IntroductionAccording to several empirical studies, mental well-being is significant in adolescence; adolescent’s social network is undergoing radical changes while at the same time depression is increasing. The primary goal of our study is to determine whether socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with mental health status of Hungarian adolescents and the strength and nature of this association.MethodsOur sample was comprised of three high schools of Debrecen (the second largest city of Hungary). Data were collected in January 2013. In all, 471 students filled out the questionnaire from 22 classes (14–18 years old). ‘Absolute’ (education and occupational status of the parents, assessed by the adolescent) and ‘subjective’ (self-assessment of family’s social class) SES measures and five mental health indicators (shyness, loneliness, need to belong, psychosomatic symptoms, self-esteem) were involved. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between family SES and mental health indicators.ResultsOur results indicate that association between adolescents’ ‘subjective’ SES and mental well-being is not gradient-like. Manual employment and unemployment status of both parents also proved to be significant determinants of mental health status.ConclusionsAccording to our results, professionals of school-based mental health programs should consider students whose parents are unemployed or have manual occupational status as a high risk group in terms of mental well-being.

Motives may be an important influence for substance use among youth. The goal of this research was to study the relation of social, self-enhancement, boredom relief and affect regulation motives to smoking and drinking in a sample of Eastern European high school students and to examine variation in the effects of these motives by gender. Our sample involved 500 students (ages 14–20 years) from three high schools in a large city in Hungary. Multiple logistic regression analyses examined the relation between motives and substance user status. Social motives were significantly related to both smoking and drinking (except for boys’ smoking). Affect regulation motives were a significant predictor of smoking; in addition, boredom relief was a significant motive for smoking among boys. Mother’s educational level was inversely related to youth substance use, whereas father’s education was positively related to alcohol use among girls. School-based prevention programs should include cognitive education and social skills training to counter perceived benefits of substance use. Further research is needed to clarify the relation of alcohol use to parental education.

• Despite being free of serious physical illness, many adolescents often report subjective health complaints, such as psychosomatic symptoms • As children in this life stage develop independence and autonomy, new types of social relationships, and identity, their social needs and skills also change What is new: • Need to belong, shyness, and competitiveness may serve as social behavioral risk factors for adolescents' psychosomatic symptomatology, whereas self-esteem may play a protective role • The role of social and health behaviors may vary by gender.

BackgroundStudying adolescents’ health risk behaviours is oddly significant in Central and Eastern European countries, where the prevalence of smoking and drinking among 14–18 year old students is significantly high. The goal of our study is to examine the role of social psychological and social behavioural variables in health risk behaviours among Hungarian adolescents.MethodsOur sample was comprised of three high schools of Debrecen (the second largest city of Hungary). In all, 501 students filled in the questionnaire from 22 classes (14–22 years old). Students aged above 18 years were excluded for the purpose of the study, giving a total sample size of 471 high school students. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted.ResultsAccording to our results (1) social behavioural factors (namely, smoking and alcohol use of the best friend and peer group) proved to be better predictors of adolescents’ health risk behaviours as compared to the included social psychological attributes (2); among the latter ones, loneliness and shyness were negatively related with both smoking and drinking, while competitiveness was a predictor of drinking prevalence among boys.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that social behavioural factors, including smoking and drinking of friends, are oddly important predictors of Hungarian adolescents’ health risk behaviours. According to our results, health policy should pay more attention to peer norms related to smoking and drinking during school health promotion. Developing health protective social norms may be an indispensable component of effective health promotion in high schools.

A Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Ipari és Vállalatgazdasági Bizottsága 2009. október 9-én rendezte harmadik korrupcióellenes konferenciáját. Az előadók, a magyar közélet 14 prominens személyisége, közül ketten a politikai élet ismert szereplői, további ketten a magyar jog és igazságszolgáltatás vezető tisztségviselői voltak. Hatan közvetlenül a korrupció által leginkább sújtott területek elöljáróiként, hárman kutatóként (jeles egyetemi tanárként), s egy kamarai vezető a vállalati szféra képviseletében fejtette ki nézeteit a témáról. Amint ezt dr. Papanek Gábor, a Bizottság és a konferencia elnöke kiemelte, a rendezvény, a sok, olykor egymást kiegészítő, olykor ütköző nézet törekedett világos áttekintést adni a korrupció okairól, hatásairól, valamint az e visszaélés elleni küzdelem aktuális tennivalóiról.