Background/Objectives: Dental fear and anxiety are prevalent issues in both children and adult patients, often leading to avoidance of dental care and deterioration in overall health. While virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly studied as a distraction tool in pediatric dentistry, its effectiveness among adults remains under-researched. This study aims to evaluate the impact of VR distraction on reducing anxiety and physiological stress indicators in adult dental patients. Methods: The study was conducted in a private dental office in Dobrodzień, Poland, involving 90 adult dental patients divided into three groups: two experimental (VR1 and VR2) and one control (C), with 30 patients each. Patients in the VR1 group experienced VR distraction during the first visit, and the second visit was conventional; the VR2 group experienced this in reverse; and the control group underwent traditional treatment in both visits. Physiological parameters (heart rate, saturation, and stress) and psychological anxiety levels (MDAS and STAI-X1) were measured at three time points during each visit. Results: Significant reductions in heart rate and stress levels were observed after VR exposure compared to the control group. VR also demonstrated a significant effect in decreasing anxiety levels (based on STAI-X1) during the visit with VR distraction. No significant changes were found in the saturation levels across the groups. Conclusions: The use of VR as a distraction tool during dental procedures effectively reduces physiological stress and anxiety in adult patients, suggesting its potential as a valuable tool in managing dental anxiety. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term benefits and patient satisfaction with VR-based interventions in dental care.

Postponed parenthood is considered one of the most extensive changes in the process of family formation. Among the many reasons for deferred parenthood, those related to greater feelings of incompetence as a potential parent, self-focus, perceiving parenthood as a burden, fearing the changes that the birth of a child may bring to a person’s life, financial insecurity, and worrying about the child’s future seem particularly important. Since little is known about the motives for delayed parenthood in relation to anxiety and psychological maturity, the main goal of our study was to verify how these variables may be related to each other and whether maturity for parenthood mediates the direct association between anxiety and the motives for delayed parenthood. The sample consisted of 223 Polish adults (the age range of the participants was 18–44 years). The respondents completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Maturity to Parenthood Scale (MPS), and the Multidimensional Scale of Motives for Postponing Parenthood (MSMPP-18). The results showed positive correlations between anxiety and four (uncertainty, burden, change, and finance) of the six motives for postponing parenthood and postponed parenthood overall. Maturity for parenting and all its dimensions correlated negatively with anxiety and all factors of postponed parenthood, except worry about the child’s future. In all six of the seven models (except “worry”), at least one of the factors of maturity to parenthood mediated the relationship between trait anxiety and motives for postponing parenthood/total score. Based on the results it can be assumed that a tendency to direct attention to a threat related to the context of child-bearing and child-rearing may lead to lower maturity to parenthood, which in turn may result in various motives for postponing parenthood.

The aim of this study was to examine relationships between temporal distance, time perspective, and features of narrations written about situations of betrayal presented on the 3 F card from the TAT. Participants (N = 81 women) wrote stories according to two types of instruction: as if the event shown in the picture took place in the present or in the past .. The distance group used fewer words concerning negations, future tense verbs, words concerning achievement and sexuality, and more words concerning space. The climate descriptions created from the perspective of the past were more inclined toward reflection than fight.

Physical activity can take various forms. People practicing fencing are part of interactive sports activities, while people exercising at the gym can be classified as participants of non-interactive exercising activity. Psychological factors can play an important role in both sports and exercising activity.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between selected personality traits, creative attitudes and motivation in a group of physically active people (fencers and people exercising at the gym), as well as to assess the differences in these factors between representatives of interactive sports and non-interactive activities.Material and methods: 120 fencers and 67 people exercising at the gym (121 men and 66 women) were recruited at an average age of 28.21 years 7.61 (SD). Psychological questionnaires such as KANH-III, IVE, TIPI, SMS-28 were used. Statistical analysis was performed using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the U Mann–Whitney test. Cluster analysis was performed using the K-means method and then compared using the Student’s t-test.Results: Algorithmic and nonconformist behaviors correlated positively with all components of intrinsic motivation in the group of physically active people (fencers and gym goers). Nonconformist behaviors also correlated positively with motivation based on identification and negatively with amotivation. A positive correlation of the conformism-nonconformism dimension with extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, emotional stability and risk propensity was also observed, as well as a negative correlation with empathy. In the algorithmic-heuristic dimension, there was a positive relation with conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience and risk propensity. Comparative analyses have shown that there are statistically significant differences in the scope of psychological characteristics between people practicing fencing and people exercising in the gym. Two models of psychological characteristics were also distinguished for people practicing fencing and in the gym.Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between personality traits, creative attitudes and motivation in physically active people involved in interactive sports or non-interactive activities. In addition, there are differences between fencers and people exercising in the gym in terms of psychological characteristics. Fencers are characterized by lower extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, empathy, external motivation (introjection and regulation), as well as a higher intensity of internal motivation (to knowledge) compared to people exercising in the gym.