With 38 million residents, Poland has the eighth-largest population in Europe. A successful transition from communism to democracy, which began in 1989, has brought several significant changes to the country's economic development, demographic structure, quality of life, and public policies. As in the other European countries, Poland has been facing a rapid increase in the number of older adults. Currently, the population 65 and above is growing more rapidly than the total population and this discrepancy will have important consequences for the country's economy. As the population ages, there will be increased demands to improve Poland's health care and retirement systems. This article aims to provide a brief overview of the demographic trends in Poland as well a look at the country's major institutions of gerontology research. The article also describes key public policies concerning aging and how these may affect the well-being of Poland's older adults.
Individuals with certain personality traits employ adaptive coping strategies. Little research, however, has examined coping strategies among incarcerated individuals. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 465 males who served time in five different prisons in Poland. We examined the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and coping styles, and the results demonstrated that neuroticism predicts emotion-oriented coping whereas conscientiousness predicts task-oriented coping strategies. A better understanding of the role of personality traits and its relation to coping strategies may allow for more targeted and effective psychological interventions that will, in turn, improve inmates' abilities to cope with stress.
Over the past 20 years, empirical evidence has brought about a change in the view on how, or even whether, personality traits change or develop in adulthood and later life. Now we know personality can and does change for many people, if not most. Changes in personality may occur due to biological or environmental factors. This paper presents key empirical findings on personality change in adulthood and provides evidence that personality change affects mental and physical health. Our goal is to provide a broad overview on personality change research that would be an invaluable resource for students and researchers. We organize this paper into 3 sections. The first is focused on techniques in analyzing personality change in adulthood and later life. The second is focused on personality change as an outcome; we explore what factors predict personality change. The third discusses a relatively novel idea: personality change as a predictor of mental and physical health. We conclude that more research on factors predicting personality change is needed and we provide suggestions on how research on personality change can progress.
<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> In the context of increasing numbers of older adults and an increased prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, the early diagnosis of dementia has become an important issue. Poland’s population is aging, and the growing number of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may pose challenges for families and the health-care system. While creating effective psychoeducational interventions aiming at increasing caregivers’ knowledge may be beneficial, Poland lacks a standardized measurement for assessing knowledge about AD or a related form of dementia. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The aim of our study was to translate and evaluate the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) among Polish individuals. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The Polish ADKS was developed through a translation-back translation method. Psychometric evaluation was done with a sample of 942 individuals (caregivers, health-care professionals, and general population) who completed the questionnaire. <b><i>Discussion:</i></b> The results indicate that the scale produces acceptable psychometric properties and can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions among caregivers, health-care professionals, and the general population.
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