Background: Even though there is an extensive body of literature on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals who have experienced armed conflict, there are still many grey areas, especially in relation to civilian participants in hostilities. This article evaluates how socio-demographic factors and the interactions between them have influenced PTSD among civilians involved in the recent war in Ukraine. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 314 adults, 74 women, and 235 men. The mean age was 34.08 years. We used the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist–Civilian Version (PCL-C). Results: Our findings show that predictors of posttraumatic stress are loss of a loved one, place of residence, gender, continuation of education, and health insurance. We demonstrated that PTSD produced by the loss of a loved one as a result of war is determined by participation in the education system, whatever the level of education. The literature emphasises the importance of social support, e.g., from the family. We demonstrated that having children is associated with a risk of more severe PTSD, causing serious mental strain among participants of hostilities. We discovered that material security lowers PTSD, but only among people who have no children. Conclusions: PTSD is the result of not only the violence and damage caused by war but also of other stressful circumstances associated with the social and financial conditions of life. Further research needs to focus on identifying modifiable risk factors and protective factors that could be embraced by intervention strategies. Our findings can inform the goals behind therapeutic support for civilian participants of hostilities, and implications for social work. Social work professionals are encouraged to engage in direct questioning and to maintain a supportive and safe environment for participants in hostilities, e.g., in the area of education. Trauma-affected people need to be given opportunities to build up their strengths and increase their psychological resources towards well-being. Social security (health insurance, savings, material security) should be taken into account when working with people affected by PTSD.

Background: Providing effective spiritual nursing care requires development of professional competence which, when regularly evaluated, allows one to direct undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education in order to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes of nurses in the scope of spiritual care. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the level of spiritual competence of professionally active nurses in Poland and, additionally, to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS). Methods: A cross-sectional study among Polish nurses (n = 343) was performed in accordance with the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology guidelines. Results: An exploratory factor analysis identified five factors with 27 items explaining a total variance of 64.75%. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.70 for ‘Attitude toward the patient’s spirituality’ to 0.92 for ‘Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care’. Nurses reported a high level of spiritual competence (104.39 points) with better results in ‘Attitude toward the patient’s spirituality’ and ‘Communication, personal support and patient counselling’ than in the ‘Assessment and implementation of spiritual care’, ‘Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care’, and ‘Referral, consultation and spiritual care’. Significant correlation was found between nurses’ age, job seniority and spiritual competence, and between religiosity and spiritual competence. Conclusions: The study showed satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, confirming its potential to measure the level of spiritual competence of nurses, both in education and research processes. SCCS-PL revealed five-factor structure with good internal consistency. The findings highlight the importance of providing professional education in respect of spiritual nursing care, especially in its practical dimension regarding skills development in which nurses obtained lower scores.

Introduction: As a result of the increasing average human life expectancy and the related population growth in many countries, research on factors increasing seniors’ quality of life is becoming particularly important. An event critical for seniors’ functioning is retirement. A concept reflecting the dynamics of seniors’ personality associated with the changes taking place in their life situation is psychological capital. This concept was identified as a factor that is constituted by four personality variables changing because of experiences: self-efficacy, optimism, psychological resilience, and hope of success. An interesting issue is the relationship between psychological capital and quality of life in seniors working after retirement.Aim: The aim of this paper was to analyze the relationship between psychological capital (self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, psychological resilience) and quality of life in seniors working after retirement, as well as the mediating role of hope of success in this relationship.Methods: A total of 304 seniors—103 women and 201 men—participated in the study. The mean age was 65.24. The Quality-of-Life Scale (CASP-19), the Polish adaptation of Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Hope of Success Questionnaire (KNS), and polish adaptation of the Resilience Assessment Scale (SPP-25) were employed in the research. A mediation model was applied to explore the pathway from psychological capital via hope of success to quality of life.Results: The tested components of psychological capital correlate positively with working senior citizens’ quality of life. The mediating role of hope of success between psychological capital and quality of life was confirmed. The study presented three mechanisms in which hope of success strengthens the relationships between the components of psychological capital and working senior citizens’ quality of life.Conclusions: The mediating role of hope of success between the remaining components of psychological capital and quality of life confirms pattern posited in the COR theory, namely, that increasing one resource leads to the activation of others, which results in a spiral of personal resources being generated. One the one hand, people who have greater resources have a greater capacity for generating spirals of gains. One the other hand, individuals who lack personal resources are both more exposed to losing them and less capable of starting a spiral of gains in resources.

The adaptation of foreign students to a new country can be complicated due to different cultural values, language barriers and the way university courses are structured. The aim of the study was to analyze the lifestyle practices, satisfaction with life and the level of perceived stress of Polish and foreign students studying various medical disciplines in Poland with regard to chosen sociodemographic characteristics. The study included 231 foreign and 213 Polish students (n = 444) taking different medical disciplines at the medical university in eastern Poland. Three research tools were used: Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire (FLQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Additionally, students’ sociodemographic data was collected. Two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed and correlations between variables were also examined. Our research indicated that Polish students obtained higher results in FLQ than foreign students. It also demonstrated a significantly higher level of stress among Polish students in comparison to foreign students. The self-assessment of their health condition, lifestyle, and rank associated to being healthy correlated with FLQ, SWLS and PSS-10. The present research can aid the development of support programs for foreign students so that the cultural adaptation processes would more positively influence their lifestyle and an education environment.

Introduction: A healthy lifestyle can help older people maintain their functional ability and, therefore, satisfaction with life. An important aspect of health promotion is the assessment of lifestyle factors over which patients have some control. Objective: The aim of this study was to...

Background: The task of modern medicine is not just to heal, but also to improve the patient’s well-being and achieve non-medical goals in the therapy process that enable effective physical, mental and social functioning of the patient. Social support in difficult situations mobilizes an individual’s strength and resources to cope with problems. Research on social support and women’s condition after pregnancy loss reflects a holistic approach to the patient and is important from the perspective of increasing the level of hospital care. Objective: The aim of our study was to assess the impact of social support on the psychophysical condition, health, and satisfaction with quality of life among women after miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in a group of 500 patients after miscarriage and 110 with ectopic pregnancy, hospitalized in hospitals in Lublin (Poland). The study was conducted with the use of a diagnostic survey, comprising the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS) and an original survey questionnaire (psychophysical condition, satisfaction with health and quality of life on a scale of 1–4, sources of support on a scale of 1–10, with 1 being the poorest rating). Results: Respondents after miscarriage and those after ectopic pregnancy assigned the highest scores to the degree of perceived available instrumental support (respectively, miscarriage: M = 3.79, EP: M = 3.77). Women after pregnancy loss assigned the highest score to the support obtained from their partner (respectively, miscarriage: M = 9.26, EP: M = 9.23). Social support was significantly correlated with the condition of patients hospitalized as a result of pregnancy loss (p < 0.05). The assessment of psychophysical condition, health, and QoL of the respondents is determined by their education, financial standing, and obstetric history (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Women hospitalized due to miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy assigned high scores to the level of perceived available instrumental, emotional, and actually received social support. There is a positive relationship between social support and subjective opinion about psychophysical condition, health and satisfaction with quality of life among women after pregnancy loss. The assessment is determined by sociodemographic factors and the respondents’ obstetric history.