Numerous studies show that changes occurring in a woman’s organism during menopause may lower her quality of life. This study involved 630 healthy postmenopausal women from Poland. Its purpose was to assess their quality of life in relation to socio-demographic variables, medical data and personality profiles. The authors used the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) to assess quality of life, the NEO-Five Factor Inventory to measure personality traits, and the Blatt-Kupperman Menopausal Index to estimate severity of climacteric symptoms. The study demonstrated significant relationships between quality of life and variables such as: age, education, employment status, and the use of menopausal hormone therapy. An analysis of personality traits revealed correlations between the openness to experience scores and the quality of life within physical functioning, vitality, and mental health. Neuroticism, agreeableness and extroversion significantly correlated with all quality of life domains. Conclusions: (1) Age, education and employment status have significant effects on the selected quality of life domains after menopause. (2) Quality of life within the general health domain was assessed lower by MHT-users (Menopausal hormone theraphy (MHT)). (3) Health-related quality of life is also influenced by personality traits, which are relatively stable throughout life.

The authors' purpose was to determine which form of therapeutic aid may influence academic approach and avoidance motivation in children with dyslexia. There were 165 children with dyslexia assessed with the use of ”I and my school” questionnaire. The authors considered the children's previous therapeutic experience and on its basis they were divided into three groups. Children receiving systematic therapeutic treatment display a significantly higher level of academic approach motivation as compared to those from the two other groups. Those children also manifest a lower level of academic avoidance motivation compared to those receiving no form of specialist treatment. Girls, regardless of their therapeutic experience, demonstrate a higher level of approach motivation; boys, on the other hand, display a higher level of avoidance motivation. The study shows that the quality of provided therapeutic aid affects emotional-motivational sphere of children with dyslexia. Systematic therapeutic aid increases academic approach motivation and reduces avoidance motivation.

The cerebellum has long been perceived as a structure responsible for the human motor function. According to the contemporary approach, however, it plays a significant role in complex behavior regulatory processes. The aim of this study was to describe executive functions in patients after cerebellar surgery. The study involved 30 patients with cerebellar pathology. The control group comprised 30 neurologically and mentally healthy individuals, matched for sex, age, and number of years of education. Executive functions were measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT), Trail Making Test (TMT), and working memory by the Digit Span. Compared to healthy controls, patients made more Errors and Perseverative errors in the WCST, gave more Perseverative responses, and had a lower Number of categories completed. The patients exhibited higher response times in all three parts of the SCWT and TMT A and B. No significant differences between the two groups were reported in their performance of the SCWT and TMT with regard to the measures of absolute or relative interference. The patients had lower score on the backward Digit Span. Patients with cerebellar pathology may exhibit some impairment within problem solving and working memory. Their worse performance on the SCWT and TMT could, in turn, stem from their poor motor–somatosensory control, and not necessarily executive deficits. Our results thus support the hypothesis of the cerebellum’s mediating role in the regulation of the activity of the superordinate cognitive control network in the brain. (JINS, 2016, 22, 47–57)