Robert Balazsi | Babes-Bolyai University (original) (raw)

Papers by Robert Balazsi

Journal of Family Violence

Assessment, 2022

This study aimed to investigate the measurement invariance of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire... more This study aimed to investigate the measurement invariance of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (for both long [APQ-lg] and short [APQ-9] forms) across age, gender, clinical status, and informant (i.e., parent vs. child reports). The sample was composed of adolescents (community sample: N = 1,746; clinical sample: N = 166) and parents ( N = 149). The analyses were conducted in R. Measurement invariance was assessed via multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, equivalence test, and subsampling approach. The original model of APQ-lg (five factors) showed a significantly better fit than other concurrent models (five concurrent models were specified, based on prior literature). For APQ-lg, we found measurement invariance across gender and partial measurement invariance across age, clinical status, and informant. For APQ-9, we confirmed the measurement invariance across gender and clinical status, while across age and informant partial measurement invariance was attested. Overall, our...

The European health psychologist, 2014

Background: Bullying behaviors have a high prevalence in schools worldwide. The short and long te... more Background: Bullying behaviors have a high prevalence in schools worldwide. The short and long term consequences vary from high levels of delinquency, antisocial behaviors, low school achievement to emotional problems for bullies. For perpetration victims, the negative effects vary from somatic complaints, low school achievement and high school drop-out rates to emotional problems. The mechanisms accounting for the high rates of emotional problems in children involved in bullying behaviors are still to be identified. Methods: By using a longitudinal approach, the present study aims to explore one possible mechanism involved in this relationship for school aged children: the use of dysfunctional cognitive emotion regulation strategies (N=154, age range 11-15 years old). The instruments used: Olweus Bullying Questionnaire, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies, Youth Self Report. The measures were made at a 6 months’ time interval. Findings: By controlling for initial emotional prob...

ABSTRACTIn recent years research and theory development in sport psychology has been constantly f... more ABSTRACTIn recent years research and theory development in sport psychology has been constantly focused on performance anxiety has given its strong impact on sport performance. The aim of this study is to validate a multiple mediation model, in which the coping strategies are mediating the effect of achievement goals on performance anxiety. The sample included N=116 professional athletes (members of national league handball and volleyball teams), with ages ranging between 13 to 19 years old (m=16, SD= 1.63). All the instruments have been adapted for Romanian population: Coping Inventory for Competitive Sports (CICS), Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), and The Sport Anxiety Scale 2 (SAS-2). The obtained results by path analysis sustains the mediating role of task-oriented and disengagement-oriented coping in the relationship between task orientation and performance anxiety, offering further support to the multidimensional model of anxiety.KEYWORDS: competitive a...

Hospitalized children often have mental health problems which can significantly interfere with an... more Hospitalized children often have mental health problems which can significantly interfere with any stage of medical care protocol, from diagnosis to treatment. This fact supports the need for psychological screening in order to identify patients with emotional and behavioral disorders; an evaluation that can take place during an ordinary GP physical consultation. In this context we proposed a research which aimed to investigate the mental health problems of children that presented to the family physicians with health complains. The study involved children from two age groups: N = 88 aged 1.5-5 years and N = 218 aged 6-11 years whose behavior was rated by their parents/teachers. Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment was used to assess children's behavior. The obtained results sustain the importance of including the screening type mental health assessment in the protocol of family medical care. Rezumat: Copiii spitalizaţi prezint ă frecvent si probleme de s ă n ătate me...

ABSTRACTImproving and maintaining researchers ' academic writing competencies is the central ... more ABSTRACTImproving and maintaining researchers ' academic writing competencies is the central goal of research focused higher education institutions in their endeavour to achieve scientific visibility and excellence in research. This article proposes an in- depth needs analysis validation that would be used as an instrument to fundament, improve and adapt academic writing programs. The project aims to develop academic writing skills based on enhanced interventions focused on identified needs of master and Ph.D. students (N = 33). The need analysis was conducted using an adapted version of the Duszak and Lewkowicz (2008) questionnaire. Results are suggesting that, the number of already published articles does not. function as an objective predictor for the development, of academic writing competencies, both categories (social and hard sciences) aiming in comparable percentage to increase their skills. Investigating students ' needs regarding academic writing process is an impo...

The clinical diagnosis of ADHD is a difficult task because the clinical manifestation of this dis... more The clinical diagnosis of ADHD is a difficult task because the clinical manifestation of this disorder seems to be very heterogeneous. Errors in diagnosis and nosological classification are one of the alleged causes of the fact that in recent years we witness an increase in the prevalence of ADHD. The Achembach scales have proved to be particularly effective in discriminatin g patients who suffer from ADHD from those who have a diagnostic of Autistic disorders. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ability of Achembach scales to discriminate between 6-18 years N = 30 children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, N = 40 diagnosed with Autistic Disorder and N = 40 normal children, with negative psychiatric diagnosis. Analyses of sensitivity and specificity varies between (85.3 and 99.1 percent), which means that most scores identify correctly the subjects of the ADHD group, regardless of which group was discriminated against. Data presented in this study supports the ...

Advances in REBT, 2019

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) assumes that when people are faced with adverse, activat... more Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) assumes that when people are faced with adverse, activating events, their irrational beliefs generate dysfunctional feelings and maladaptive behaviors, while their rational beliefs generate functional feelings and adaptive behaviors (Ellis, 1994).

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2021

The transition from bullying victimization to bullying perpetration is well documented in the lit... more The transition from bullying victimization to bullying perpetration is well documented in the literature. However, the mechanisms linking bullying victimization to perpetration are not fully understood. The main aim of the current study was to conduct a preliminary research investigating the indirect effects of youths bullying victimization on bullying perpetration through irrational cognitions and externalizing problems. The second aim of the study was to explore the moderating role of the type of parental attachment (secure vs. insecure) in the proposed model in explaining the association of bullying victimization and bullying perpetration. Data were collected from 269 adolescents (11-15 years; M = 11.98, SD = .68), enrolled in middle public schools from Romania. Path analysis and moderated path analysis were conducted to explore the direct and indirect effects and moderating effects, respectively. Study findings indicate that bullying victimization was indirectly related to bully...

Health, Sports & Rehabilitation Medicine, 2019

Background. One of the most discussed relationships in sports psychology is the relationship betw... more Background. One of the most discussed relationships in sports psychology is the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport performance. Competitive anxiety was found to be influenced by individual factors. An important psychological concept found to be related to competitive anxiety is mental toughness, which is defined as the superior mental qualities of an athlete that sustain success and excellence in sports. Aims. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mental toughness and competitive anxiety among athlete students. Methods. Participants were 140 athletes from secondary sport schools, handball players, aged between 13 to 19 years (m = 15.97, SD = 1.622). Self-reports were obtained from all athletes regarding their mental toughness (Sport Mental toughness Questionnaire) and their competitive anxiety (Sport Anxiety Scale-2). Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling framework. Results. Correlation between Sport Mental Toughness scales ranged between r=.289 and r=.489. Correlation for Sport Anxiety Scale dimensions ranged between r=.418 and r=.633, all of them being positive. Standardized path indicator between Sport Mental Toughness and Sport Anxiety Scale was β =-.843, which explains almost 71% of the latent endogenous variance (R 2 =.711). Conclusions. The results of the current study highlighted the relationship between mental toughness and competitive anxiety.

Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An interdisciplinary journal, 2018

Scientific Reports, 2019

Restoration of noncarious cervical lesions with resin composites is one of the treatment options,... more Restoration of noncarious cervical lesions with resin composites is one of the treatment options, but the retention of the restorations located at the crown-root junction is still a cause of clinical concern. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adhesive properties of three experimental resin composites and two commercial materials used to restore cavities prepared on extracted teeth as well as to determine the relative elemental composition of these materials. We tested the null hypothesis, which considered that the adhesive behaviours of different resin composites did not differ. The microleakage test using tracers showed that all tested materials exhibited some degree of dentinal microleakage, although they all had good dentinal adhesion. The results failed to reject the null hypothesis. The scanning electron microscopy revealed completely adapted adhesive interfaces underneath the restorations along with well-developed hybrid layers depending on the adhesive system. Energy ...

Materials, 2019

The novelty of this study consists in the formulation and characterization of three experimental ... more The novelty of this study consists in the formulation and characterization of three experimental dental composites (PM, P14M, P2S) for cervical dental lesion restoration compared to the commercial composites Enamel plus HRi® - En (Micerium S.p.A, Avengo, Ge, Italy), G-ænial Anterior® - Ge, (GC Europe N.V., Leuven, Belgium), Charisma® - Ch (Heraeus Kulzer, Berkshire, UK). The physio-chemical properties were studied, like the degree of conversion and the residual monomers in cured samples using FTIR-ATR (attenuated total reflectance) and HPLC-UV (ultraviolet detection), as well as the evaluation of the mechanical properties of the materials. The null hypothesis was that there would be no differences between experimental and commercial resin composites regarding the evaluated parameters. Statistical analysis revealed that water and saliva storage induced significant modifications of all mechanical parameters after three months for all tested materials, except for a few comparisons for ...

Aggressive Behavior, 2018

The association between parental and peer attachment and youths' bullying involvement is well doc... more The association between parental and peer attachment and youths' bullying involvement is well documented. However, there is little research examining mechanisms linking the quality of relationships with parents and peers to bullying perpetration and victimization. The present study investigated the indirect effects of attachment to the mother, the father, and peers on bullying and victimization through children's negative automatic thoughts in a sample of 476 adolescents (10-17 years). Path analysis indicated that attachment to both parents as well as attachment to peers was indirectly related to both bullying and victimization through their relationship with adolescents' negative automatic thoughts. When particular cognitive contents of negative automatic thoughts were examined, only hostile thoughts emerged as a mechanism explaining the association between poor relationships with parents and peers and bullying involvement as perpetrator, whereas poor attachment with each socialization agent had an indirect effect on bullying victimization via hostility and social threat thoughts.

Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2016

The Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C) is one of the most frequently used instr... more The Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C) is one of the most frequently used instruments to assess worry in children. The current study examines the measurement invariance of the PSWQ-C in a Romanian sample. Participants (n = 759) were recruited from both community and clinical populations. Our findings have replicated the good psychometric properties of the PSWQ-C and of the short PSWQ-C (the original scale with the negative items deleted). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis has supported measurement invariance (configural, metric, scalar) across gender, age and clinical diagnosis. Convergent validity with other assessment measures has also been established. Finally, the implications of the use of the PSWQ-C in the assessment of anxiety in children and adolescents are discussed.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

Bullying represents a stringent problem in schools worldwide. Considering the negative impact on ... more Bullying represents a stringent problem in schools worldwide. Considering the negative impact on those involved, it becomes mandatory to assess the extent of these behaviours. The present study aims to indentify the prevalence of bullying involvement (as bully, victim and bully-victim), and their trends over time among a representive Romanian schoolchildren sample. Social determinants (age, gender, and family affluence) are also considered. The findings suggest and overall decreasing trend for bullying involvement in Romanian schools (2006 vs 2014). Gender and age difference were indentified. The results are interpreted through specific cultural lens, as well as international trends.

Cuvinte cheie: diagnostic clinic diferenţiar, scale Achembach, analiză discriminatorie Rezumat: D... more Cuvinte cheie: diagnostic clinic diferenţiar, scale Achembach, analiză discriminatorie Rezumat: Diagnosticul ADHD este o sarcină dificilă deoarece din punct de vedere al tabloului clinic grupul celor suferinzi de această tulburare fiind unul eterogen. Erorile de diagnostic şi încadrare nosologică reprezintă una din presupusele cauze ale faptului că în ultimii ani asistăm la o creştere a prevalenţei ADHD. Scalele Achembach s-au dovedit a fi deosebit de eficiente în discriminarea pacienţilor ADHD de cei care suferă de Tulburări de Autism. Scopul acestui studiu este de a verifica capacitatea scalelor CBSCL 6-18 ani de a discrimina N = 30 copii diagnosticaţi cu Deficit de Atenţie şi Hiperactivitate, N=40 diagnosticaţi cu Tulburare de Autism şi N=40 copii normali, cu diagnostic psihiatric negativ. Analizele indicatorilor de sensibilitate şi specificitate variază între (85.3 şi 99.1 procente), ceea ce înseamnă că scorurile permit identificarea mojorităţii subiecţilor aparţinând grupului ADHD, indiferent de grupul faţă de care s-a discriminat. Datele prezentate în acest studiu susţin utilitatea scalelor CBCL în diagnosticul diferenţiar al ADHD şi Autism.

Psicologia, Saúde & Doença, 2015

School bullying has an increased prevalence worldwide and its negative effects on children"s ment... more School bullying has an increased prevalence worldwide and its negative effects on children"s mental health are well documented. Children involved in bullying (as bullies or as victims) tend to experience more mental health problems. These children have higher levels of depression, anxiety or behavioral problems compared to their noninvolved peers. Moreover, they tend to have high rates of engaging in health risk behaviors, especially alcohol drinking and smoking cigarettes. The present study aims to test several possible mechanisms through which the involvement in bullying behaviors (as bully or as victim) is related to the experience of negative emotional states in school aged children. The sample included in this study (N=4,882) was a national representative sample for Romanian school children included in the Health Behavior in School Children Study (HBSC). We tested several mediation models which could explain the relationship between being a bully and bad temper, using the engagement in risk behavior (weekly drinking and weekly smoking) as possible mediators. Also, we tested if the relationship between being a victim and depression could be explained by engagement in health risk behaviors (weekly drinking). Our results show that involvement in bullying episodes have high prevalence among Romanian children, boys reporting more often being involved in these behaviors (as bully or as victims) compared with girls. The results for the mediation analysis showed that all the mediation models tested are significant. We found that the relationship between being a bully and bad temper was partially mediated by the engagement in weekly drinking and smoking. The relationship between being a victim during bullying episodes and feeling depressed was partially mediated by weekly drinking. Our results support the idea that children involved in bullying episodes might use the engagement in health risk behavior as a coping mechanism for their experience of negative emotional states. Also intervention strategies targeting bullying behaviors should also target the engagement in risky behaviors. Keywords-bullying; victimization; risk behaviors; mental health problems ________________________________________________________________ BULLYING NAS CRIANÇAS ROMENAS: O PAPEL DO ABUSO DE SUBSTÂNCIAS RESUMO-O bullying nas escolas tem uma grande prevalência a nível mundial e os seus efeitos na saúde mental das crianças estão bem documentados. As crianças envolvidas (vitimizador ou vítima) tendem a experimentar mais problemas de saúde mentais e de se envolver em comportamentos de risco. Usando uma amostra nacional representativa da pesquisa HBSC 2010 (N=4 882), o presente estudo tem como objetivo testar vários mecanismos através dos quais a participação em comportamentos de bullying está

Health …, 2000

For the last 20 years, Romania has the highest cervical cancer mortality in Europe, with rates 6.... more For the last 20 years, Romania has the highest cervical cancer mortality in Europe, with rates 6.3 times higher than the average of European Union countries. Cervical cancer is the second highest cause of cancer death in Romanian women, after breast cancer, and the first cause of death by cancer in the 25-44 age group. Besides mortality rates steadily increasing during the last two decades, cervical cancer incidence rates have also risen from 15.68 cases per 1000,000 in 1982 to 31.5 in 2000. Most cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the illness. Under communist rule, Romania did not have a consistent policy for the early detection of cervical cancer. Since 1989, there have been several attempts by the Ministry of Health & Family (MHF) to develop a strategy to reduce cervical cancer mortality, but the outcomes have been unsatisfactory. The Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Program is regulated by the Law 100/1998, and by the subprogram (2.2/2002) of the Ministry of Health & Family in accordance with European Community norms. However, due to lack of, or slow implementation at the national and local levels, chronic financial deficits, and poor management, little has been achieved. Overall, declining living standards of the population, deterioration of the medical care system, and the absence of a coherent national prevention program, contribute to the fact that cervical cancer remains a major public health problem in Romania. Aims This project was based on a fundamental assumption, that in order to produce constructive changes in cervical cancer prevention it is crucial to learn about how prevention is understood, interpreted and practiced by the people offering and receiving it. The study aimed to: (i) estimate the prevalence of cervical cancer screening among Romanian women; (ii) identify demographic and socioeconomic correlates of screening behavior; (iii) assess women's knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about cervical cancer prevention; (iv) outline women's perception and experiences with health prevention and care services; (v) elicit the regulatory and financial framework, and key health care system elements within which cervical cancer screening currently functions; (vi) examine the providers' knowledge, attitudes and practices related to the current screening program; and ultimately (vii) inform policy makers and health care professionals who seek to improve the cervical screening program, and to increase women's participation in screening. Methods To reach the above mentioned goals, we used what it was called triangulation of perspectives and of research strategies. Both individuals' perceptions and experiences of risk, health and disease, and the professionals' perspective on these issues directed our research gaze. None of these perspectives was viewed as more legitimate than the other. We aimed to obtain broad, but also profound information on the subject, through complementing qualitative information with quantitative data obtained from a household level knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey of cervical cancer and its prevention. The study integrated two main theoretical models from health psychology and health promotion, specifically the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviors. We added to these psychological constructs, factors related to health care system (access, health service pathways, quality of services, information and communication systems, infrastructure and human resources, opportunity for changes, doctor-patient interaction). Our study also incorporated an interpretative and constructivism framework, which aimed to identify the lay representations of health and illness (cancer), the daily practices of preventive behavior, and the cultural constructions of women/patients' roles and responsibility in disease prevention and interaction with health professionals and healthcare system. Study participants We collected data from women, medical providers and key informants, using qualitative and quantitative methods, including in-depth interviews, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and structured household level survey. Individual interviews with 30 women of different socioeconomic 9 and educational backgrounds were conducted in order to understand how women as social actors may accept, resist or question different social practices related to health and disease. We analyzed women's perspectives and experiences on two different levels: as a general group and as unique individuals. This method also helps us to capture the dynamics between commonalities and differences among women, and to grasp the differences and similarities between health professionals and lay people. Three main sources of information were used. A national representative sample of 1053 women, aged between 20-65 years, was constructed and women were interviewed face-to-face using a structured survey. The survey included questions regarding demographic characteristic, medical history, past screening behavior, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards cervical screening and cancer, barriers to screening, perceived susceptibility to cervical cancer, severity of cervical cancer, costs and benefits of cervical smears, intention for screening, self-perceived control and self-efficacy to ask for smear test, social support and perceived stress. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 key informants in order to discuss the key issues of legislation and regulatory framework, funding sources, system capacity, the priority of cervical cancer screening among other health priorities, barriers and opportunities for change. Respondents included policy makers involved in developing policies on cervical cancer, leading oncologists and gynecologists, experts in public health, heads of cytology labs, the Health Insurance Fund directors, non-governmental organizations, members of the District Division of Health Care and Management of the Romanian Cancer Society and other stakeholders.