale - Short Form, on the Romanian population. The psychometric properties were measured for both a clinical and a non-clinical sample of adolescents, aged between 12 and 19. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that APS-SF is a reliable and valid instrument of the mental health status of the Romanian children, being in accordance with the original version of APS-SF. APS-SF is a useful tool for psychiatric and academic problems faced by adolescents. It can be used for assessment, intervention and follow-up of the treatment, but it can prove to be helpful for research purposes as well.KEYWORDS: adolescents, mental health, assessment, psychopathologyINTRODUCTIONThe prior research and the epidemiologic studies performed over the last decade in USA, Canada and other countries show that a significant percent of teenagers suffer from some sort of major clinical disorder (Reynolds, 2000). Overall, it is believed that the prevalence of mental health disorders in this population varies between 7- 15%. In most cases, these disorders remain untreated, as they never get to be diagnosed by mental care specialists. Evaluating the presence and severity of the psychopathology in youngsters is, therefore, a clinical activity of major importance. For many teenagers, a low or moderate level of psychopathology may predict the further development of more severe clinical problems. Even children with a mild clinical disorder or with sub-clinical symptoms may face significant problems with their adaptability and daily functioning (Reynolds, 2000).The Adolescent Psychopathology Scale - Short Form (APS-SF) was designed to evaluate the psychopathology, the personality traits, and the psychosocial problems of adolescents, aged between 12 and 19 years. The 115 APS-SF items are extracted from the Adolescent Psychopathology Scale (APS; Reynolds, 1998, as cited in Reynolds, 2000), an instrument of 346 items, which evaluates the psychopathological level of teenagers. The APS-SF items provide a direct screening of the specific symptoms of the clinical and personality disorders, included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. (DSM-IV, The American Psychiatry Association, 1994), but also of other problems and behaviours that interfere with a good psycho-social level of adaptation and personal skills (Reynolds, 2000).APS-SF includes 12 clinical subscales and 2 validity subscales. Six clinical subscales focus on the DSM-IV symptomatology. They have been elaborated to reflect the main symptoms presented in the DSM-IV, which are associated with the following disorders: conduct disorder (CND), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse (SUB). The other six clinical subscales, though not specifically associated with the DSM-IV disorders or symptoms, screen relevant aspects related to various psycho-social problems of teenagers. These subscales include: eating disorder (EAT), suicide (SUI), academic problems (AP), anger/violence proneness (AVP), self-concept (SC) and interpersonal problems (IP). The two validity subscales focus on defensiveness (DEF) and the consistency response (CR) and examine the validity of the answers.Although it is not considered to be a formal classification system, there is, however, beside DSM-IV, another approach regarding the presentation of the behavioural disorders and problems, resumed in the notion of "clinical level" and acknowledged by means of a Cutoffscore (Cutoffpoint) that is obtained at a psychometric test. From this perspective, the severity of the disorder is screened using the answers given to the items that evaluate the characteristics (i.e., the symptoms) of that disorder. This information is then analysed by the clinical specialists in order to determine the clinical significance of the stated problems (Reynolds, 2000). …

ABSTRACT This study reports the standardization of the Early Childhood Inventory (ECI-4) on Romanian population. Psychometric properties were measured both in clinical and non-clinical groups of children aged between 3 and 7 years. The results of the statistical analysis emerged revealed that ECI-4 is a reliable and valid screening tool for Romanian children's mental health, being in consonance with the original version of ECI-4. The study also presents the elaboration of norms procedure. ECI- 4 is a useful screening tool for psychiatric problems in preschool children. It can be used in assessment, intervention, follow-up of the treatment, as well as for research purposes. KEYWORDS: preschool mental health, screening instrument, behavior problems, multi-informant evaluation. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.) INTRODUCTION It is being estimated that 20% of children could benefit from mental health services (Mash & Dozois, 2003 cited in Hartung & Lefler, 2010); however, approximately 80% of these children do not receive such aid in the USA (Kataoka, Zhang, & Wells, 2002 cited in Hartung & Lefler, 2010). Patients would be more likely to benefit of mental health services if such services were suggested by professionals like school psychologist or pediatrician, after a screening process. Children's mental health screening is not being yet a widely used assessment method. In Romania, especially, there is a complete lack of screening tools used for mental health problems. Many children are deprived of early intervention because most of these problems remain undiagnosed, and sometimes, they are of interest only when children are unable to adapt to school requirements and teachers complain about their behavior. Mental health screening tools for kindergarden children can be valuable for early detection and treatment of mental health problems. The Early Childhood Inventory-4 (ECI-4; Gadow & Sprafkin, 2000) is a screening tool for symptoms of behavioral, emotional and cognitive deficiencies of over a dozen of psychiatric disorders specific to childhood. Items in the ECI-4 are based on diagnostic criteria specified in the American Psychiatric Association's (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). ECI-4 facilitates the gathering of information in clinical and educational settings from parents and teachers about the symptoms of early childhood emotional, behavioral and cognitive disorders (Gadow & Sprafkin, 2000). ECI-4 is a useful tool because compared to a clinical interview it offers an alternative to structured psychiatric interviews which are time consuming, too long for standard clinical applications (Gadow & Sprafkin, 1997). The diagnostic categories included in ECI-4 were selected based on the highest prevalence rates among other diagnostic categories in child mental health. In general, there were included disorders that are more common and prevalent in child psychiatric populations and special education programs. In the case of a child attending a preschool facility, it is highly important to gather information from both teacher and parents. Several instruments for young children have different versions for teachers and parents (Gresham & Elliott, 1990; Kotler & McMahon, 2002, cited in Gadow & Sprafkin, 2000). The rationale is that: parents and teachers differ in their ability to correctly identify certain disorders because of the different demands placed on the child in the diverse settings, like home and kindergarden; also, it is believed that parents and teachers have access to different perspectives on children's behavior (Achenbach, Dumenci, & Rescorla, 2003 cited in Gadow & Sprafkin, 2000), both critical in drawing accurate conclusions; teachers have the opportunity of observing the children in classrooms and are able to identify a wide range of behavioral, emotional, and learning-related problems in the context of comparisons between children, while parents observe their children in daily interactions in the household (Huffman & Nichols, 2004); some children are more apt to reveal their inner state or to express a behavior to one caregiver than another; the identification of the settings in which the child experiences greater difficulty has important diagnostic and treatment implications. …

Our research sought to identify the social representation of the moral individual in present day Romania, distinct at people who have higher education and people who only graduated high school. The research took place between February and August 2011, in the counties Timiş, Arad, Cluj, and Caraş-Severin. It consisted of three stages. First it was determined the content of social representation, through the method of free associations. The 9 terms noted down with highest frequency have been reunite into a list. In the second stage we sought to identify the place of each term into the content of the social representation, through the ordering method from the list of terms. Then, we determined the relationship between the terms which constitutes the content of social representation through a variant of the method of free association. For the high school graduates, the central node of the social representation is the term fair. It is associated with the terms rarely encountered in our s...

ABSTRACT The Five-Factor Personality Questionnaire (CP5F) includes 130 items grouped in six scales. Five of them evaluate the superfactors of the Big Five model (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Authomomy), while the sixth assesses the participants' tendency to give socially desirable answers (Social Desirability). This article presents the results of the correlation analysis among the CP5F scales and those resulting from the FFPI (Five-Factor Personality Inventory) and EPQ (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire) questionnaires and the comparative results among the average scores of the Social Desirability scale obtained in two situations regarding the management of the CP5F questionnaire: one in which the participants were motivated to build a favorable image of themselves (mandatory periodical psychological evaluations or professional selections) and another in which the participants had no reasons to be untruthful (they solved the questionnaire for personality diagnosis purposes, psychological intervention or willingly, for the standardization of the CP5F questionnaire). The CP5F scales reflect a good internal consistency, the a coefficients calculated in the two categories of situations, grouped according to sex and three age groups (20-25 years, 26-35 years and 36-45 years) ranging from .639 to .924. KEYWORDS: Big Five, personality inventory. 1.1. The CP5F preview The Five-Factor Personality Questionnaire (Chestionarul de Personalitate cu Cinci Factori - CP5F) is aimed at evaluating the five superfactors of the Big Five model. It includes 130 items, grouped in six scales. Five of them evaluate the Big Five superfactors (Extraversion: 23 items; Agreeableness: 24 items; Conscientiousness: 25 items; Emotional stability: 21 items; Autonomy: 22 items), while the sixth measures the participants' tendency to give socially desirable answers (Social Desirability: 15 items). Each CP5F item contains a statement on the way a person feels (e.g., "I feel troubled because of some unpleasant happenings, even if I know that they are unimportant."), thinks (e.g., "I believe that life is full of interesting things") or acts (e.g., "I avoid taking part to group activities"). The participant needs to evaluate the degree to which he/she relates to each statement and to choose one of the possible answers: "strongly disagree", "moderately disagree", "neither agree nor disagree", "agree", "strongly agree". The participants have to answer on a 1 to 5 point scale. The score for each scale is assessed by adding all the scores of composing items. Then, the participant's score is transformed into a T score. The T scores over 60 are considered "high", while those under 40 are considered "low". The "high" and "low" scores are interpreted as follows: * the Extraversion scale: High score: The participant feels at ease in society. He/she is an active participant in entertaining activities. He/she enjoys talking and easily connects with people. Low score: The participant isolates himself/herself from other people. He/she is silent. * the Agreeableness scale: High score: The participant shows interest for other people. He/she respects the views and rights of others. He/she tries to keep good relationships with the others. Low score: The participant is interested in himself/herself. He/she is only interested in his/her own person. He/she wishes to impose his opinion on others. He/she is annoying. * the Conscientiousness scale: High score: The participant respects norms and regulations. He/she is disciplined and plans his/her actions. He/she strives to do everything perfect. He/she is trustworthy. Low score: The participant acts without thinking about the purpose or the finality of his actions. He/she does not respect deadlines. …

ABSTRACT This study presents the Romanian version of the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (SACS). Adaptation and validation studies were conducted on clinical and nonclinical groups of adults (N = 554). The SACS was originally constructed by Stevan E. Hobfoll in 1994 and 1998, and it assesses the behavioral dimension of coping in individuals. Results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of SACS and indicate that it is a useful instrument for assessing coping strategies for the Romanian population. KEYWORDS: coping strategies, multiaxial model of coping, psychometric characteristics, Romanian population INTRODUCTION Coping plays a potentially major role in determining people's psychological and physical well-being, when they are confronted with stressful events (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997). Coping has generally been conceptualized in terms of individual action that impacts the problem and influences behaviors, cognitions and emotions that occur in response to stress (Endler & Parker, 1990; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Prior coping theories and empirical work (Amirkham, 1990; Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989; Endler & Parker, 1990; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) have been directed at examining the active-passive dimension of coping, dividing coping in problem-focused (active) and emotion-focused (passive) domains. These models explore individual action aimed at problem solving through direct means, while they depict prosocial forms of coping as passive and ineffectual (Endler & Parker, 1990). Antisocial forms of coping, in contrast, may be ignored as the individualistic models are concerned with individual adjustment and goal achievement, not the social consequences of individual action. More so, a number of instruments which have included subscales that measure support seeking and perceived support (Amirkham, 1990; Carver et al., 1989; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Data from these instruments indicate that perceived support is linked to beneficial outcomes, while seeking support was found to be related to poorer coping outcomes and increased psychopathology (Endler & Parker, 1990). Hobfoll explains the discrepancy between the effective role of perceived social support and the ineffective use of support seeking, reasoning that perceived social support is seen as a self variable, meaning that those who see themselves as supported have better stress outcomes, whereas seeking support is seen as a response to poor adjustment to a problem. Therefore, social dimensions such as the need to preserve social ties and the wellbeing of the group are poorly included in coping conceptualizations. (Coyne & Smith, 1991; Thois, 1991). A psychological scale that is trying to adequately address the issues above is the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale, SACS (Hobfoll, Dunahoo, Ben-Porath, & Monier, 1994; Hobfoll, Dunahoo, Monnier, Hulsizer, & Johnson, 1998). Description of the SACS The SACS (The Strategic Approach to Coping Scale) was developed by Stevan E. Hobfoll[dagger], (1998) after several years of research. The SACS is based on the multiaxial model of coping (Hobfoll, Dunahoo, Monnier, Hulsizer, & Johnson, 1998) that takes both individualistic and communal aspects of coping into account and moves beyond the individualistic perspective, considering social aspects of coping as well. The model suggests that coping strategies differ on level of activity, social activity, and directness. Therefore, it includes: (a) a prosocial-antisocial dimension which depicts the degree to which individuals are active in terms of their social interactions, while seeking their goal; (b) a passive-active dimension that depicts the efforts to solve problems versus ways to avoid them; (c) a direct-indirect dimension that depicts the efforts to address the problem directly in contrast to solving the problem by working around people's back SACS evaluates the dispositional coping perceived as a general tendency to approach problems with a characteristic set of behaviors. …

The limiting factors of top athletic performance and the psycho-physiological mechanisms involved remain controversial. The aim of this study was to attempt a prediction of world records (WR) for the next ten years in five athletic track and field and events. Our prediction has been produced by means of computer--aided mathematical models. In short, polynomials that could best approximate the WR of the last decades have been calculated and projected over the period 2000-2010. The predicted values for the year 2010 point to an improvement rate of the WR considered varying between 0.2% and 10.3%, depending on event and gender. Those values could be influenced by the use of better sports equipment, better nutrition and training and especially by the impact of doping and of anti-doping measures.

This study reports the validation of the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) and the EMAS Social Anxiety Scales (EMAS-SAS) on the Romanian population. Psychometric characteristics were measured in a non-clinical group of 786 adolescents and adults from different parts of the country. To investigate the factor structure of the EMAS and EMAS-SAS, factor analyses were conducted. The results showed that the multidimensional structure of the EMAS and EMAS-SAS was tenable and they indicate that the EMAS and EMAS-SAS is a valid tool for assessing state and trait anxiety on the Romanian population.