Background Sensory processing sensitivity is the capacity to detect and interpret external and internal stimuli, which varies significantly among individuals. The Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) is a widely used tool for measuring this personality trait. To extend this research to children and adolescents, the Highly Sensitive Child Scale (HSCS) was developed. Participants and procedure This study focused on adapting and psychometrically analyzing a 12-item Spanish version of the HSCS for use in adults (HSCS-A). This version was administered to 372 adults aged 18 to 75. The Spanish 27-item HSPS was applied to analyze convergent validity. Results The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed that the three-factor structure of the test had the best fit indices in the Spanish sample, which was composed of three subscales: Ease of Excitation; Low Sensory Threshold; and Aesthetic Sensitivity. Internal consistency values (α/ω > 0.8) indicate that this Spanish version of the HSCS-A is adequate to measure environmental sensitivity. Positive and significant bivariate correlations for convergent validity demonstrated moderate and strong relationships between HSCS-A and HSPS-27 dimensions and the general factor of sensitivity (r = .83, p < .001). Conclusions This study produced results consistent with recent research on the measurement of environmental sensitivity. The Spanish version of the HSCS for use in adults appears to be a reliable tool for measuring sensitivity across the life cycle.

Background Smartphone addiction (SA) is a prevalent behavioral concern among college students, with evidence of serious consequences for mental health and academic performance. Research has established stress as a major risk factor of SA. Two prior studies also indicated that time perspective, i.e., views of past, present, and future, is a factor behind SA. The present research aimed to further examine the association between time perspective and SA, and the potential role of perceived stress as a mediator of this relationship. Participants and procedure In total, 186 Chinese college students completed an online survey that included a short-version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale, a 30-item, six-dimensional version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (S-ZTPI) and the Perceived Stress Scale. Results Path analyses were consistent with a model where the association between deviations from the balanced time perspective (DBTP) and SA is mediated by stress. Analyses involving separate S-ZTPI dimensions indicated that Past Negative and Future Negative were uniquely associated with increased risk of SA via stress, while Future Positive may have a protective role. Unexpectedly, Past Positive showed a significant positive direct effect on SA. Conclusions The results reinforce prior findings that time perspective biases are a risk factor of SA, mainly through increased levels of perceived stress. Longitudinal studies in diverse cultural settings are required to validate the links among the study variables. Based on the current results, reducing past negative and future negative attitudes, while supporting a positive future perspective, may form part of interventions targeting smartphone addiction.

Background Self-enhancement is the tendency to maintain a positive self-concept, often linked to narcissism. While agentic narcissists enhance their self-image through competence and status, communal narcissists do so through perceived morality and altruism. This study examined the relationship between four forms of grandiose narcissism – admiration, rivalry, sanctity, and heroism – and two self-enhancement strategies: overclaiming and the better-than-average (BTA) effect. Participants and procedure We investigated these relations in Polish and Italian university students (N = 306), considering cross-cultural differences in agency and communion. Participants completed a series of validated self-report measures assessing narcissistic traits, overclaiming tendencies, and self-perceived superiority. The study design incorporated a randomized presentation of variables and ensured measurement invariance across cultural contexts. Furthermore, to mitigate potential collinearity concerns and delineate shared and distinct variance components, we performed commonality analyses. Results Initially, we examined the zero-order correlations between narcissistic dimensions and self-enhancement variables, including domain-specific (agentic and communal) overclaiming, actual knowledge, and the BTA effect. To account for the substantial intercorrelations among narcissism subtypes, we subsequently employed multiple regression models to isolate their unique contributions. Conclusions Our findings revealed that within agentic narcissism only admiration was positively related to self-enhancement, whereas communal narcissists employed both sanctity and heroism. However, in Italy, communal self-enhancement was expressed only in the BTA effect, suggesting that cultural norms may influence the expression of narcissistic self-enhancement. These findings contribute to the literature on domain-specific self-enhancement, emphasizing the interplay between narcissism, culture, and self-perception.

BACKGROUNDThis study examined the psychometric properties of the Czech version of the Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ-12), assessing its internal consistency, factor structure, and associations with psychosocial variables such as self-esteem, social support, life satisfaction, negative emotionality, and perceived stress.PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDUREThe sample included 761 participants aged 19-59 years, primarily women (68.4%), recruited online. DCQ-12, along with measures for self-esteem, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, perceived stress, and negative emotionality, was administered. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and McDonald’s omega were employed to evaluate the questionnaire’s structure and reliability. Age and gender differences were assessed through two-way ANOVA.RESULTSDCQ-12 demonstrated high internal consistency (ω = .89 for the total scale), though one subscale (Transition and Turning Point) showed lower reliability (ω = .63). A three-factor model with minor modifications exhibited good fit (CFI = .956, RMSEA = .068). DCQ-12 correlated positively with stress and negative emotionality, and negatively with self-esteem, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, social support, and meaning in life. Developmental crisis was more prevalent among younger adults and women. Crisis prevalence declined with age and varied by gender, with notable differences observed in younger and middle adulthood.CONCLUSIONSThe Czech version of DCQ-12 is a reliable tool for assessing developmental crisis across adulthood. The current findings align with existing literature on psychosocial predictors of crisis. Future studies should explore the utility of DCQ-12 in diverse age groups and cultural contexts.

BACKGROUNDHow suspicious individuals are about some information affects how they judge whether the information is truthful. Being suspicious increases the possibility of one making a lie judgment about others (judging that others are lying); however, previous research has rarely distinguished between two types of suspicion: dispositional and state. This study examined how dispositional suspicion affects deceptiveness impressions and veracity judgments under different levels of state suspicion. Also, the relationship between the two types of suspicion and the amount of information people gather for truth-lie judgments was explored.PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDUREParticipants (N = 260) watched videos of someone telling either the truth or a lie, and immediately rated how deceptive the speaker looked, then made a final veracity judgment about him/her. Participants were assigned to two conditions: in one, they were informed that the speaker in the video might have committed a crime (suspicious condition), while in the other, they were not (non-suspicious condition). Participants were allowed to watch a maximum of five videos before making the final decision, and they all reported their level of dispositional suspicion.RESULTSThe results indicated that participants with high dispositional suspicion perceived the speaker as more deceptive than those with less suspicion but did not necessarily make more lie judgments. Although not statistically significant, there was a clear trend that the effect of dispositional suspicion was evident only under low-state suspicion. It was also found that more suspicious participants gathered less information.CONCLUSIONSThe finding that dispositional suspicion and state suspicion interactively influence deception perception has practical implications for judgments under low suspicion (e.g., fraud).

BackgroundThis survey of Polish employees replicates research on the relationship between narcissism, Machiavellianism and unethical pro-organisational behaviour (UPB) that was previously conducted in other countries such as China, Pakistan and the US. Positive associations between narcissism, Machiavellianism and UPB were expected to occur.Participants and procedureThe survey covered 250 people working in large corporations across Poland. The sample included 163 women (65%) and 87 men (35%). Narcissism was measured with the NARQ questionnaire, developed as an operationalisation of the narcissistic admiration and rivalry concept (NARC). The MACH-4 scale was used to measure Machiavellianism. Readiness for UPB, on the other hand, was measured using the Polish version of the UPB Scale.ResultsThe research showed statistically significant positive relationships between narcissistic admiration, rivalry and Machiavellianism and the readiness to engage in UPB. At the same time, narcissistic rivalry and its components aggressiveness and striving for supremacy, and Machiavellianism correlate most strongly with UPB. Regression and mediation analyses showed that the significant variables to predict higher levels of readiness to engage in UPB are rivalry (aggressiveness) and Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism, moreover, appears as a mediator in the positive relationship of rivalry and its components (devaluation of others, striving for supremacy) with UPB.ConclusionsSignificant predictors of UPB are narcissistic rivalry, including aggressiveness, and Machiavellianism. A Machiavellian strategy may enable UPB to be undertaken by those with a tendency to dominate and devalue others.

BACKGROUNDIn previous research, the fourteen coping strategies proposed by Carver have been assigned to two categories: adaptive (planning, active coping, positive reframing, acceptance, using emotional and instrumental support, religion, and humor) and maladaptive (self-blame, denial, self-distraction, venting, behavioral disengagement, and substance use). Some studies have shown that the former correlate positively, while the latter correlate negatively with psychological well-being. The initiation of coping strategies seems to co-occur with the experience of uncertainty, which is typically accompanied by an inner dialogue. Different types of inner dialogues are related to well-being in different ways. This study aims to test whether identity and ruminative inner dialogues mediate the relationship between coping strategies and well-being.PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDUREConvenience sampling was used. The study was conducted through an online survey. Participants were 337 young adults (181 women and 156 men) aged 20-35 years. They completed the Brief-COPE Inventory, Psychological Well-Being Scale, and Internal Dialogical Activity Scale-Revised.RESULTSIt was found that ruminative inner dialogues mediate negative relationships between maladaptive coping strategies and well-being. Identity inner dialogues are mediators of positive relationships between adaptive coping strategies and well-being, with the exception of humor and using emotional support.CONCLUSIONSThese findings can be used by mental health professionals in counseling and therapy. To enhance clients’ well-being, it is essential to strengthen their identity internal dialogues (associated with adaptive coping) and reduce their ruminative internal dialogues (associated with maladaptive strategies).

BACKGROUNDAlthough prior research has found a significant association between narcissistic tendencies and fame interest, details regarding the particular nature of this relationship remain to be elucidated. The present online survey study (N = 355) replicates and extends prior research examining the links between two subtypes of narcissism and fame appeal. Specifically, we distinguish between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, as predictors of Visibility, Status, and Prosocial domains of fame appeal. Further, we examine the potential mediating role of imaginary audience fantasies.PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDUREParticipants were drawn from a student sample (74% female-identifying) aged 18 to 25 who completed an online survey for course credit.RESULTSBoth grandiose and vulnerable narcissism predicted the Visibility appeal of fame, but only vulnerable narcissism predicted the Status appeal of fame. An inverse relationship emerged between grandiose narcissism and Prosocial appeal. Importantly, the frequency of imaginary audience fantasies mediated between both forms of narcissism and the Visibility and Prosocial appeals of fame.CONCLUSIONSFor those with grandiose or vulnerable narcissistic tendencies, whose self-image incorporates fantasies of being noticed and admired, celebrity and fame may be particularly appealing.

BACKGROUNDThe Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (PSPCSA) is an instrument widely used among researchers to assess young children’s self-perceptions. In two studies, we aimed to develop and validate a shortened version of the PSPCSA in Polish.PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDUREIn Study 1, 133 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years participated. The goal was to shorten the scale by selecting the best-performing items and to verify the factor structure of both the full-length and shortened Polish versions of the PSPCSA. Study 2 involved 344 children aged 4 to 7 years, aiming to validate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the shortened version within the Polish cultural context.RESULTSThe shortened PSPCSA demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model (Competence and Acceptance) for the shortened scale, with satisfactory fit indices. Additional, theoretically and psychometrically reasonable modifications further improved the model fit. Our results confirmed the validity of the scale and supported both configural and metric measurement invariance across age groups.CONCLUSIONSThe Polish short version of the PSPCSA offers a reliable tool for assessing preschoolers’ self-perceptions of competence and acceptance. Its validation ensures robust psychometric properties, supporting its utility in research studies to understand early self-esteem development. The shortened version reduces the fatigue associated with the longer scale, making it more suitable for young children.

BackgroundThe aim of the study was threefold: first, to test the associations between perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive), procrastination (general and decisional), and depression; second, to examine the mediating role of self-discipline between perfectionism and procrastination; and third, to examine gender differences.Participants and procedureThe participants in the study were 347 individuals aged 16 to 48 (M = 22.77, SD = 6.14). The following measures were used: the General Procrastination Scale, the Decisional Procrastination Scale, the Brief Self-Control Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Polish Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism Questionnaire.ResultsAs a result, maladaptive perfectionism positively contributed to depression, whereas adaptive perfectionism contributed to it negatively. In both the female and male groups, self-discipline was a mediator between maladaptive perfectionism and general and decisional procrastination. Only in the female group was self-discipline a mediator between adaptive perfectionism and general and decisional procrastination. Decisional procrastination mediated the link between perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive) and depression only in the male group. Likewise, the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depression was mediated by self-discipline and decisional procrastination in the male group.ConclusionsAs a result, maladaptive perfectionism positively contributed to depression, whereas adaptive perfectionism contributed to it negatively. In both the female and male groups, self-discipline was a mediator between maladaptive perfectionism and general and decisional procrastination. Only in the female group was self-discipline a mediator between adaptive perfectionism and general and decisional procrastination. Decisional procrastination mediated the link between perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive) and depression only in the male group. Likewise, the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depression was mediated by self-discipline and decisional procrastination in the male group.