Karol Karasiewicz

Background: The mental health effects associated with weather conditions are diverse, indicating that individual susceptibility may play a significant role in this relationship. This study investigates whether somatosensory amplification is linked to meteosensitivity, meteoropathy, and psychopathological symptoms and whether meteoropathy and meteosensitivity serve as mediators in this relationship. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 523 participants from the general population. Psychopathological symptoms were assessed with the GFQ-58, somatosensory amplification with the SSAS-PL, and meteoropathy and meteosensitivity with the METEO-PL. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine whether somatosensory amplification, meteoropathy, and meteosensitivity explained variance in psychopathological symptoms. A multiple mediator model was then estimated within the structural equation modeling framework using bootstrapping. The model was also tested separately for each of the 13 GFQ-58 symptom domains. Results: Somatosensory amplification accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in psychopathological symptoms (R² = 0.247, p < 0.001). Upon incorporating meteoropathy and meteosensitivity, the explained variance increased to R² = 0.571 (p < 0.001), with the increment being statistically significant (F(2, 521) = 32.12, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of somatosensory amplification via meteoropathy and meteosensitivity was significant (b = 0.851, 95% CI [0.661, 1.042], p < 0.001), and the direct effect also remained significant (b = 0.385, 95% CI [0.177, 0.594], p < 0.001), indicating partial statistical mediation. Significant indirect effects were also observed for poor social relationships, cognitive impairments, depressive symptoms, manic symptoms, anxiety symptoms, eating disorder symptoms, sleep problems, and somatic symptoms. Conclusions: Meteoropathy and meteosensitivity may partially account for the association between somatosensory amplification and psychopathological symptoms. The findings indicate that susceptibility to weather-related symptoms may be pertinent to the association between amplified bodily experiences and specific psychopathological symptoms.

Background: Although the concepts of meteoropathy and meteosensitivity are not included in official classifications, such as the ICD-11 or DSM-5, they are increasingly being studied as potential symptom complexes linking weather variability to health status. The METEO-Q questionnaire, originally developed in Italy, has been adapted in Japan and Turkey, where it has demonstrated satisfactory reliability parameters, although the authors emphasized the need for further verification of the tool’s temporal stability. The present study aimed to adapt METEO-Q to the Polish language and conduct a critical assessment of its factor structure, measurement invariance, and validity in clinical groups. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1128 adults: healthy individuals (n = 711), cardiac outpatients (n = 194), and subclinical group with diagnosed mental disorders (n = 223). Data from healthy participants were divided into a training sample (n = 426) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a test sample (n = 285) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Measurement invariance was assessed in the clinical groups. Validity was verified through correlations with a list of 21 symptoms and measures of anxiety and worry about climate change. Results: A two-factor model (meteoropathy and meteosensitivity) was better fitted to the data than a one-factor model, which is consistent with findings from Italian, Japanese, and Turkish studies. However, absolute fit indices in the test sample indicated significant model misfit [CFA: χ² (43) = 210.192, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.120, CFI = 0.927], suggesting the presence of local errors in the tool’s structure. The reliability of the subscales was high (α from 0.86 to 0.93). Multi-group analyses suggested metric and scalar invariance. Patients with mental disorders obtained the highest scores, while cardiac outpatients reported a lower level of meteoropathy (M = 6.13) than healthy individuals (M = 7.24). Conclusions: METEO-Q demonstrates a stable two-factor structure and high internal consistency. The obtained RMSEA index (0.12), although indicative of some misfit, is similar to results obtained in other adaptations, such as the Japanese (RMSEA = 0.10) and the Turkish (RMSEA = 0.11), which suggests it is a consistent feature of this tool across different cultural contexts. Accordingly, the instrument is suitable for research purposes; however, its clinical application requires considerable caution and further work to optimize the model.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate the Polish version of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS-PL) and examine its psychometric properties in clinical and non-clinical samples. Methods: The study included 1128 participants (711 healthy adults, 194 cardiac patients, 223 psychiatric patients). The analyses were categorized into exploratory and confirmatory phases. Exploratory analyses were conducted on a randomly selected sample that comprised 60% of the study participants (training sample) to estimate the reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and factorial validity (EFA with varimax rotation). Confirmatory analyses were performed on an independent (test) sample that represented 40% of the total sample size to facilitate the cross-validation of the factor structure (CFA) and to assess the convergent and discriminant validities (using the HTMT method) in relation to health anxiety (SHAI) and psychopathological symptoms (KOFF-58). Additionally, measurement invariance was examined with respect to gender (female vs. male) and health status (healthy vs. clinical). Results: The SSAS-PL demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.75–0.78) after removing item 1. A one-factor structure showed the best fit and theoretical interpretability. The measurement invariance was supported across clinical groups. The SSAS-PL showed convergent validity with the measures of somatic symptoms, anxiety, and health anxiety. It demonstrated discriminant validity from other psychopathology measures. Conclusions: The SSAS-PL was a reliable and valid measure of somatosensory amplification in the Polish population. Its unidimensional structure aligned with most cross-cultural adaptations. The scale may be useful for assessing somatosensory amplification in both research and clinical settings in Poland. Further research on its utility in specific clinical populations is warranted.

Introduction: Suicide is a major public health concern, particularly among people with alcohol use disorders (AUD). Rumination, as a dysfunctional emotion regulation strategy, and increased emotional reactivity may significantly influence suicide risk in this population.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess whether different emotional reactivity mediate the association between ruminations and suicide risk, and whether AUD or control group (HC) status moderates these relationships.Methods: A study was conducted with 152 participants, including 86 from AUD and 66 from HC. Self-report questionnaires measuring ruminations, emotional reactivity and suicide risk were used. Structural Equation Modeling, invariance analysis, and moderated mediation estimation were used in the analyses.Results: The mediation analysis in the full sample revealed a significant indirect effect of rumination on suicide risk via emotional reactivity. Multi-group analysis indicated no significant differences in the mediation effect between the AUD and HC groups, with neither group showing a statistically significant indirect effect.Conclusions: The findings indicate that emotional reactivity may serve as a key mechanism mediating the relationship between rumination and suicide risk. Therapeutic interventions should focus on reducing ruminations and emotion reactivity to effectively reduce suicide risk in this group. Further research is needed to better understand these mechanisms.

Mental toughness is a very complex construct which has attracted the attention of scientists, competitors, coaches, and psychologists. The aim of this study was to develop an abbreviated version of the Mental Toughness in Sport Questionnaire (MTSQ), reducing the original 42-factor structure to 19 factors, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of this abbreviated instrument. The study group consisted of 559 athletes. The presented model is appropriately tailored to the data obtained from the target population. Compared to the previous version, the simplified 19-item measure demonstrated a significantly better overall fit. Moreover, all additional absolute indices of misfit yielded lower values in the 19-item model, further supporting its superior structural adequacy. Those results support the assumption of higher validity of the 19-item simplified measure compared to the previous 42-item measure of mental toughness. The MTSQ-19 demonstrates good psychometric properties and addresses a methodological gap identified in previous research on mental toughness in sport.

Although family-owned businesses have been widely investigated, the question of consumers’ perceptions of family firms is still worth more in-depth study. Drawing on the theories of family businesses and consumer behavior, this paper investigates the relationship between the consumers’ perceptions of family-owned enterprises and their purchasing decisions. Using a questionnaire, we surveyed 1069 young Polish consumers. Our findings demonstrate that young consumers’ convictions about family businesses are well-formed, despite their quite modest knowledge of these business entities. The vast majority of the survey participants were not able to provide any family business names. This implies that young consumers’ views on family businesses result from speculation or adoption of opinions that are dominant in a given society. To raise the level of awareness of their brands and transform consumers’ intentions into real purchasing behavior, family business entities need to intensify the educational significance of their promotional activities to help counteract the stereotypes about family businesses. The analysis presented here has important implications for current debates on whether the development of emotional relationships with family business entities and their brands is a suitable strategy to shape the purchasing attitudes towards the products made by family companies. The research findings could also form the basis for an extended study exploring what strategies family companies can implement in order to effectively shape young consumers’ perceptions about these firms. The research results can also serve as an aid for family firm owners and managers in rebuilding their client-oriented activities. The aforementioned knowledge can support family firm owners and managers in establishing effective marketing strategies. It also opens interesting avenues for further research.

Patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) have difficulties with certain aspects of higher-order language functions (HOLF) but there is no data on a wide range of these functions in this group. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare different aspects of HOLF in patients with AUD and healthy controls (HC). A total of 31 patients with AUD and 44 HC took part in the study. We assessed HOLF with the Right Hemisphere Language Battery (RHLB) and measured control variables: depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) as well as the speed of processing and executive functions with the Color Trails Test (CTT). Patients with AUD had lower results on nine RHLB tests. Moreover, AUD patients had higher scores on PHQ and longer reaction times on CTT. The differences in most RHLB results remained significant after co-varying the control variables. Patients with AUD have difficulties with making inferences from the text, understanding the meaning of individual words, metaphorical content, and prosody, which may impede the comprehension and production of discourse in which linguistic elements must be integrated with non-verbal cues and contextual information. These disturbances may impact various spheres of everyday life and negatively influence social, private, and professional functioning.

Background: Empathy as a multidimensional construct is considered a basis of satisfying intimate relationships. The role of other-oriented focus in empathizing with a partner has been highlighted. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index for Couples (IRIC) measures emo-tional and cognitive empathy displayed in the context of a romantic relationship and expressed towards the partner.Participants and procedure: A total sample of 2339 individuals in intimate relationships (including 1006 couples) participated in the research. Three studies are presented on adaptation of the IRIC to Polish in the context of participants’ emotional and relational functioning.Results: The two-factor structure of the measure was confirmed. However, the specific content of two factors was modified to better fit the data. A reliable and valid measure of empathic tendencies in couples has been obtained. Emotional dyadic empathic concern and cognitive dyadic perspective taking were associated with general emotional and cognitive empathy as well as with relation-ship satisfaction. Correlations with emotional contagion, stress and attachment were also explored.Conclusions: The IRIC is a short, reliable and valid measure of empathic tendencies in couples to be easily implemented in research and prac-tice. Personal traits of both partners should be seen as predictors or correlates of dyadic empathy. The presented research results might be applied to the design of interventions and programs increasing quality of romantic relationships.

The transition to marriage is a normative task in the family life cycle and must be analyzed at the individual and couple levels. This longitudinal study explores the impact of partners’ empathy and their evaluation of their parents’ marriage on couples’ satisfaction with a relationship before and after the wedding. During the first stage of this study, 162 engaged couples who were planning to marry in the near future participated. During the second stage of the study, the couples were assessed after 6–7 months of marriage. The results of the study indicate that the empathy of both partners predicted relationship satisfaction for engaged couples and husbands. The female partners’ assessment of their parents’ marriage was a predictor of their relationship satisfaction before the transition to marriage. At the couple level, partners’ romantic satisfaction before the wedding mediated the association between their empathy and relationship satisfaction after the transition to marriage.