Inspired by several cases of contradictory findings reported in some empirical studies related to... more Inspired by several cases of contradictory findings reported in some empirical studies related to extrinsic life goals, this study aims to examine the internal structure of the instrument Aspiration Index, constructed by Kasser and Ryan. This is done by using exploratory factor analysis. The sample consists of 419 participants at the age between 18 and 56, from different towns in Macedonia. Findings show that the construct of intrinsic and extrinsic life goals is confirmed on Macedonian population, although there are some differences in that how the subscales instrument is consist of are structured. Key words: ASPIRATION INDEX, INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC LIFE GOALS, FACTOR ANALYSIS.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lock-down measures being imposed by the government of North Mac... more The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lock-down measures being imposed by the government of North Macedonia. Conditions of self-isolation have direct effects on mental health. We researched the possible protective factors of psychological well-being. A total of 510 college students from the biggest university in the country (70% females, Mage = 21.12 years, SD = 1.58) responded to a structured online questionnaire, one month after the country's lock down. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed on hypothesized protective factors of well-being. Results showed that significant predictors of the psychological well-being in conditions of isolation are: perceived social support during self-isolation, self-engagement in physical exercises, perception of being adequately informed about the virus and the ways of protection, and the tendency to hold conspiracy explanations about the virus and pandemic. Perception of medical and restriction of movement measures, together with self-e...
OBJECTIVES: The model of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is intended to support young peo... more OBJECTIVES: The model of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is intended to support young people in acquiring information and developing skills and attitudes that should improve their reproductive and sexual health. The objective of this research was to assess the effectiveness of the implemented model through the progress made by participating students. It was expected that they should improve both their knowledge and attitudes regarding sexuality. METHOD: In study 1, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program was conducted by comparing pre-test and post-test measures on assessment test and attitude scale for assessing acceptance of values underlying CSE. Participants were 154 adolescents (113 female and 41 male) who attended CSE workshops. Study 2 was based on thematic analysis of qualitative data from 24 participants who provided insights in their perceptions of the CSE training. RESULTS: Findings show that progress has been made regarding all components that define t...
Do illusionary positive memories cast a shadow on current happiness?... Evaluations of the presen... more Do illusionary positive memories cast a shadow on current happiness?... Evaluations of the present and the past in relation to subjective well-being Abstract Studies on Subjective Well-being (SWB) show that the the Republic of Macedonia and other ex-communist developing countries are at the bottom of lists measuring this variable. One possible determinant is how the evaluation of present living conditions compared to socialism era 20 years ago, is related to the way people evaluate their current SWB. We hypothesize that the higher the difference in evaluation of the past compared to the evaluation of the present, the lower the subjective well-being will be. Participants were 443 adults, all 50 to 65 years of age. SWB was measured using Satisfaction with Life Scale and PANAS. Appropriate questionnaires were developed to measure evaluation of the present and past self, as well as present and past societal conditions, focusing on perceived opportunities, uncertainty and hopelessness. The results support our assumptions that the higher the difference between the evaluations of past and present self, the lower the SWB is. This difference is included in a regression analysis as a significant predictor of SWB, but present self and past social conditions are the strongest factors. The model explains 37.5% of the variance. It could be interpreted that this specific "shadow" of the past thwarts people to see and benefit from present opportunities. This additionally worsens their present living conditions and present SWB. Keywords: evaluation of the past, present and past selves, evaluation of the societal conditions, life satisfaction, subjective well-being. Czy pozytywne, acz iluzoryczne wspomnienia rzucają cień na obecne poczucie szczęścia? Ocena teraźniejszości i przeszłości w relacji do subiektywnego dobrostanu Streszczenie Badania nad subiektywnym dobrostanem, prowadzone w Republice Macedonii i w innych rozwijających się krajach postkomunistycznych, wskazują na jego niską pozycję w rankingu. Jednym z możliwych uwarunkowań jest rozbieżność wynikająca z porównania aktualnego poczucia dobrostanu z tym sprzed 20 lat. Sformułowaliśmy hipotezę, że im wyższa różnica w ocenie aktualnego dobrostanu w porównaniu z dobrostanem w przeszłości, tym niższy bę-dzie subiektywny dobrostan obecnie. Przebadano 443 osoby w wieku 50-65 lat. Do pomiaru
AIM The aim of this study was to adapt the Oral Health Impact Profile-49 (OHIP-49) for use by the... more AIM The aim of this study was to adapt the Oral Health Impact Profile-49 (OHIP-49) for use by the Macedonian-speaking population and to assess its psychometric properties. METHODS After piloting a back-translated version of the OHIP-49 questionnaire in Macedonian, the resulting Macedonian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-MAC49) was administered to 247 patients who had been recruited in four groups: Group 1 was composed of 163 randomly chosen blood donors representing the general population; Group 2 was a convenience sample of 20 patients who attended a clinic for relief of dental pain; Group 3 was a sample of 29 prosthodontic patients; and Group 4 was composed of 35 students. In order to ensure that all questions were answered, data were gathered from participants in the four groups by trained and experienced interviewers. The internal reliability of the OHIP-MAC49 scale and its constituent seven subscales was calculated for Groups 1, 3, and 4 by using C...
The objective of this longitudinal study was to find out patients self-perception about their ora... more The objective of this longitudinal study was to find out patients self-perception about their oral health condition before treatment, one week and one year after the prosthodontics treatment with fixed partial dentures (FPD) as well as to compare the outcomes with healthy patients, by identifying the changes in relevant aspects of quality of life. A total of 70 subjects-35 with necessity of fixed partial dentures (FPD) and 35 healthy individuals without any need for prosthetic treatment as a control group (CG) participated on a voluntarily base by responding the OHIP-MAC49 questionnaire for determining the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL). The FPD group responded in three time intervals--before the FPD intervention, one week after and finally, one year after it. In order to examine the extent in the improvement of the self-rated quality of life, these three measures taken over different periods of time were compared. This set of three assessments from the FPD group was a...
Inspired by several cases of contradictory findings reported in some empirical studies related to... more Inspired by several cases of contradictory findings reported in some empirical studies related to extrinsic life goals, this study aims to examine the internal structure of the instrument Aspiration Index, constructed by Kasser and Ryan. This is done by using exploratory factor analysis. The sample consists of 419 participants at the age between 18 and 56, from different towns in Macedonia. Findings show that the construct of intrinsic and extrinsic life goals is confirmed on Macedonian population, although there are some differences in that how the subscales instrument is consist of are structured. Key words: ASPIRATION INDEX, INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC LIFE GOALS, FACTOR ANALYSIS.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lock-down measures being imposed by the government of North Mac... more The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lock-down measures being imposed by the government of North Macedonia. Conditions of self-isolation have direct effects on mental health. We researched the possible protective factors of psychological well-being. A total of 510 college students from the biggest university in the country (70% females, Mage = 21.12 years, SD = 1.58) responded to a structured online questionnaire, one month after the country's lock down. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed on hypothesized protective factors of well-being. Results showed that significant predictors of the psychological well-being in conditions of isolation are: perceived social support during self-isolation, self-engagement in physical exercises, perception of being adequately informed about the virus and the ways of protection, and the tendency to hold conspiracy explanations about the virus and pandemic. Perception of medical and restriction of movement measures, together with self-e...
OBJECTIVES: The model of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is intended to support young peo... more OBJECTIVES: The model of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is intended to support young people in acquiring information and developing skills and attitudes that should improve their reproductive and sexual health. The objective of this research was to assess the effectiveness of the implemented model through the progress made by participating students. It was expected that they should improve both their knowledge and attitudes regarding sexuality. METHOD: In study 1, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program was conducted by comparing pre-test and post-test measures on assessment test and attitude scale for assessing acceptance of values underlying CSE. Participants were 154 adolescents (113 female and 41 male) who attended CSE workshops. Study 2 was based on thematic analysis of qualitative data from 24 participants who provided insights in their perceptions of the CSE training. RESULTS: Findings show that progress has been made regarding all components that define t...
Do illusionary positive memories cast a shadow on current happiness?... Evaluations of the presen... more Do illusionary positive memories cast a shadow on current happiness?... Evaluations of the present and the past in relation to subjective well-being Abstract Studies on Subjective Well-being (SWB) show that the the Republic of Macedonia and other ex-communist developing countries are at the bottom of lists measuring this variable. One possible determinant is how the evaluation of present living conditions compared to socialism era 20 years ago, is related to the way people evaluate their current SWB. We hypothesize that the higher the difference in evaluation of the past compared to the evaluation of the present, the lower the subjective well-being will be. Participants were 443 adults, all 50 to 65 years of age. SWB was measured using Satisfaction with Life Scale and PANAS. Appropriate questionnaires were developed to measure evaluation of the present and past self, as well as present and past societal conditions, focusing on perceived opportunities, uncertainty and hopelessness. The results support our assumptions that the higher the difference between the evaluations of past and present self, the lower the SWB is. This difference is included in a regression analysis as a significant predictor of SWB, but present self and past social conditions are the strongest factors. The model explains 37.5% of the variance. It could be interpreted that this specific "shadow" of the past thwarts people to see and benefit from present opportunities. This additionally worsens their present living conditions and present SWB. Keywords: evaluation of the past, present and past selves, evaluation of the societal conditions, life satisfaction, subjective well-being. Czy pozytywne, acz iluzoryczne wspomnienia rzucają cień na obecne poczucie szczęścia? Ocena teraźniejszości i przeszłości w relacji do subiektywnego dobrostanu Streszczenie Badania nad subiektywnym dobrostanem, prowadzone w Republice Macedonii i w innych rozwijających się krajach postkomunistycznych, wskazują na jego niską pozycję w rankingu. Jednym z możliwych uwarunkowań jest rozbieżność wynikająca z porównania aktualnego poczucia dobrostanu z tym sprzed 20 lat. Sformułowaliśmy hipotezę, że im wyższa różnica w ocenie aktualnego dobrostanu w porównaniu z dobrostanem w przeszłości, tym niższy bę-dzie subiektywny dobrostan obecnie. Przebadano 443 osoby w wieku 50-65 lat. Do pomiaru
AIM The aim of this study was to adapt the Oral Health Impact Profile-49 (OHIP-49) for use by the... more AIM The aim of this study was to adapt the Oral Health Impact Profile-49 (OHIP-49) for use by the Macedonian-speaking population and to assess its psychometric properties. METHODS After piloting a back-translated version of the OHIP-49 questionnaire in Macedonian, the resulting Macedonian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-MAC49) was administered to 247 patients who had been recruited in four groups: Group 1 was composed of 163 randomly chosen blood donors representing the general population; Group 2 was a convenience sample of 20 patients who attended a clinic for relief of dental pain; Group 3 was a sample of 29 prosthodontic patients; and Group 4 was composed of 35 students. In order to ensure that all questions were answered, data were gathered from participants in the four groups by trained and experienced interviewers. The internal reliability of the OHIP-MAC49 scale and its constituent seven subscales was calculated for Groups 1, 3, and 4 by using C...
The objective of this longitudinal study was to find out patients self-perception about their ora... more The objective of this longitudinal study was to find out patients self-perception about their oral health condition before treatment, one week and one year after the prosthodontics treatment with fixed partial dentures (FPD) as well as to compare the outcomes with healthy patients, by identifying the changes in relevant aspects of quality of life. A total of 70 subjects-35 with necessity of fixed partial dentures (FPD) and 35 healthy individuals without any need for prosthetic treatment as a control group (CG) participated on a voluntarily base by responding the OHIP-MAC49 questionnaire for determining the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL). The FPD group responded in three time intervals--before the FPD intervention, one week after and finally, one year after it. In order to examine the extent in the improvement of the self-rated quality of life, these three measures taken over different periods of time were compared. This set of three assessments from the FPD group was a...
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