Zsuzsa Kaló

The present study aims to explore interpersonal conflicts involving adolescents living in residential children's homes and group homes through caregivers' interpretations, with particular attention to the psychological meaning and relational functions of conflict. The study adopts a qualitative design and employs reflexive thematic analysis. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 caregivers (9 women, 3 men) working in nine different residential group homes. The analysis identified three overarching themes. Caring Through Understanding (Theme 1) captures how conflicts are understood through the impact of the past and the relational regulation enacted through emotional involvement. Navigating Caregiving Ambivalence (Theme 2) highlights how conflict situations simultaneously evoke a sense of professional competence, experiencing failure in the absence of effective tools and ongoing role strain, positioning conflict as a site where caregiving identity is continuously negotiated. Conflict as a Relational Language (Theme 3) encompasses subthemes that reflect the re‐enactment of relational scripts, the self‐protective function of aggression and seeking connection through conflict. The findings suggest that conflicts are not merely behavioural problems but relational processes that simultaneously serve adolescents' emotion regulation and relational strivings while also revealing caregivers' emotional–professional ambivalence within conflict contexts.

Metacognitive awareness is widely recognized as an important factor influencing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading comprehension. However, evidence regarding the contributions of its components remains inconclusive, particularly in the Indonesian context. This study examined the relationship between metacognitive awareness and EFL reading comprehension among Indonesian high school students and investigated gender differences in metacognitive awareness. A total of 72 students (42 males and 30 females) participated in the study. Data were collected using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) and a reading comprehension test. The Rasch model implemented in the Quest program was used to analyze item difficulty, and One-Way MANOVA was used to examine gender differences. To investigate the structural relationships between metacognitive awareness dimensions and reading comprehension, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed. PLS-SEM was selected because it is suitable for exploratory models and can accommodate relatively small samples when model complexity is limited; however, the sample size remains a limitation of the study. The Rasch analysis revealed that items requiring inference of unstated information were the most difficult, whereas vocabulary inference based on contextual clues was the easiest. MANOVA results indicated that female students demonstrated higher levels of metacognitive awareness than male students. The PLS-SEM analysis showed that metacognitive regulation was not significantly associated with reading comprehension. In contrast, metacognitive knowledge exhibited a stronger positive relationship with reading comprehension, suggesting that students’ awareness of their cognitive processes contributes more substantially to reading performance than their regulatory strategies. Although metacognitive regulation did not significantly predict reading performance, metacognitive knowledge emerged as a more meaningful contributor. These results suggest that EFL instruction should place greater emphasis on fostering students’ metacognitive knowledge to enhance reading comprehension. Future research should employ larger and more diverse samples to improve the generalizability of the findings. Keywords: EFL learners, gender differences, metacognitive awareness, metacognitive knowledge, reading comprehension.

Adolescents and young adults across Europe face growing mental health challenges, yet many do not seek professional help. Online counselling chat services (OCCS) offer anonymous, accessible, and youth-friendly support, but their varied aims, formats, and resources complicate evaluation and integration into formal care systems. This study aimed to identify shared priorities for the development, evaluation, and implementation of OCCS for youth. Eight focus groups were conducted with 38 stakeholders—including researchers, counsellors, and service coordinators—from eight European countries. Through qualitative content analysis, six key thematic domains emerged: usability and engagement, service quality and effectiveness, infrastructure and integration, sustainability, ethical considerations, and future visions. Participants highlighted OCCS as valuable tools for fostering emotional safety, trust, and accessibility, while also noting persistent challenges such as limited funding, fragile infrastructure, and ethical tensions around anonymity and safeguarding. Crucially, the need for flexible evaluation frameworks that reflect service diversity and for stronger cross-model collaboration was emphasized. These findings provide a strategic foundation for advancing inclusive, sustainable, and youth-centered digital mental health support across Europe.

Background: Online counseling chat services are increasingly used by young people worldwide. A growing body of literature supports the use and effectiveness of these services for adolescent mental health. However, there is also a need to provide an overview of the main existing resources to identify unmet needs and gaps in the field. Objective: This study aims to provide an overview of existing online counseling chat services targeting individuals aged 12‐30 years in 4 European countries (Belgium, Finland, Hungary, and Spain), and to identify potential needs and gaps by comparing the collected data with recognized quality standard criteria that define the best practices in the field of counseling. Methods: A web search was conducted in the 4 participating countries using the same keywords to identify the main chat services. The final selection of chat services was made using a stratified purposive sampling method. A common data extraction database was developed to record information from these websites. Finally, the extracted information was compared against the fulfillment of 7 selected criteria from the Child Helpline International Quality Standards Framework. Additionally, certain chat characteristics were compared with the number of Child Helpline Quality Standard criteria fulfilled. Results: The search identified a total of 66 service providers offering 71 different chat services. Nongovernmental organizations accounted for more than half of the total service providers42 of 66 (64%). Additional helplines, such as hotlines, were also available through 54 of 66 (82%) service providers. Artificial intelligence tools were incorporated into 6 of 66 (9%) chat services. Differences were observed between countries; for example, the use of volunteers as counselors was predominant in Hungary and Belgium. Topic-specific chat services were common in Belgium and Spain, whereas in Finland and Hungary, chat services generally welcomed a wide range of topics for young people to discuss. Comparisons with Child Helpline International’s recommendations revealed some gaps—for example, only 9 of 71 (13%) chat services operated 24 hours a day, and only 10 of 71 (14%) offered interactions in minority groups or foreign languages. Additionally, the use of free social media platforms for chat services was prevalent in some countries, which could compromise users’ privacy. Being part of the Child Helpline International consortium was marginally associated with meeting a higher number of standard criteria (β coefficient 1.55; P=.08). Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive overview of existing online chat counseling services in 4 European countries. Our findings suggest that some existing chat services for young people could be improved in areas such as accessibility, data security, and the inclusion of vulnerable groups.

Background With the proliferation of digital communication platforms and increased screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of cyberbullying become a global public health concern among adolescents. The Bangladeshi education system lacks effective cyberbullying intervention and prevention programs in school. Moreover, there is a limited understanding of the impact and meaning of counselling intervention for adolescent cyberbullying victims, even during the pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a novel study to explore the impact of counselling intervention on cyberbullying victims during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Method This study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the subjective experiences of adolescent cyberbullying victims regarding counselling intervention. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of ten high school students (seven females and three males, age_mean+SD =15.12± 0.81) who had undergone at least five counselling intervention sessions as victims of cyberbullying during the pandemic. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis to identify recurring patterns and themes concerning cyberbullying experiences and perceived outcomes of counselling intervention. Results Five main themes have emerged as a result of the analysis; 1) Sense of intensified emotional and psychological impact. 2) Perceived barriers to seeking counseling in the pandemic, 3) Counselling as a crucial support system, 4) Perceived positive changes of self, and, 5) Long-term impact and sustainability. The study explored the unique challenges posed by the pandemic, which intensified the effects of cyberbullying and required adaptations in counseling approaches. Virtual counseling, despite its limitations, emerged as a vital resource for the participants, highlighting the need for flexible and accessible mental health interventions in the digital age. Conclusions This novel study will likely facilitate further longitudinal studies, emphasizing the urgent need to develop effective cyberbullying intervention and prevention programs in schools across Bangladesh and other developing countries.

This survey study aimed to contribute to the extensive debate on the dimensionality of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the DSM‐5 (PCL‐5) questionnaire by examining the psychometric properties and construct validity of its Hungarian version and relying on the inspection of a conceptual network of related variables, that is, perceived stress, hostility, and resilience. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) and path analysis were applied on data collected from 177 paramedics and 66 professionals from the social field (58.4% male; M_age = 43.5 ± 9.96 years). Despite the acceptable fit indices gained with CFA when testing the original four‐factor DSM‐5 model of PCL‐5, strong associations (r = 0.69–0.90) between subscales were found. Thus, ESEM was applied and as a result a new, three‐factor version of the DSM‐5 model of PCL‐5 was proposed due to significant crossloadings that was theoretically also supported. The Reexperiencing and Avoidance subscales were merged and named Difficulty with Assimilation of Experience (DAE). In the path analysis only two of the tested associations were not significant using the new factor structure, in which stress fully mediated the relationship between resilience and DAE, and resilience and Hyperarousal. Overall, the hypothesised pathways between variables fit the collected data well. (weighted least squares mean‐and variance‐adjusted χ2 = 503.750 (df = 270), comparative fit index = 0.948, Tucker–Lewis index = 0.939, root mean square error of approximation (90% confidence interval) = 0.064 (0.055–0.073), weighted root mean square residual = 1.024). Our analysis of the Hungarian version of PCL‐5 contributes to the testing of a DSM‐5‐based questionnaire measuring posttraumatic stress disorder symptomology.