The present study reports the results of the Bulgarian adaptation of the Job Stress Index (JSI) scale. The research was conducted on a sample of 412 participants. The factorial structure of the instrument was examined, and key descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were calculated. The findings demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, providing evidence for the reliability and construct validity of the instrument within the Bulgarian cultural context (α = .942, and KMO measure of sampling adequacy was .938, Bartlett’s test of sphericity was statistically significant χ² = 3989.616, p .001), confirming that the correlation matrix was appropriate for factor analysis and that the observed correlations were not random. The strong convergence between parametric and non-parametric results, together with the consistent ranking of item effects, provides compelling evidence for the discriminant validity of the scale. Collectively, these results confirm that the questionnaire possesses a high and stable capacity to distinguish between individuals with low and high levels of perceived occupational stress.
Research about positive personality traits has gained relevance in the last decades, with different theoretical models and assessment tools being developed worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Light Triad Scale (Kaufman et al., 2019) to be used in Argentina and to evaluate whether light traits significantly increment the prediction of total well-being and its three dimensions (emotional, social, and personal), beyond the variance explained by normal personality traits (Five Factor Model). Two general population samples were investigated: sample A, composed of 607 Argentine adults (Mage = 42.4, SD = 15.8), and sample B, composed of a subgroup of sample A, with 392 individuals (Mage = 39.2, SD = 13.8). For data collection, the following instruments were used: Light Triad Scale (LTS), Dark Triad Scale (DTS), Big Five Inventory (BFI), Five Continua Personality Inventory, Short Form (FCPI-SF), The Mental Health Continuum, Short Form (MHC-SF). Results: The three-dimensional structure of the LTS scale could be confirmed. In addition, evidence was obtained regarding the incremental validity of the LTS in the prediction of well-being (especially for the social well-being dimension). Conclusions: The analyses conducted provide evidence of validity and reliability of the LTS scale, which guarantees its use in Argentina.
Social media has now become an inseparable part of modern human life. However, its improper use will increase the risk of addiction, which will hurt individual well-being. This study aims to examine the influence of depression literacy, quality of life, and social media addiction. This study used convenience sampling and involved 195 participants aged 17 to 40. The instruments used were the Internet Addiction-Revised (IAT-R), Depression Literacy (D-Lit) Questionnaire, and 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). In this study, quality of life was analyzed as a mediator variable between depression literacy and social media addiction. The results showed that depression literacy did not significantly predict quality of life (β = -0.102, p = 0.062, 95% CI [-0.418, 0.0364]). In addition, quality of life has a significant negative effect on social media addiction (β = -0.633, p 0.001, 95% CI [-0.781, -0.538]). This study also found a significant indirect effect between depression literacy and social media addiction through quality of life as a mediator (β = -0.113, p = 0.013, 95% CI [-0.357, -0.053]). This finding indicates a full mediation effect, in which quality of life moderates the relationship between literacy and social media addiction.
This research article examines the growing phenomenon of parental violence against educators, focusing on the case of Greek teachers. Drawing on systematic content analysis of Greek press and electronic media reports, it explores the main causes, forms, and consequences of parental aggression, as well as the adequacy of the existing institutional protection framework. Five principal causes are identified: questioning of teachers’ evaluative and pedagogical competence, overprotective and interventionist parenting, weakening of institutional trust and teacher authority, dysfunctional school–family communication, and heightened psychosocial stress within families. Parental aggression manifests in multiple forms, including verbal and psychological abuse, institutional and legal harassment, public targeting through digital media, and, in rare cases, physical violence. These behaviors significantly affect teachers’ professional autonomy, psychological well-being, and job satisfaction, often leading to defensive teaching practices and increased intentions to leave the profession. A comparative overview reveals that, unlike several European countries with clear preventive frameworks, Greece lacks a unified and specialized system for teacher protection. This study underscores the need for comprehensive institutional, communicative, and psychosocial interventions.
The article, based on the premise that a transition to a new geological era is taking place – the noosphere/anthropocene, one of the main characteristics of which is a comprehensive change in the “nature” of Man, justifies the view that this process is also related to the formulation of a new comprehensive worldview, which, depending on the understanding, presentation and protection of human nature in the new conditions, could be defined and perceived as a new anthropocenic humanism. The main thesis is that: anthropocenic humanism is impossible both with the uncritical perception of technological optimism - it inevitably leads to the destruction of the natural/divine nature of man, and with its uncritical denial, because the technological transformation of man and nature is objectively inevitable; It would be possible, when forming a new approach to the modern anthropocene transition, to implement its “reasonable”, protecting human in technical/technological modification of human nature - preserving it within the limits of naturally necessary and useful “improvement”, and limiting/preventing modeling through technological design of a more or less artificial man. In conclusion, the position is put forward that: the possibility or impossibility of the formation and existence of anthropocenic humanism are inextricably linked, are the result of the solution to the question of the ontological status of man - will he retain, albeit modified, his human nature or not. If yes – despite many conditions, such humanism would be possible, if not – it would be impossible.
Dispositional mindfulness and psychological resilience are increasingly viewed as important personal resources for psychological adjustment, yet their joint configurations remain underexplored. This study identified latent profiles based on mindfulness facets and resilience and examined their links with mental health, life satisfaction, and contextual risk and protective factors in emerging adults. Participants were 621 university students aged 18–29 years (88.6% female) who completed measures of mindfulness, resilience, mental health, life satisfaction, violence exposure, and sociodemographic and relational characteristics. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles: high-resource, moderate-resource/cognitively mindful, and low-resource. Both higher-resource profiles showed better mental health and greater life satisfaction than the low-resource profile, but did not differ significantly from each other. Multinomial regression indicated that more positive family relationships were associated with greater likelihood of membership in both higher-resource profiles (ORs = 1.48-1.63), and that being in a romantic relationship increased the likelihood of membership in the moderate-resource profile (OR = 1.87), whereas more frequent violence exposure reduced the likelihood of membership in the moderate-resource profile relative to the low-resource group (OR = 0.78). Socioeconomic status was not a significant predictor. The three-profile solution was replicated in sensitivity analyses including the observing facet. Overall, the findings suggest that distinct configurations of mindfulness and resilience are meaningfully associated with psychological well-being and differ according to relational context and violence exposure.
Globally, the profession of police is a highly stressful occupation. The present study focuses on investigating how chronotype, resilience, and general health predict stress among police professionals. Data was collected from 428 male and female police professionals through purposive sampling from different districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Standardised tools were used to assess all variables. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted where the results indicated moderate levels of stress, general health conditions, resilience, and appropriate sleep quality. Correlational analysis revealed that stress was positively correlated with good sleep, resilience, and poor general health, while it was negatively associated with depressed mood. Regression analysis identified general health and resilience as the strongest predictor of stress, with morningness having smaller predictive value of 42.4% variance in stress levels, highlighting the combined influence of psychological and circadian factors to explain stress among police professionals. This study highlights that despite average sleep quality and high resilience police professional experiences elevated stress due to the demanding nature of their work. Therefore, the findings point to the necessity of a comprehensive approach to stress reduction in policing integrating health promotion, psychological support, and organizational change.
Interventions based on positive psychology are an effective alternative to reduce symptoms of emotional distress and prevent mental health problems. However, little is known about the evaluation of kindness on unpleasant emotional states. The objective is to evaluate the feasibility of an intervention focused on acts of kindness on anxiety, depression and stress in university students. Three men and two women participated in an intervention of three weekly sessions, and pre- post evaluation. A multi-element single-case design was carried out with five replicates where the effect size was calculated using the percentage of non-overlapping data and the reliable change index. In the results, the post-intervention evaluation showed a significant change index for depression, anxiety and stress. However, the size of the effect was questionable. From the results, we can affirm that the feasibility study offers data in favor of the component of acts of kindness as an intervention on negative affect. However, it is recommended to evaluate the effect size with larger samples and more robust statistical indices.
Loneliness negatively affects the mental health of University students. Feelings of loneliness are associated with a lack of meaning in life. However, this relationship can vary due to individual personality differences. Therefore, the main aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between meaning in life and loneliness among University students and the moderating influence of personality dimensions. The sample of the present study consisted of 201 University students, and a multistage random sampling technique was utilized to select the sample from the Bathinda district of Punjab, India, while JASP was used to examine the structural equation model analysis. The result showed a negative and significant moderating impact of neuroticism subtypes of personality on the search for meaning in life and loneliness (b=-.047, t=-2.634, p=.008). The present research highlights the importance of addressing the high rates of loneliness and the need for a proper support system among students to make sure that they are not feeling lonely and reach out for help if needed. Neuroticism plays an important role in moderating the relationship between meaning in life and loneliness; stress and anxiety management techniques should be taught to all students that help them manage these emotions.
This study applies network analysis to examine the complex relationships among social anxiety subscales, false memory, and psychological resilience in university students. A sample of 184 second-year students in scientific majors was analyzed to identify key psychological factors shaping academic cognition and emotion. The resulting network, with five nodes and eight significant edges, demonstrated moderate sparsity (sparsity index = 0.20), enabling the identification of core pathways without overfitting. Centrality measures consistently revealed anticipatory anxiety as the most influential construct, with the highest scores in betweenness, closeness, strength, and expected influence. This finding highlights anticipatory anxiety’s central role as a bridge between academic social anxiety, workload stress, and memory-related processes, marking it as a primary driver of cognitive-affective dynamics in academic environments. Academic social anxiety also showed strong centrality, emphasizing its impact on students’ immediate emotional responses to academic challenges.Conversely, false memory and psychological resilience were more peripheral in the network. Their lower betweenness and closeness scores suggest they function more as outcomes or moderators rather than as core causes. Notably, psychological resilience exhibited a negative expected influence, indicating its protective role in buffering the impact of academic stress and anxiety. Academic workload stress, though less connected overall, contributed meaningfully through targeted effects, particularly by intensifying anticipatory anxiety and social evaluative concerns. These insights offer a nuanced framework for developing interventions targeting anticipatory anxiety and academic social anxiety, while enhancing psychological resilience to support student well-being and academic performance in higher education contexts.
This study tested the mediating effects of financial management and perceived socioeconomic status on the relationship between Dark Triad traits and financial well-being. A sample of 1,550 participants (62.1% women; age 17–86, M = 40.7, SD = 13.87) completed an online questionnaire assessing Dark Triad traits, financial management, financial well-being, and perceived socioeconomic status. Spearman correlations and mediation analyses with bootstrapping (5000 iterations) were applied. Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively related to financial management, whereas psychopathy showed negative associations. Narcissism was further linked to higher perceived socioeconomic status, while psychopathy predicted lower status. Mediation analyses revealed that the positive association between narcissism and financial well-being operated through stronger financial management and elevated perceived socioeconomic status. In contrast, the detrimental effect of psychopathy on financial well-being was mediated by poor financial management and lower socioeconomic status. These results indicate that Machiavellian and narcissistic tendencies can foster adaptive financial management, yet only narcissism enhances subjective socioeconomic appraisal. Psychopathy, conversely, is characterized by maladaptive management strategies, diminished socioeconomic perceptions, and reduced financial well-being. The study emphasizes the pivotal role of both financial management and subjective socioeconomic evaluation in linking personality traits with financial well-being. Targeted interventions aimed at strengthening self-regulation and financial planning may buffer the adverse financial outcomes particularly associated with psychopathic traits.
This article examines digital well-being as a psychological construct that goes beyond the understanding of screen time control and, more broadly, includes mental, social, and behavioral functioning in a digital environment. The aim is to present the main conceptualizations of the concept, its key dimensions, and the factors associated with its disruption. Special attention is paid to the relationship between problematic technology use, difficulties in mental and social functioning, and increased vulnerability to online risks, such as cyberbullying, cybervictimization, and cybercrime. Main approaches to enhancing digital well-being are also examined, including psychological, technological, family-social, and institutional interventions. The analysis shows that digital well-being should be considered as an important condition for mental health, social adaptation, and safe participation in the modern online environment.
This study investigates artistic creativity in university students across six academic specialties – Fine Arts, Technical/Analytical, Pedagogy, Humanities, Psychology, and Physical Culture – using a seven-dimensional framework: Stylistic Coherence, Symbolic Saturation, Narrative Integration, Emotional Expressiveness, Authorial Presence, Aesthetic Orientation, and Aesthetic Intentionality. A total of 147 students (ages 17–24, 78% female) completed a creative task, and their works were analyzed via MANOVA and post-hoc comparisons. Results indicate that Fine Arts and Technical/Analytical students exhibit the most pronounced creative profiles, particularly in expressive, symbolic, and intentional dimensions, while other groups display moderate but balanced creativity. The findings demonstrate that specialization systematically shapes creative expression and reflects distinct perceptive – cognitive strategies underlying artistic production. Creativity, therefore, appears not only as an individual disposition but as a context-dependent process influenced by domain-specific training. These results support the use of differentiated pedagogical approaches that combine general cognitive development with orientation-specific artistic practice. The study confirms the multidimensional nature of creativity and its educational malleability. Limitations include unequal group sizes, a single-institution sample, and a cross-sectional design. Future research should incorporate longitudinal approaches and additional psychological and socio-cultural variables to better understand the developmental trajectories and practical outcomes of creative profiles.
This conceptual article introduces and defines Academic Functional Disengagement (AFD) as a distinct academic construct describing a specific pattern of selective and resource-organized participation in learning activities. The existing literature on student engagement, academic disengagement, amotivation, burnout, procrastination, and related phenomena offers rich but partially overlapping explanatory frameworks that do not adequately capture cases of intentional restriction of participation without full withdrawal, demotivation, or syndromic exhaustion. The article proposes a clear conceptual definition of AFD, formulates necessary and sufficient criteria, and delineates its boundaries in relation to closely related constructs. Through systematic differentiation and the construction of a nomological network, the article argues for the independent status of AFD within academic psychology. A coherent program for operationalization and empirical verification is presented, including a plan for testing construct, discriminant, and incremental validity. Particular attention is given to distinguishing AFD from popular descriptive labels such as quiet quitting, which lack the required conceptual and measurement precision. The article concludes by specifying criteria for empirical support or falsification of the proposed construct and by outlining directions for future research.
This study explored how self-compassion may explain the link between differentiation of self and authentic personality. Although both constructs have strong theoretical relevance, little is known about how differentiation contributes to authenticity. Given that authenticity involves expressing a coherent and integrated sense of self across emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and moral domains, differentiation may provide its structural foundation. Therefore, it was examined whether self-compassion serves as a mediating regulatory mechanism through which differentiated capacities translate into authentic self-expression. Participants were 591 university students who completed measures of differentiation of self, self-compassion, and authentic personality. Results showed that self-compassion was positively related to authentic personality and partially mediated the relationship between I-position and authenticity. However, no significant mediation effects were found for emotional reactivity, emotional cut-off, or fusion with others. These findings suggest that maintaining a clear sense of self may foster authenticity, particularly when individuals relate to themselves with compassion, highlighting self-compassion as a pathway linking self-differentiation to authentic living.
This study reports the translation, adaptation, and psychometric evaluation of a Bulgarian version of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-40). Following independent forward and backward translations and expert review, the instrument was administered online to 664 Bulgarian adults (77.7% women; mean age, M = 38.0, SD = 11.2). Participants also completed the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire to assess the convergent validity of the results. Classical test theory indices demonstrated high internal consistency for the total NPI-40 score (α = .85; ω = .85), though two subscales (“Self-sufficiency” and “Entitlement”) yielded lower reliabilities (α .50). Correlational analyses supported convergent validity, revealing positive associations between total and subscale NPI-40 scores and the Promotion focus, and negative associations with the Prevention focus. Confirmatory factor analyses compared correlated seven-factor, hierarchical, and bifactor models. The bifactor solution demonstrated superior fit (CFI = .988; RMSEA = .020), confirming a strong general narcissism factor alongside specific dimensions. These findings suggest that the proposed Bulgarian version of the NPI-40 is a reliable and valid measure of trait narcissism in nonclinical samples. Thеsе results facilitate the use of the NPI-40 in Bulgarian language research across various psychological domains, including personality, interpersonal relationships, leadership, and organizational behavior.
Street harassment targeting women has persisted as an ongoing societal issue. This study examined masculinity, Social Dominance Orientation, and moral disengagement as predictors of street harassment behavior among men. Using convenience sampling, male participants (N = 211) completed questionnaires measuring these variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess predictive relationships, and internal consistency was examined. Results demonstrated that masculinity, Social Dominance Orientation, and moral disengagement significantly predicted street harassment frequency, with masculinity emerging as the strongest predictor. The study provides empirical support for understanding psychological factors underlying street harassment perpetration, offering insights for intervention strategies and further research implications discussed within the paper. This study presents a predictive model for street harassment frequency, shedding light on the motivations of male perpetrators and contributing to research on gender and behavior. However, these findings are only a starting point. Greater awareness, further research, and practical solutions are required to fully address and eradicate street harassment.
This paper shows the key ethical principles in the professional practice of criminal psychologists. The analysis is structured around the five core principles outlined in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association: beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people’s rights and dignity. Specific ethical challenges such as confidentiality, informed consent, dual loyalty, and maintaining professional competence are addressed.. References to the Bulgarian ethical and legal framework are also included. The aim is to delineate the boundaries of ethically responsible conduct in conditions of heightened legal, institutional, and moral complexity. The analysis emphasizes the significance of a high level of ethical awareness, self-reflection, and ongoing professional development in maintaining justice, human dignity, and professional legitimacy in the practice of criminal psychology.
The article examines the formation of national and ethnic identity in the process of ontogenesis in children from 5 to 18 years of age from the three main ethnic communities in Bulgaria - Bulgarians, Turks and Roma. Models of national and ethnic identity formation specific to children from each of the three ethnic groups are derived based on tracing children's sequential formation of certain notions/indicators (cognitive and affective/еmotional) of national and ethnic identity. In the study of the successive changes in the formation of the notion of national and ethnic identity in the process of ontogenesis, as a theoretical basis was used the concept of the great Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget on the stages of intellectual development. The data in the article are based on two comprehensive case studies conducted in kindergarten and secondary school (with all children attending the kindergarten and the school aged 5 to 18) in a small town with an ethnically mixed population in Bulgaria, where for centuries representatives of the three ethnic communities studied - Bulgarians, Turks and Roma - have lived in close coexistence, which is why the patterns of ethnic and national identity formation derived can be seen as typical for the town.
The review presents the monograph by Chief Assistant Professor Dr. Emelina Zaimova, “Psycho-Social Aspects of the Fear of Crime. Adaptation of a Questionnaire,” which stands out for its relevance in light of the dynamic and often extreme situations in the social environment. The topic highlights the multifaceted nature of the fear of crime through the following key aspects: how this phenomenon is defined and measured within the context of psychology and the social sciences; how certain individual and social factors influence the perception of crime; what the psychological and social consequences of fear are, including its impact on quality of life, mental health, and social cohesion; and what approaches exist for the prevention and management of fear. The author develops a reliable and valid methodology for studying the fear of crime, which can be applied both for scientific purposes and in practice, such as in forensic psychological assessments, the design of crime prevention strategies, and the improvement of societal well-being.
