Existing studies confirm the benefits of employment for chronically ill persons’ health, but few studies so far have delved into how they themselves perceive employment in relation to their health. There is also a paucity of information about individual factors influencing the formation of their perceptions. This study sought to determine differences between chronically ill persons with and without jobs regarding their perceptions of the function of employment for the physical, mental and social dimensions of health, as well as how their occupational activity or inactivity moderates the associations between the perception of work as health beneficial or health adverse and selected individual characteristics, such as self-efficacy, acceptance of illness, actualisation of self, and psychosocial problems. The study involved 80 adults with chronic illnesses and was conducted using the following psychological tools: the WH Scale, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, the Acceptance of Illness Scale, the Actualization of Self Scale and the Psychosocial Problems of Persons with Chronic Illness Scale. It has been found that the way in which chronically ill persons perceive the function of employment for health is unrelated to whether or not they have a job, and that occupational activity moderates associations between the sense of self-efficacy and the perception of work as benefitting health.

Background: Among the current avenues of research into the origins and development of the autism spectrum, those concerning atypical levels of sensory responsiveness are gaining increasing relevance. Researchers note the relationship of sensory responsiveness in children on the autism spectrum to their motor, cognitive and social development. Current research reports combines the responsiveness to sensory stimuli also with the development of pretend play. Aim of this study was to verify the relationship between the level of development of pretend play and the level of sensory responsiveness in children on the autism spectrum. Methods: A study was conducted in a group of 63 children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum aged from 3 years and 7 months to 9 years and 3 months using: Pretend Play subscale from the Theory of Mind Mechanism Scale and Sensory Experiences Questionnaire version 2.1. Results: The results revealed that elevated sensory hyporesponsiveness predicted low pretend play skills in the group of participating children. Conclusion: The study verified the contribution of the level of sensory hyporesponsiveness to explaining the atypical development of pretend play in children on the autism spectrum.

Purpose: What is observable in children on the autism spectrum is not only a specific developmental dynamic of temperamental profiles but also the contribution of sensory responsiveness to explaining the level of their temperamental traits. The aim of the conducted research was to determine whether the associations between temperamental traits and sensory responsiveness differed in two groups of children on the autism spectrum: younger (aged between 3 and 6 years) and older (aged between 7 and 11 years). Method: A group of 394 children diagnosed with autism was investigated: 208 aged between 3 and 6 years, and 186 aged between 7 and 11 years. The following tools were used: Sensory Experiences Questionnaire 3.0-Polish Version, and EAS-C Temperament Questionnaire. Results: The results indicate that the level of temperamental traits in the participating children is determined by the level of various dimensions of sensory responsiveness—to a greater extent in younger children than in older ones. The moderating role of age can be seen in the association of sociability with sensory hyporesponsiveness. In turn, sensory hyperresponsiveness and sensory seeking are associated with activity and shyness in both age groups. Conclusion: It can therefore be concluded that in the group of younger children on the autism spectrum, more aspects of temperament can be explained by the dimensions of sensory responsiveness than in older children.

Współcześni badacze podkreślają konsekwencje trudności osób z zaburzeniami ze spektrum autyzmu (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD) w rozpoznawaniu emocji dla nasilenia symptomów tego zaburzenia. Jednocześnie wiele z osób z ASD potrafi rozpoznawać emocje innych osób dzięki strategiom kompensacyjnym opartym na relatywnie dobrze rozwiniętych kompetencjach poznawczych i językowych. Wydaje się zatem, że umiejętności językowe osób z ASD mogą moderować związek rozpoznawania emocji z nasileniem symptomów ASD. Celem prezentowanych badań było ustalenie, czy poziom rozumienia mowy osób z ASD moderuje związek rozpoznawania emocji z nasileniem symptomów ASD. Przebadano grupę 63 dzieci z ASD w wieku od 3 lat i 7 miesięcy do 9 lat i 3 miesiący, wykorzystując następujące narzędzia: Skalę Nasilenia Symptomów ASD, podskalę Rozpoznawanie Emocji ze Skali Mechanizmu Teorii Umysłu oraz podskalę Rozumienie Mowy ze skali Iloraz Inteligencji i Rozwoju dla Dzieci w Wieku Przedszkolnym (IDS-P). Uzyskane wyniki wskazują, że poziom rozumienia mowy moderuje związek poziomu rozwoju rozpoznawania emocji z nasileniem symptomów ASD w zakresie deficytów w komunikowaniu i interakcjach. Wyniki te znajdują swoje implikacje dla włączenia terapii rozumienia mowy w proces rehabilitacji osób z ASD, a także dla teoretycznej refleksji nad uwarunkowaniami nasilenia symptomów ASD.

Background. This study sought to determine the effect of being employed or unemployed on the relationships between selected personal variables (acceptance of one’s illness, self-efficacy, and self-actualization) and the intensity of psychosocial problems experienced by chronically ill persons (ChIP). Participants and procedures. The PCH-R Scale, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, the Acceptance-of-Illness Scale, and the Self-Actualization Scale were used to collect information from 236 employed and unemployed ChIP. Results. Acceptance of illness and self-efficacy predicted the intensity of general psychosocial problems and problems in the personal, family, social, and occupational spheres in both employed and unemployed ChIP. Conclusions. The results can significantly contribute to increasing the effectiveness of treatment and support offered to ChIP. Continued employment or reemployment after a period of intense therapy can protect them from a rapid degradation of their personal—and frequently, socio-economic—resources, which are necessary for them to be able to adapt to new challenges and maintain a good quality of life, despite experiencing a chronic illness.