Anika Miltuze

The aim of the present study was to explore the differences between mothers’ and fathers’ posttraumatic reactions and cognitions after preterm birth. According to Euro-Peristat data, premature births constitute an average of 6.9% of all live births in Europe and potentiate a severely stressful event for parents resulting in different posttraumatic reactions. In accordance with the posttraumatic stress cognitive model, negative cognitive appraisals are critical in sustaining of posttraumatic stress reactions and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder in parents following traumatic childbirth. Some research demonstrated evidence of different parental reactions – fathers showed a more delayed onset in their posttraumatic reactions, but, by 4 months, were at even greater risk than mothers. Therefore, psychological support for fathers was missed or even denied. In this study of the psychological effect of premature birth, mothers and fathers were asked to complete the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory. Data has been collected from 30 mothers and 24 fathers up to 18 months after birth. Fathers’ and mothers posttraumatic reactions after the premature birth of the infant are significantly different during the time course where fathers showed lower posttraumatic reactions than mothers in the first months, then exceeded reactions of mothers around 7–12 months and equalized around 13–18 months. Differences in trauma-related cognitions for mothers and fathers were noted – fathers had significantly higher scores in the self-blame scale in six months since birth and higher scores in the negative cognitions about the world scale in the next six months. Collected data could help to plan and implement appropriate support for parents of preterm birth infants.

The development of transversal competencies, in interaction with professional competencies, is essential for individuals to adapt to change and live meaningful and productive lives. The aim of this study was to explore the mutual interaction of six transversal competencies—civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research, as well as their respective sub-competencies—and propose possible approaches to how this dynamic of interaction can be applied to facilitate the development of transversal competencies. A sample of students (N = 1575) from 21 universities in Latvia completed a self-assessment survey evaluating multiple behavioural indicators for each transversal competence and sub-competence. The results revealed that civic competence was evaluated significantly lower than other competencies, and, for most transversal competencies, sub-competencies associated with active and systematic collaboration and networking received lower evaluations. A network analysis showed that the community involvement sub-competence of the civic competence and the initiative and critical thinking sub-competencies of the innovation competence had the strongest links to the other measured sub-competencies on average. The results suggest that the development of initiative and cooperation-and-collaboration-related and network-building skills are likely to have a systematic positive effect on the development of a wider set of transversal competencies and the professional autonomy of students in the long term.

The development of transversal competences, in interaction with professional competences, is essential for individuals to adapt to change and live meaningful and productive lives. The aim of this study was to explore the mutual interaction of six transversal competences—civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research, as well as their respective sub-competences—and propose possible approaches to how this dynamic of interaction can be applied to facilitate the development of transversal competences. A sample of students (N = 1575) from 21 universities in Latvia completed a self-assessment survey evaluating multiple behavioural indicators for each transversal competence and sub-competence. The results revealed that civic competence was evaluated significantly lower than other competences, and, for most transversal competences, sub-competences associated with active and systematic collaboration and networking received lower evaluations. A network analysis showed that the community involvement sub-competence of the civic competence and the initiative and critical thinking sub-competences of the innovation competence had the strongest links to the other measured sub-competences on average. The results suggest that the development of initiative and cooperation-and-collaboration-related and network-building skills are likely to have a systematic positive effect on the development of a wider set of transversal competences and the professional autonomy of students in the long term.

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between family history knowledge, identity style and resilience of 16–19 year old adolescents. Participating in the study were 110 adolescents (75% female, 25% male), ages 16–19 year (M = 17,62; SD = 1,23). They completed the Do You Know scale (Duke, Lazarus & Fivush, 2008), the Identity Style Inventory (Berzonsky, 1992) and the Resilience Scale for Adults (Friborg et al., 2005). The results showed positive associations between knowledge of family history and informational, normative identity style and resilience; and negative association with diffuse identyty style. Knowledge of family history predicted identity style and resilience, with the exception of the social resource factor ratings. Relationships with mother predicted the resilience factors of self-perception, family cohesion and social resources. The internal resource factor of resilience provided partial mediation between knowledge of family history and informative identity style.

Transversal competences have been receiving an increasing attention in educational research and practice over the last decades. As a part of a wider project for assessment of students’ competences in higher education, a group of experts developed a model of transversal competences for students, consisting of civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research competences (each with corresponding sub-competences and facets), based on the analysis of theory and previous research. In this paper, we present an assessment tool that was developed and tested for measurement of the competences in this model. The final version of the assessment tool is a self-report survey with 292 behavioural indicators that are evaluated on a 7-point Likert-type scale estimating how characteristic each indicator is of the respondent’s typical behaviour. The initial pool of behavioural indicators was created by the same group of experts based on the analysis of previous research and best practice examples in transversal competence assessment. From this pool, an initial version of the survey with 440 indicators was created and administered to 686 respondents from 8 study domains representing all study levels. Factor analysis of responses revealed a six-factor structure corresponding to the initial theoretical competence model. After further psychometric analysis, the final version of the assessment tool was formulated. Each of the six competences is further divided into 3–5 sub-competences, with each sub-competence consisting of 2–5 facets. Each facet is measured with multiple behavioural indicators describing basic, intermediate and advanced level of the respective competence. The results showed good construct validity of the tool, with the expected competence differences appearing between different study levels, and the expected relations emerging between the competence indicators and average grades. Practical applications and possibilities for further development of the assessment tool are discussed.