As the findings of many studies have shown, different aspects of children's home literacy environment are related to the development of their language competence. We designed the Home Literacy Environment Questionnaire (HLEQ) to evaluate the quality of different aspects of the home literacy environment. This paper presents the development of this instrument, including: (1) the construction of the instrument based on the theoretical background and findings about the relation between family environment and child language development; (2) examination of the construct validity of the HLEQ and (3) an evaluation of its empirical criterion validity through correlations with children's achievements on a language development scale and their storytelling ability. Language competence was assessed with a sample of 4-year-old children that attended a Slovenian preschool. Using factor analysis, five HLEQ factors were identified: Stimulation to use language, explanation (F1), Reading books to the child, visiting the library and puppet theater (F2), Joint activities and conversation (F3), Interactive reading (F4) and Zone-of-proximal-development stimulation (F5). The findings show that some aspects of the home literacy environment (F2, F4 and F5) are positively related to different measures of child language development at 4 years of age and also contribute to a prediction of child language competence. Four HLEQ factors (F1, F2, F3, and F5) were also positively related to maternal level of education.

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, fear of disease and its consequences, recommended lifestyle changes, and severe restrictions set by governments acted as stressors and affected people’s mood, emotions, mental health, and wellbeing. Many studies conducted during this crisis focused on affective and physiological responses to stress, but few studies examined how the crisis affected cognition. The present cross-sectional study examined the relationship between physiological, affective, and cognitive responses to the epidemic. In an online survey conducted at the height of the first wave of the epidemic in Slovenia (April 15–25, 2020), 830 Slovenian residents aged 18–85 years reported the effects of stressors (confinement, problems at home, problems at work, lack of necessities, and increased workload), experienced emotions, generalized anxiety, perceived stress, changes in health, fatigue and sleep quality, and perceived changes in cognition during the epidemic. Risk factors for stress (neuroticism, vulnerability, general health, gender, and age) were also recorded. We hypothesized that stressors and stress risk factors will be related to subjective cognitive decline, with negative emotions, generalized anxiety, perceived stress, and physical symptoms acting as mediator variables. On average, the results showed a mild subjective cognitive decline during the epidemic. In structural equation modeling, 34% of its variance was predicted by the mediator variables, with negative emotions and physical symptoms having the largest contribution. Stress risk factors were predictably related to the four mediator variables. Among the stressors, confinement showed the strongest effect on the four mediator variables, implying the importance of thoughtful communication about necessary restrictive measures during emergency circumstances. The results of this study indicate that the possibility of altered cognitive function should be considered when planning work and study activities during the epidemic.

Background: Different types of marital status are associated with different levels of suicidal risk. Aims: To study marital status change and the effect of its recency in relation to suicidal behavior. Methods: Suicide victims (1614) in Slovenia and matched controls (4617) were compared for incidence and recency of marital status change during the last 5 years of their lives. Results: A higher percentage of suicide victims (10.7%) had a marital status change in the last 5 years compared with the controls (5.6%). All types of marital status changes (becoming widowed, getting divorced, getting married) proved to be risk factors for suicidal behavior. Almost half of all marital status changes in suicide victims occurred in the year prior to suicide, whereas marital status changes in the control group were equally distributed over the last 5 years. For recently married and divorced people, the increase in suicide risk depended on age: The risk was higher in older people. Conclusions: Marital status change represents a risk factor for suicidal behavior. The first year after the change is critical for elevated suicidal risk, in particular for older people.

To implement and evaluate an educational program for primary care physicians on recognition and treatment of depression and suicide prevention. The study was conducted in 3 Slovenian neighboring regions (Celje, Ravne na Koroškem, and Podravska) with similar suicide rates and other health indicators. All primary care physicians from Celje (N = 155) and Ravne na Koroškem (N = 35) were invited to participate in the educational program on depression treatment and suicide risk recognition. From January to March 2003, approximately half of them (82 out of 190; educational group) attended the program, whereas the other half (108 out of 190; control group 1) and physicians from the Podravska region (N = 164; control group 2) did not attend the program. The prescription rates of antidepressants and anxiolytics before and after the intervention were compared between the studied regions. Also, suicide rates three-years before and after the intervention were compared. From 2002 to 2003, there was a 2.33-fold increase in the rate of antidepressant prescriptions in the educational group (P < 0.05) and only 1.28-fold (P < 0.05) and 1.34-fold (P < 0.05) increase in control groups 1 and 2, respectively. However, the 12% decrease in suicide rate in the intervention regions was not significantly greater than the 4% decrease in the non-intervention region (P > 0.05). Our training program was beneficial for primary care physicians’ ability to recognize and manage depression. However, there was no significant decrease in local suicide rates.