COVID-19 pandemic had a profound negative impact on people’s personal and social life. In this chapter, after some conceptual clarifications, we provide insights into the effects of ostracism on people’s well-being as individuals, partners, and group members. Specifically, we explore (a) individual- and personality-based risk factors of ostracism (intrapersonal level); (b) deprivation of social touch, disruption of empathy and social stigmatization in interpersonal relations (interpersonal level); and (c) disruption of social identity, social stigmatization and rise in prejudiced, discriminatory, and xenophobic tendencies within groups (intergroup level). The contribution of this chapter lies in proposing an interplay among intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup dimensions of identity, that is, a multi-level conceptualization of ostracism during the covidian era. By integrating theoretical arguments and research findings, we support the view that personal identity commitment and identification with social groups have similar roots, both based on the individual’s need to formulate meaningful connections to the world and, thus, cope with as well as prevent ostracism. The implications of the interplay between personal and social identity for the measurement of ostracism are also discussed. Next, strategies for tackling ostracism during the pandemic or similar widespread crises are proposed. Finally, avenues for future research are suggested.

The attainment of adult status in Greece is a neglected research issue. Sociodemographic changes and the severity and long duration of the Global Recession in this country (2008-2018) are expected to contribute to the delayed entry to adulthood, especially among university students. In this study, conducted in 2015, 814 university students (ages 18-25; M = 19.9) provided information on subjective adult status (per se and with significant others), achievement of adulthood criteria, associations between the two, and several personal and contextual variables. Results showed that two thirds of the sample felt in-between adolescence and adulthood. They felt more adult in work, university, and romantic relationships, and less adult with parents, friends, and siblings. The most achieved criteria were in the areas of Norm Compliance and Independence, whereas Role Transitions had been achieved the least. A variety of achievements, reflected in Independence, Norm Compliance, and Family Capacities criteria, and some concrete transitions were significantly associated with subjective adult status. Gender, age, parents’ educational level, financial constraints, and financial concerns significantly and differentially predicted the achievement of several adulthood markers. Results provide insight into the achievement of adult status within the Greek context in the aftermath of the Global Recession.

Although Schema Therapy has emerged as an effective treatment for a large range of psychopathology, there is limited research on its effectiveness with children and adolescents, especially for preventive purposes, in individual or group settings and with the involvement of parents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a newly developed group prevention program based on Schema Therapy (rationale, principles, and techniques) for children and their parents. It is a psychoeducational, developmentally-appropriate program addressing core emotional needs, early maladaptive schemas, schema modes, coping styles, and parent-child relationship with the aim of preventing the emergence of psychopathology in children. Participants were 90 Greek children (aged 9-13) who attended 16 weekly meetings and their parents who attended 10 biweekly meetings. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated with pre-and-post-intervention assessment (i.e., pre-experimental design). Children’s early maladaptive schemas (self-reports) and strengths and difficulties (self- and parent-reports), as well as parents’ early maladaptive schemas (self-reports) were assessed. Results showed a significant decrease in most early maladaptive schemas of children and in many early maladaptive schemas of parents. A significant decrease was found in children’s emotional symptoms, peer relationship problems and total difficulties score and a significant increase in prosocial behavior. The supporting evidence for the effectiveness of the program and the necessity of evidence-based prevention programs based on Schema Therapy for children and parents are discussed.

Several studies have evaluated different versions of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO) around the world and some shortened versions of the instrument have also been constructed. The aim of this study was to develop the first brief Greek-language version of the IPO (IPO-Brief-GR) to be used for clinical screening and research purposes regarding personality pathology defined according to Kernberg's object relations model of personality organization. Data were collected from a community sample of 543 Greek emerging adults aged 18–29 years (M = 21.45, SD = 2.51) with the 83-item IPO, from which a 30-item version was constructed, based on confirmatory factor analysis of the full measure. The psychometric properties of the IPO-Brief-GR were then examined. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a four-factor structure best fitted the data, that is, primitive defenses/identity diffusion, reality testing, aggression, and moral values. Criterion validity and internal consistency reliability were also supported. Measurement invariance across gender using an exact protocol approach (i.e., configural, metric, scalar) was found allowing latent mean comparisons. These preliminary findings support the reliability and validity of the IPO-Brief-GR for the assessment of borderline personality organization and indicate the need for further research into the psychometric properties and clinical utility of this measure.

There is limited research on the role of childhood trauma in personality pathology according to Kernberg’s psychodynamic model of internalized object relations. Because childhood trauma reflects the disruptions of these relations, it is expected to predict borderline personality organization, especially at the threshold of adulthood. Therefore, the main aim of this retrospective study was to examine the impact of childhood trauma on borderline personality organization in a community sample of emerging adults. Participants were 543 Greek individuals aged 18-29 (M = 21.45; 58.6% females; 85.1% university students). They completed the Greek versions of the Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire (TAQ) and the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO), which were tested for their factorial structure, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender, as few empirical data exist on the psychometric properties of these measures. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the TAQ consisted of four factors, namely positive experiences, abuse, traumatic life events, and family chaos. The five-factor theoretical structure of the IPO, namely primitive defenses, identity diffusion, reality testing, aggression, and moral values, was confirmed. Low to moderate links between childhood trauma and borderline personality organization were found, with stronger links emerging for abuse and family chaos. Structural equation modeling showed that the various forms of childhood trauma across the age periods studied (i.e., 0-6, 7-12, 13-18) significantly and differentially predicted the dimensions of borderline personality organization. The finding that stronger links emerged when trauma occurred in older ages may be attributed to the retrospective method of the study. Gender differences were also found; for example, personality pathology was more likely in men when abuse and traumatic life events occurred in younger ages and abuse was a more important risk factor for personality pathology in women. This study highlights the impact of childhood adversity on personality pathology in emerging adulthood, provides empirical support for Kernberg’s psychodynamic model, and has useful implications for trauma-informed early screening, prevention, and intervention regarding personality pathology in young people. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are outlined.

Although there is extensive research on the adulthood criteria endorsed by emerging adults, there is very limited evidence on the comparison between emerging adults and their parents regarding this issue. Moreover, in these comparison studies, only quantitative methodology was used. Therefore, the present study uses a mixed-method design to investigate similarities and differences in the prevalence of the endorsed adulthood criteria between emerging adults and their parents, between male and female emerging adults, and between fathers and mothers. Participants were 251 emerging adult students, aged 18.0 to 25.9 (M = 19.9; 50.2% females), and 341 parents of these emerging adults, aged 33.6 to 61.9 (M = 50.4; 58.4% mothers). They completed the Markers of Adulthood Scale and named the three criteria that they considered most important for a person to be considered an adult. An inductive-deductive coding scheme was used. The analyses exhibited a high consensus between emerging adults and their parents in the endorsement of adulthood criteria. Only criteria related to Independence and to the Self were reported more frequently by emerging adults than their parents. A strong agreement between genders in both age groups was also found. The contribution of this study is twofold. First, it supports the idea that in Greece adulthood is a construct that is largely shared by emerging adults and their parents. Second, it illustrates how a mixed-method design can complement quantitative studies and extend their findings.

In this study, we attempt to provide insight into the complex interplay between loneliness/solitude and the writing gift from the early years of life. Theories and research on giftedness, loneliness/solitude, and on the links between them suggest that creative literary production and loneliness/solitude are associated. To further illustrate these associations, we briefly discuss loneliness and solitude in childhood, adult life, and work of four gifted writers: Hans Christian Andersen, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Beatrix Helen Potter. The theoretical framework of this study is twofold: various psychoanalytic formulations and Bruner’s social constructivist and intersubjective conceptualisation of the narrative gift. The main conclusion of this study is that gifted writers have, paradoxically, an intense experience of both painful and beneficial aloneness, which is the inevitable outcome of the writing gift but also becomes the inspiration and motive force for ars poetica.

Previous research findings demonstrate that both savoring ability and the presence of high-quality friendships play a significant role in enhancing one’s overall sense of wellbeing. However, these associations have not been thoroughly investigated within a diverse range of adults across their lifespans, nor have they been explored in the specific cultural context of Greece. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to delve into the relationships between close friendship quality, the utilization of savoring techniques, and wellbeing within the Greek cultural framework. The study involved 771 adults from Greece with an average age of 38.35 years, who completed the McGill Friendship Functions Questionnaire, the PERMA Profiler, and the Abridged Ways of Savoring Checklist. Results revealed that there exists a positive correlation between friendship quality and savoring strategies with overall wellbeing. Moreover, the study identified a significant association wherein a greater employment of savoring strategies was linked to higher levels of friendship quality. While this study contributes valuable insights, it also has limitations that warrant acknowledgment. Furthermore, suggestions for potential future research directions are proposed, and the implications of these findings are discussed in relation to interventions aimed at enhancing both friendships and the practice of savoring across various contexts.

This study aimed to systematically review research findings regarding the relationship between adult friendship and wellbeing. A multidimensional scope for wellbeing and its components with the use of the PERMA theory was adopted. A total of 38 research articles published between 2000 and 2019 were reviewed. In general, adult friendship was found to predict or at least be positively correlated with wellbeing and its components. In particular, the results showed that friendship quality and socializing with friends predict wellbeing levels. In addition, number of friends, their reactions to their friend's attempts of capitalizing positive events, support of friend's autonomy, and efforts to maintain friendship are positively correlated with wellbeing. Efforts to maintain the friendship, friendship quality, personal sense of uniqueness, perceived mattering, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and subjective vitality mediated this relationship. However, research findings highlighted several gaps and limitations of the existing literature on the relationship between adult friendship and wellbeing components. For example, for particular wellbeing components, findings were non-existent, sparse, contradictory, fragmentary, or for specific populations only. Implications of this review for planning and implementing positive friendship interventions in several contexts, such as school, work, counseling, and society, are discussed.

This study aimed to investigate the ways subtypes of social withdrawal and dimensions of solitude are related to existential concerns in emerging adulthood. The links between social withdrawal/solitude and existential well-being are a highly neglected research issue. Participants were 774 emerging adults (50.4% males) aged 18?25 (M = 20.07) from Greece. They completed measures on social withdrawal, solitude, authenticity, meaning in life, existential anxiety, and existential loneliness. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the data. Results indicated that shyness, avoidance, and isolation were associated with more existential concerns, whereas unsociability was associated with less existential concerns. The solitude dimensions - enlightenment, freedom, intimacy, and loneliness - were differentially associated with existential concerns, with enlightenment exhibiting the most existential benefits. Findings showed that existential well-being is dependent on emerging adults? quality of withdrawal experiences and ability to make constructive use of solitude.

Although the psychoanalytic theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto F. Kernberg have not explicitly focused on loneliness, they have the potential to offer a rich conceptualization of this experience in severe personality pathology. In this study, we attempt to illustrate and discuss the various qualities of loneliness in narcissistic, borderline, and other personality pathology, as implied in these theories. Kohut’s views on selfobjects are presented and the links between selfobjects and loneliness are highlighted. In this theory, loneliness may be regarded as grandiose isolation and object hunger may be viewed as a type of quasi, but not real loneliness. In Kernberg’s theory, emptiness seems to be the essence of loneliness, but it takes on different qualities in several personality disorders. Mature love is proposed as the opposite of loneliness. After identifying some points of convergence between Kohut and Kernberg regarding loneliness, we conclude with the view that real loneliness can be experienced only when genuine intimacy and mature dependence have been established.

The Pomegranate: the magazine for children (To Rodi: to periodiko gia paidia) is a milestone in the history of Greek magazines for children and adolescents. Surprisingly, to date only two studies have been devoted to this issue. Therefore, the present article aims to present a detailed analysis of the first edition of this magazine (1977-1982) and to offer a critical approach and interpretation of its beneficial effect and its large impact on children and adolescents. More specifically, the present article focuses on the magazine’s main features, contributors, readers, and material. The magazin’s columns were systematically designed to create opportunities for acquiring knowledge and skills as well as for creativity, communication and interaction with peers, and entertainment. Many recognized and young writers and illustrators as well as remarkable literary works and works of art came to the fore. The magazine undoubtedly promoted children’s and adolescents’ cognitive, moral, socioemotional, and psychosexual development. To Rodi has left an indelible mark on its readers and is undoubtedly part of the historical line and the genealogy of Greek quality magazines for children and adolescents.

Purpose The development of health literacy skills is of paramount importance especially for students, as it is associated with their wellbeing and academic success. Assessing students' health literacy is necessary for its advancement. This study comes to fill the need for a valid multidimensional health literacy assessment instrument for secondary school students. Design/methodology/approach Initially, the authors defined the conceptual framework within which the items of this instrument were generated. Its final form was obtained through three pilot studies. A test-retest followed and, finally, a nationwide survey was conducted on Greek seventh-, ninth- and tenth-grade students (N = 2,800). Findings A 37-item instrument, the Health Literacy Assessment for Secondary School Students (HeLiASeSS), was developed which includes the following nine dimensions/skills of health literacy: “access to”, “understand” and “evaluate” (health information), “functional communication”, “interactive communication” and “critical communication”, “relying on health information”, “self-efficacy regarding health matters” and “intention for active citizenship regarding health matters”. HeLiASeSS proved to have good stability (ICC = 0.943) and high internal consistency reliability (a = 0.903). Originality/value HeLiASeSS offers the possibility of a reliable and valid assessment of secondary school students' health literacy skills providing a multidimensional evaluation of this construct and is expected to be useful in interventions aiming at promoting this type of literacy.

This article proposes and describes an educational scenario for 4th, 7th and 10th grade school history. The main goal of this scenario is to help students understand the historical dimension of the phenomenon of the pandemic and to develop critical thinking towards it, in order to enhance their mental resilience. The main historical character of this scenario is Myrtis. The use of drama game techniques is proposed as the main teaching method for the scenario's implementation. The title of the educational scenario is the following: «Travelling with Myrtis from the plague of Ancient Athens to the pandemic of covid-19». In the scenario, students travel to the plague of Ancient Athens through an imaginary journey to the past with Myrtis. After traveling through the pandemics of different historical periods (plague, smallpox, cholera), they arrive at their experience of the pandemic in the present. The design was based on the theories of the educational scenario and theatre pedagogy.

In this chapter several psychoanalytic views on the origins of beneficial solitude, its developmental course during the first years of life, and its implications for later development are discussed, evaluated, and organized around three dimensions: the solitary self, the ability to be alone, and the necessity of being alone, as well as the companionable nature of solitude. These views belong to different psychoanalytic models, such as the Freudian drive/structure and the object relations model. Conclusions are drawn and future directions are described, concerning the paradox of solitude, which is argued to be evident from the beginning of life.

According to Piaget, the attainment of formal operational thought (between the ages of 12 and 15 years) is the final stage of cognitive development, preparing the adolescent to efficiently adapt to the adult world. Piaget regarded formal thinking as propositional, abstract, hypothetico-deductive, combinatory, and reflective, allowing for the conception of both the possible and the real. This entry discusses the fundamental mechanisms that lead to the acquisition of formal thought, along with its specific manifestations. Finally, it presents an overview of the criticism of the Piagetian theoretical standpoint.

Οι υπάρχουσες έρευνες αναδεικνύουν ότι πολλοί μαθητές αντιμετωπίζουν δυσκολίες στα κλάσματα εξαιτίας της σύνθετης έννοιας αυτών καθώς και των λανθασμένων στρατηγικών που χρησιμοποιούν για τη διαχείριση τους. Σύμφωνα με σύγχρονα ερευνητικά ευρήματα, φαίνεται πως τόσο η εννοιολογική όσο και η διαδικαστική γνώση των κλασμάτων είναι απαραίτητες για τη μαθηματική ικανότητα. Στόχος της παρούσας μελέτης αποτελεί η ανάδειξη της ύπαρξης ή μη διαφοροποίησης στην επίδοση στα κλάσματα ολικά, εννοιολογικά και διαδικαστικά μεταξύ παιδιών με και χωρίς δυσκολίες στα μαθηματικά ή την ανάγνωση. Για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας χρησιμοποιήθηκε το MathPro test το οποίο αξιολογεί μαθηματικές δεξιότητες στους τομείς: επίγνωσης αριθμού, μνήμης, οπτικο-χωρικό και συλλογιστικής, ένα τεστ κλασμάτων που αξιολογεί την εννοιολογική και τη διαδικαστική γνώση, ένα ερωτηματολόγιο αξιολόγησης της επίδοσης στα μαθηματικά και την ανάγνωση από το δάσκαλο της τάξης και ένα τεστ αναγνωστικής ευχέρειας. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν πως οι μαθητές με δυσκολίες στα μαθηματικά ή την ανάγνωση σημείωσαν στατιστικά σημαντικά χαμηλότερη επίδοση στα κλάσματα συνολικά, αλλά και επιμέρους στη διαδικαστική και εννοιολογική γνώση των κλασμάτων. Οπότε, προκύπτει η ανάγκη καλλιέργειας των δεξιοτήτων που απαιτούνται για τη διαχείριση κλασματικών αριθμών με σκοπό να αντιμετωπίσουν τις εν λόγω δυσκολίες οι μαθητές

Παρόλο που η σημασία αποτελεσματικής διαχείρισης των κλασμάτων έχει αναδειχθεί από πολλούς ερευνητές, οι προαπαιτούμενες μαθηματικές δεξιότητες για τον σκοπό αυτόν δεν έχουν διερευνηθεί ακόμη. Οι μέχρι τώρα προσπάθειες έχουν επικεντρωθεί κυρίως σε ευρήματα σχετικά με την εννοιολογική και τη διαδικαστική γνώση των κλασμάτων. Η παρούσα μελέτη στοχεύει να αναδείξει αυτές τις μαθηματικές δεξιότητες που σχετίζονται με την κλασματική γνώση σε μαθητές Ε ́ και Στ ́ δημοτικού. Σε αυτήν έλαβαν μέρος 99 μαθητές σχολικής ηλικίας κατά μέσο όρο 11,1 ετών οι οποίοι φοιτούσαν σε δημόσια δημοτικά σχολεία του νομού Ευβοίας. Στην έρευνα χρησιμοποιήθηκαν το MathPro test το οποίο αξιολόγησε επιμέρους μαθηματικές δεξιότητες των συμμετεχόντων ως προς την Επίγνωση Αριθμού, τη Μνήμη, την Οπτικο-χωρική ικανότητα και τη Συλλογιστική και ένα αυτοσχέδιο τεστ για την συνολική, εννοιολογική και διαδικαστική κατανόηση στα κλάσματα. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι από τις δραστηριότητες του MathPro test, τα Προβλήματα και οι Νοεροί Υπολογισμοί προβλέπουν τη συνολική και την εννοιολογική κλασματική επίδοση των συμμετεχόντων. Η διαδικαστική επίδοση στα κλάσματα φάνηκε να προβλέπεται από τους Κύβους, τα Προβλήματα και τους Νοερούς Υπολογισμούς. Συμπερασματικά, οι μαθηματικές δεξιότητες που σχετίζονται με τον Οπτικο-χωρικό τομέα και αυτόν της Συλλογιστικής φάνηκε ότι προβλέπουν την επίδοση στην κλασματική γνώση.

Little research has been conducted on emerging adulthood in Greece, although sociodemographic specificities and constraints due to financial crisis are expected to reinforce prolonged transition to adulthood in this Southern European country. Using a person-centered approach, the current study aimed to examine dimensions of emerging adulthood, criteria for adulthood, and identity development among studying youth in association with personal and structural variables (i.e., gender, age, living arrangement, work experience, steady romantic relationship status, and financial adversity). Participants were 814 university students (Mage = 19.9 years). Latent profile analysis yielded five profiles: anxious explorers in-between (29.90%), immature explorers (29.58%), emerging adults (18.30%), adult committers (12.58%), and blocked in transition (9.64%). Significant between-profile differentiation was found regarding all variables except from age and work experience. The results support the existence of emerging adulthood in Greece and indicate diverse paths to adulthood within the rather homogeneous population of studying youth in this country.

Στην παρούσα μελέτη επιχειρείται μια ανίχνευση, με την οπτική της Ψυχολογίας, των πολλών και ποικίλων όψεων της μοναξιάς, αυτού του ουσιώδους βιώματος της ανθρώπινης ύπαρξης, στον ελληνικό πολιτισμό, με έμφαση στην παραδοσιακή ελληνική κοινωνία. Μετά τις εννοιολογικές αποσαφηνίσεις, παρουσιάζονται όψεις της επώδυνης και της ευεργετικής μοναξιάς, όπως αυτές εκδηλώνονταν στον ελληνικό λαϊκό βίο και διατυπώνονται σκέψεις σχετικά με τη σημασία της μοναξιάς για τη νεοελληνική αυτοσυνείδηση. In this essay, we attempt to trace the many faces of loneliness, which is an essential experience of human existence, in the Greek culture, especially in the traditional Greek society, from the viewpoint of Psychology. Following some conceptual clarifications and references to the Greek language, we describe facets of painful aloneness (i.e., loneliness) and beneficial aloneness (i.e., solitude), as exhibited in life within the traditional Greek context. Finally, some thoughts on the significance of loneliness for the neo-hellenic identity are expressed.

Ο σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι ο εξής: (α) να συγκρίνει την αυτοεκτίμηση των δυσλεκτικών και των μη δυσλεκτικών παιδιών ηλικίας 11-12 ετών,(β) να συσχετίσει την αυτοεκτίμηση των παιδιών με την αποδοχή-απόρριψη από τον/την εκπαιδευτικό και (γ) να συγκρίνει τους παραπάνω παράγοντες ως προς το φύλο των συμμετεχόντων. Το δείγμα της έρευνας προέρχεται από 6 δημόσια σχολεία της Α’ Περιφέρειας της Αττικής και αποτελείται από 118 μαθητές ελληνικής καταγωγής (21 δυσλεκτικοί & 97 μη δυσλεκτικοί) που φοιτούν στην Ε’ και ΣΤ’ Δημοτικού και τους δασκάλους τους (N = 12). Τα μέσα συλλογής των δεδομένων για το δείγμα των μαθητών αποτελούν τα εξής δύο ερωτηματολόγια: «Πώς Αντιλαμβάνομαι τον Εαυτό μου ΙΙ» (Μακρή-Μπότσαρη, 2013) και «Child Teacher Acceptance-Rejection/Control Questionnaire-Short Form» (Kourkoutas, Propersi, & Georgiadi, 2013). Το δείγμα των εκπαιδευτικών συμπλήρωσε το ερωτηματολόγιο «Κλίμακα της Σχέσης Δασκάλου-Μαθητή» (Galanaki & Vassilopoulou, 2007) για τον κάθε μαθητή. Τα βασικά αποτελέσματα της έρευνας είναι ότι η αυτοεκτίμηση των δυσλεκτικών παιδιών είναι χαμηλότερη από αυτή των μη δυσλεκτικών, όπως επίσης και ότι η αυτοεκτίμηση των μαθητών συσχετίζεται με την αποδοχή-απόρριψη από τον/την εκπαιδευτικό. Τέλος, ένα βασικό εύρημα είναι ότι η αποδοχή-απόρριψη από τον δάσκαλο βιώνεται διαφορετικά από τους μαθητές ανάλογα το φύλο τους, ενώ από την μεριά του εκπαιδευτικού, το φύλο του μαθητή δεν επηρεάζει τη μεταξύ τους σχέση.

This paper presents a brief literature review on the impact of Waldorf education on students’ and graduates’ socio-emotional health. The main elements of Waldorf education which contribute to socio-emotional health are identified and described, namely, integration of the arts, movement and play, promoting relationships, reconnecting with nature, and spiritual development. Finally, the positive impact of Waldorf education on the reduction of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is analyzed.

Egocentrism is a central concept in the developmental psychology literature with important implications for adaptation and mental health. Despite its negative moral connotation, it is not related to egoism. Genetic epistemologist Jean Piaget introduced egocentrism (or centration) and described it as a normal phenomenon during the course of human development. Egocentrism is defined as a heightened focus on one’s self and it takes several forms in ontogeny. During adolescence, egocentrism is regarded to be associated with pubertal changes and important developmental tasks, such as the acquisition of new mental capacities, the process of separation from parents, and the formation of individuality. Research has shown that egocentrism may be at the root of a wide variety of typical adolescent behaviors and disturbances. In this entry we will briefly describe the two main theoretical models for the interpretation of adolescent egocentrism, namely the cognitive model and the psychodynamic “New Look” model. References to research evidence concerning the two models will also be made. Finally, conclusions about current understanding of adolescent egocentrism will be drawn.

The General Health Questionnaire – 28 (GHQ-28) is one of the most widely used screening instruments for psychiatric disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure and the internal consistency of the Greek GHQ-28 in a sample of 501 university students (302 females; Mage = 20.5 years). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) did not provide an optimal fit for the original four-factor structure. Therefore, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted in search of alternative models with optimal fit. Models obtained from EFA and PCA were compared through further CFA. The model derived from EFA was the best-fitting solution and yielded three factors: Anxiety/Somatic Complaints (a unified factor), Social Dysfunction, and Severe Depression. In addition, internal consistency assessed through Cronbach's alpha was acceptable for all subscales both in the four- and in the new three-factor model. Possible explanations for the differentiations found in the structure of the Greek GHQ-28 are discussed in the framework of the existing literature on the use of this measure worldwide.

This study investigated emerging adulthood and transition to adulthood in Greece, a highly underresearched issue in this country. Participants were 784 university students aged 17.5-27.5 years. Criteria for the transition to adulthood, developmental features of emerging adulthood, perceived adult status, views of the future (optimism), and sociodemographic variables were assessed. The results support the existence of emerging adulthood as a distinct life period in Greece. More than two thirds of the sample were self-perceived emerging adults. Most prevalent criteria were Norm compliance and Family capacities. Developmental features of emerging adulthood ranked high, especially Identity exploration, Experimentation/possibilities, and Feeling “in-between”. Statistically significant variations emerged as a function of gender, age, living arrangement, job experience, and perceived adult status. Views of the future were cautiously optimistic. Similarities with existing data and differences related to the specific characteristics of the Southern European context are discussed.

Objective:The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between classroom psychological climate and the physical and sedentary behaviour of primary school students after the implementation of an innovative education programme regarding nutrition and physical activity.Design:Randomised controlled trial.Setting:Study participants were 729 students, aged 8?10?years, in the third and fourth grade of 30 public primary schools in the Athens Metropolitan Area.Methods:Students were randomly assigned to three study groups: an Intensive Intervention Group (IIG) that underwent an intensive nutrition and physical activity education programme delivered by specialised personnel and teachers, an Intervention Group (IG) that underwent a less intensive programme delivered by their regular teacher and a Control Group (CG) that received no instruction. Classroom Psychological Climate (CPC) was measured in all groups, and the data regarding physical activity and sedentary lifestyle habits, such as the time spent viewing TV or video games (screen time), were recorded.Results:Friction declined and satisfaction increased significantly after the intervention in the IG compared with the CG. There was no significant difference in physical activity and screen time between the groups. Daily screen time was positively associated with increased friction, which is a measure of conflicts between students in the school environment.Conclusion:A school nutrition and physical activity education programme was shown to decrease friction by decreasing daily screen time and increasing outdoor activities. These findings also suggest that teachers alone may be more effective in delivering optional health education programmes than specialised personnel and instructors.

If solitude, as a state of being alone, is a basic human need equally important to attachment and belonging, it is necessary to explore its multiple positive contributions to children's and adolescents' development. However, this type of solitude is a relatively neglected research area in these age periods. Research evidence on the existence, significance, and developmental course of positive aloneness experiences is the focus of this chapter beginning with some clarifications on the various concepts of aloneness (i.e., loneliness, aloneness, solitude, attitude toward aloneness, privacy). Next, research is reviewed on assessment of aloneness and solitude; understanding and content of solitude; assessment of aloneness and solitude; amount, context, and affect of time alone; attitude toward aloneness; the links between solitude and adjustment; the associations between solitude and strategies of coping with loneliness; and the associations between solitude and other aloneness concepts. Data on gender differences also are discussed. Finally, suggestions are offered fo rfuture research on this type of solitude in childhood and adolescence.

This work intends to psychometrically evaluate the newly developed Children’s Solitude Scale (CSS), a measure of voluntary aloneness in childhood. The scale assesses individual differences on what children prefer to do when they want to be alone, a rather neglected, although important developmental issue. Participants were 833 fourth and sixth graders from Athens, Greece. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated four factors, although with a less-than-optimal fit: Self-Reflection, Autonomy/Privacy, Activities and Concentration. The scale showed adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability as well as convergent and divergent validity (i.e., positive association with positive attitude towards aloneness and ability to be alone, no association with negative attitude towards aloneness, and low positive correlation with loneliness and social dissatisfaction). The results indicated the suitability of the CSS to assess reasons or motives for solitude during middle and late childhood and the necessity to further examine the structure of this type of solitude experiences in this age period.

Although loneliness as a distinct entity has been relatively neglected by psychoanalysts, it is in the domain of psychoanalysis that solitude, as a state of being alone, has long ago been described as a fundamental human experience and has been ascribed a plethora of meanings. In this chapter, various psychoanalytic views on the origins of this type of solitude and its developmental course during the first years of life are discussed and evaluated, organized around four dimensions: the fear of solitude and separation anxiety, the solitary self, the ability to be alone and the necessity of being alone, as well as the companionable nature of solitude. Next, a brief overview of existing research, some of which was conducted by psychoanalysts, revealing aspects of aloneness experience early in life, is presented. Finally, conclusions and future directions centre around the paradoxical nature of solitude from the beginning of life.

The aim of this study was to examine student teachers’ definitions of school bullying and perceived seriousness of bullying. Participants were 522 students at the Faculty of Primary Education, University of Athens, Greece. They replied to a question about the perceived seriousness of bullying and to an open question about the definition of bullying (Nikolaides, Toda, & Smith, 2002). Results showed that a considerable percentage of prospective teachers regarded bullying as a serious matter. In their definitions of bullying, they placed emphasis on physical and verbal bullying, on the bully’s intention to produce harm and on the victim’s suffering (empathy). However, some other important facets of bullying, such as duration/repetition, imbalance of power between bully and victim, the unjustified, unprovoked and group nature of bullying behavior, were much less frequently reported. Also, prospective teachers had considerable difficulty including in their definitions references to social exclusion as a specific form of bullying. Statistical significant differences in the above variables emerged as a function of gender and job experience. Results are discussed in comparison with the rather few relevant studies conducted in other countries on this issue and suggestions for the education of prospective teachers are made.

The great narrative is an invitation for the discovery of a problem, as Jerome Bruner stated. Ifwe select gifted writers and poets and study their work as well as their narratives about loneli-ness during their childhood years (and not only then), we will uncover many faces of loneli-ness and solitude – perhaps the most painful and the most beneficial ones. We selected asmall number of writers from Greece and other countries, in the childhood of whom loneli-ness and solitude had played a significant part and seemed to have determined their lives andwork. By focusing on specific aspects of their lives and work, we discuss how lonelinessmeets with the gift of narrative from the early years of life.

The aim of this study was to examine student teachers’ knowledge and attitudes toward school bullying. Participants were 676 students at the Faculty of Primary Education, University of Athens, Greece. They replied to a question about the perceived seriousness of bullying (Nikolaides, Toda, & Smith, 2002), and completed the Teachers’ Attitudes About Bullying Questionnaire (Beran, 2005). Principal components analysis confirmed the five-component structure of the questionnaire. Results showed that a considerable percentage of prospective teachers regarded bullying as a serious matter and wanted to learn more about this issue during their studies. Also, they expressed high personal commitment and system commitment to dealing with bullying. Although they are not satisfied with their education on bullying, they exhibit at least moderate confidence in coping with it. Results are discussed in comparison with the few relevant studies conducted in other countries on this issue and in relation to the developmental characteristics of emerging adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between school bullying/ victimization and symptoms of anxiety disorders in preadolescents. Participants were 255 fifth- and sixth-grade students from primary schools of Attica region. They completed the Greek versions of the following measures: the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 2006), the Social Anxiety Scale for Children- Revised (LaGreca & Stone, 1993), the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (Smith, Perrin, Dyregrov, & Yule, 2003), and the Psychosomatic Symptom Score (Aro, Paronen, & Aro, 1987). Social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosomatic symptoms were all found to be positively correlated to both the tendency to be victimized and the tendency to bully others. The more the tendency to be victimized increased, the more students complained of psychosomatic symptoms and manifested clinically significant social anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The tendency to bully others could be predicted by psychosomatic symptoms and mothers’ country of birth. Furthermore, compared to non bullies-non victims, victims were found to score higher on all anxiety measures. Implications of the results for bullying prevention and intervention are discussed.

In this paper we examine the relation of loneliness with psychopathology and psychotherapy. More specifically, first we present interpretations about the long-standing neglect of loneliness by the disciplines of Psychology and Psychiatry. Next, we analyze psychoanalytic and existential views from the clinical field about the associations between loneliness and psychopathology. We focus on narcissistic trauma and incapacity for love, as accompanying aspects of loneliness in many forms of psychopathology. Also, we discuss the role of loneliness in the psychotherapeutic relationship, according to the aforementioned views. Finally, we propose that we should recognize the paradoxical nature of loneliness, which means that this experience has both distressing and beneficial aspects, and that apart from being an inescapable universal condition, it may become an index of psychopathology as well.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge prospective teachers have about bullying, as well as their attitudes and beliefs about this issue. The majority of prospective teachers held negative attitudes about bullying. However, few indicated feeling confident or prepared to deal with the problem. Females reported greater responsibility on the part of teachers and lower levels of self-confidence than males. The greater the responsibility that student teachers placed on themselves the greater the responsibility that they placed on the school system, and the greater the concern and confidence they felt. Prospective teachers were willing to learn more about bullying.

Στην παρούσα εργασία παρουσιάζεται ένα πρόγραμμα μουσικοκινητικής αγωγής Carl Orff (Orff-Schulwerk) για μαθητές με προβλήματα ακοής – κωφούς και βαρήκοους μαθητές. Το πρόγραμμα βασίζεται στη θέση ότι η ακουστική απώλεια δεν αποκλείει το αναπτυσσόμενο άτομο από τη δυνατότητα ενασχόλησής του με τη μουσική. Η χρησιμότητα και η πρωτοτυπία του προγράμματος έγκειται στο ότι αποτελεί μία από τις πρώτες προσπάθειες στην Ελλάδα για μουσικοκινητική αγωγή κωφών και βαρήκοων μαθητών, η οποία είναι μέρος του ωρολογίου προγράμματος του σχολείου. Μέχρι πριν από λίγα χρόνια, η μουσική αγωγή των ατόμων με προβλήματα ακοής αντιμετωπιζόταν με επιφυλάξεις και προκαταλήψεις ως προς την αναγκαιότητα και την αποτελεσματικότητά της. Παρουσιάζονται οι θεωρητικές αρχές στις οποίες βασίστηκε το πρόγραμμα, οι στόχοι και τα μέσα του προγράμματος, καθώς και ο τρόπος αξιολόγησης των μαθητών. Τονίζεται η συμβολή της παιδαγωγικής προσέγγισης Orff στο συγκεκριμένο πρόγραμμα, καθώς οι βασικοί άξονες του προγράμματος συνάδουν με τις θεωρητικές αρχές της φιλοσοφίας Orff και έχουν υιοθετηθεί στην πράξη τα μέσα, οι παιδαγωγικές τεχνικές και τα όργανα της ορχήστρας αυτής της παιδαγωγικής προσέγγισης.

In this paper, we examine the relation between psychic trauma in the first years of life and loneliness. We selected a representative sample of important ''natural experiments'', as revealed in the work of Anna Freud, René Spitz as well as James and Joyce Robertson. The adverse effects of child neglect, abuse, abandonment, war, separation from parents, life in inappropriate institutions, and hospitalization are presented and discussed. Our analysis shows that among children with early and multiple trauma, the quality of loneliness, the normal fear of loneliness, separation anxiety in the relations with parents, siblings and peers, ways of coping with loneliness (e.g., forming relationships, play, fantasies, defense mechanisms), the capacity to be alone and the creative use of solitude, suffer and constitute major problems of traumatized children. We suggest that trauma can be healed through binding, as a restitution of the break in the continuity resulting from trauma, as well as sharing.

The aim of this research was to investigate children’s reading preferences as related to gender, age, socio-economic level, general academic achievement and reading achievement. Participants were 1,136 fourth- and sixth-grade students from public schools in Athens. They completed the Greek adaptation of The Reading Preferences Survey (Bundy, 1982). The data indicated statistically significant differences among all variables studied. Results are discussed in the framework of the existing research literature on reading preferences of primary school children and in relation to well-known theoretical formulations about children’s reading. Finally, on the basis of the data, suggestions for promoting children’s love of reading are presented.

The  aim  of  this  research  was  to  examine  school  bullying  and  victimization  among  young adolescents (12-15 years old) as well as its relation to age, gender, and area of residence.  Participants  were  536  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  graders  from  lower-secondary schools located at Athens and the city of Agrinio. Students completed the Revised  Olweus  Bully/Victim  Questionnaire  (Olweus,  2006).  Results  did  not  show  statistically  significant  differences  between  seventh,  eighth  and  ninth  graders  as  to  their  classification  in  the  categories  “bully”,  “victim”  and  “bully/victim”.  Indirect  types of bullying and victimization became more frequent with advancing age. Boys were  more  likely  to  be  categorized  as  bullies  compared  to  girls,  who  were  more  likely to be victimized. Adolescents living in the city of Agrinio were more likely to be victims and reported a higher tendency for bullying and victimization compared to adolescents living in Athens. Results are discussed in the framework of the exist-ing Greek and international research on bullying among young adolescents.

Although there is a substantial body of research on loneliness in children and adolescents, there is relatively less research evidence on solitude, as a state of being alone, and more specifically, on facets of solitude such as attitude toward aloneness, ability to be alone, and positive aloneness. In this paper, after some conceptual clarifications, research is reviewed on understanding the nature of solitude; affect of time alone; attitude toward aloneness; the links between solitude and adjustment; and the associations between solitude and other aloneness concepts. Finally, suggestions for future research on solitude in childhood and adolescence are offered.

Although the painful experience of loneliness has been largely investigated, attitude toward aloneness and ability to be alone during middle and late childhood remains a highly neglected research issue. The Ability to Be Alone Questionnaire (Berlin, 1990), and the Aversion to Aloneness and Affinity for Aloneness subscales of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (Marcoen & Goossens, 1993) were used with 136 fourth and sixth graders (Study 1); also, a sentence completion task assessing feelings about aloneness (Coleman, 1974), and three questions assessing the ability to differentiate between aloneness and loneliness (Galanaki, 2004) (Study 2) were used with 108 fourth and sixth graders. All participants came from primary schools of Athens, Greece. Results showed a decrease from middle to late childhood in children’s aversion to aloneness, and an increase in their capacity to understand that loneliness may be experienced even in the presence of others. Ability to be alone and affinity for aloneness did not show any statistically significant increase with age. The majority of fourth graders were able to understand that “alone” does not necessarily means “lonely”, but had difficulties in accepting the state “feeling lonely even in the presence of others”. Empirical support for an ambivalent attitude toward aloneness during both these age periods also emerged. Gender differences were not found. Findings are discussed in the framework of the existing research on children’s understanding and experience of aloneness and solitude, and suggestions for future research are made.

Στόχος της μελέτης αυτής είναι, υπό το πρίσμα της σύγχρονης θεωρίας και έρευνας της αναπτυξιακής ψυχολογίας και της αναπτυξιακής ψυχοπαθολογίας, να εντοπίσει και να αναδείξει τα σημεία επαφής ανάμεσα στην αναδυόμενη ενηλικίωση και στις γνωσιακές συμπεριφοριστικές προσεγγίσεις, ή, με άλλα λόγια, να δείξει ότι η γνωσιακή συμπεριφοριστική θεραπεία είναι μια αναπτυξιακά κατάλληλη μέθοδος θεραπείας για την αναδυόμενη ενηλικίωση. Υπενθυμίζεται ότι κύριες αρχές της γνωσιακής συμπεριφοριστικής θεραπείας γενικά είναι ότι (α) η γνωστική δραστηριότητα επηρεάζει τη συμπεριφορά, (β) η γνωστική δραστηριότητα είναι δυνατόν να τροποποιηθεί και (γ) η επιθυμητή αλλαγή στη συμπεριφορά είναι δυνατόν να επιτευχθεί μέσω της γνωστικής αλλαγής (Dobson & Dozois, 2000). Έχει υποστηριχθεί (Reinecke, Dattilio, & Freeman, 1996) ότι η γνωσιακή συμπεριφοριστική θεραπεία ενέχει τέτοια δυναμική, που της επιτρέπει να προσαρμόζεται στις αναπτυξιακές απαιτήσεις κάθε περιόδου, ωστόσο δεν έχουν γίνει ακόμη αρκετές προσπάθειες προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση. Η μελέτη διαρθρώνεται σε δύο μέρη. Στο πρώτο μέρος, περιγράφονται η φύση και τα αναπτυξιακά χαρακτηριστικά της αναδυόμενης ενηλικίωσης και παρουσιάζονται, ενδεικτικά, ερευνητικά ευρήματα από πρόσφατη σχετική έρευνα στην Ελλάδα. Επίσης, γίνονται αναφορές στην ψυχική υγεία γενικά κατά την περίοδο αυτή και στην κατάθλιψη, ως παράδειγμα, ειδικά (με μια μικρή παρένθεση για το ρόλο της τριτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης στην περίοδο αυτή). Στο δεύτερο μέρος, αναλύονται με μεγαλύτερη αμεσότητα οι λόγοι για τους οποίους η γνωσιακή συμπεριφοριστική θεραπεία είναι σύστοιχη με τις αναπτυξιακές ανάγκες και τις κοινωνικές απαιτήσεις της αναδυόμενης ενηλικίωσης.

The aim of this research was to examine the associations between bullying/victimization and loneliness in the peer group and in the family. Participants were 202 fifth-grade students from five public schools located in the south section of Athens. They completed the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire-Revised Edition (Olweus, 2006) and the Relational Provisions Loneliness Questionnaire (RPLQ - Hayden, 1989; Terrell-Deutsch, 1999), which showed adequate internal consistency. Almost one out of five children participated in bullying situations. More boys than girls were bullies and bullies/victims. Linear regression analyses indicated that the tendency to be bullied and the tendency to bully other students predicted loneliness in the peer group better than loneliness in the family. The type of victimization with the strongest predictive value for loneliness was social exclusion. Loneliness in the peer group was associated with the victim role, whereas loneliness in the family with the bully role. Results are discussed in relation to the social nature of bullying/victimization and to the subjective distress of involved children.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the attitude toward aloneness and the aftereffect of aloneness during middle and late childhood. Participants were 833 fourth- and sixth-grade students from primary schools in Athens, Greece. They completed two questions from the London Sentence Completion Test (Coleman, 1974) and they responded to a question about the aftereffect of aloneness (Larson, 1999). Results showed the importance of solitary play, daydreaming and self-reflection, and independence and privacy, and a rather ambivalent attitude toward aloneness. Boys have a more positive attitude toward aloneness than girls; the same applies to fourth graders. Results are discussed in light of the significance of time alone and its uses during childhood.

Σκοπός της παρούσας έρευνας ήταν να διερευνηθούν οι διαστάσεις του αναγνωστικού κινήτρου των Ελλήνων μαθητών Δ΄ και Στ΄ δημοτικού. Αναλυτικότερα, εξετάζεται κατά πόσον οι διαστάσεις του θεωρητικού μοντέλου των Wigfield και Guthrie (1995) ανιχνεύονται στο αναγνωστικό κίνητρο των Ελλήνων μαθητών δημοτικού σχολείου, η σπουδαιότητα των διαστάσεων αυτών για τους μαθητές, καθώς και οι μεταξύ τους συσχετίσεις. Ένα αντιπροσωπευτικό δείγμα 1.136 μαθητών Δ΄ και Στ΄ Δημοτικού από σχολεία της Αθήνας και του Πειραιά συμπλήρωσαν την ελληνική προσαρμογή του Ερωτηματολογίου Αναγνωστικών Κινήτρων ( Motivations for Reading Questionnaire, Wigfield & Guthrie, 1995), το οποίο επιτρέπει μια λεπτομερή ανίχνευση της πολυδιάστατης φύσης του αναγνωστικού κινήτρου. Αναδείχθηκαν τέσσερις διακριτές, αν και σχετιζόμενες μεταξύ τους, διαστάσεις: Σχολική Επίδοση, Κοινωνικοί Λόγοι, Βαθμός Δυσκολίας Αναγνώσματος και Είδος Αναγνώσματος. Οι διαστάσεις αυτές είναι λιγότερες από τις διαστάσεις του πρωτότυπου ερωτηματολογίου. Ισχυρότερο κίνητρο για ανάγνωση προέκυψε η Σχολική Επίδοση και ακολουθούν το Είδος του Αναγνώσματος και ο Βαθμός Δυσκολίας του Αναγνώσματος, ενώ το χαμηλότερο κίνητρο για ανάγνωση είναι οι Κοινωνικοί Λόγοι. Παρατηρήθηκαν στατιστικά σημαντικές συνάφειες ανάμεσα σε ορισμένες διαστάσεις του αναγνωστικού κινήτρου. Τα ευρήματα συζητούνται με αναφορά στα ευρήματα της σχετικής διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας με τα οποία είναι σύστοιχα, καθώς σε όλες τις έρευνες αναγνωρίζεται η πολυδιάστατη φύση του αναγνωστικού κινήτρου. Τέλος, με βάση τα ευρήματα της έρευνας, προτείνονται παιδαγωγικές πρακτικές για την ενίσχυση του αναγνωστικού κινήτρου, με στόχο την καλλιέργεια της φιλαναγνωσίας και την ολόπλευρη ανάπτυξη του παιδιού.

The aim of this research was to test empirically Elkind’s (1967, 1970, 1978) Piagetian theoretical formulation for the developmental nature of adolescent egocentrism. The contribution of this study is threefold because it includes: 1) Pubertal development (with a distinction between status and timing), which has been systematically ignored by other investigators; 2) a broad age range (11-18 year-old adolescents); and 3) a variety of manifestations and dimensions of egocentrism. The association of the two main forms of adolescent egocentrism—the imaginary audience and the personal fable—with age, gender, pubertal development, and formal operational thought was investigated. Participants were 314 adolescents who completed the Physical Development Scale (Petersen, Crockett, Richards, & Boxer, 1988), a battery of cognitive tasks (Demetriou, Efklides, & Platsidou, 1993), the Imaginary Audience Scale (Elkind & Bowen, 1979), the New Imaginary Audience Scale (Lapsley, Fitzgerald, Rice, & Jackson, 1989), the Personal Fable Scale (Elkind, personal communication, August 10, 1993), and the New Personal Fable Scale (Lapsley et al., 1989). Findings provided partial support for Elkind’s hypothesis. Only the imaginary audience in the form of self-consciousness was associated with grade. Systematic gender differences emerged for several dimensions of imaginary audience and personal fable. For only a few dimensions of imaginary audience and personal fable the expected associations with pubertal and cognitive development, as well as interesting interaction effects, were found. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for Elkind’s theory and for alternative interpretations of imaginary audience and personal fable.

In this essay, we study the relationship between psychoanalysis and education, a relationship that is as old as the history of psychoanalysis itself. Freud’s views on this issue, which appear scattered in his various writings, are identified and synthesized. More specifically, we discuss Freud’s views on the importance of applying psychoanalysis in education, the significance of the educator’s personality, his/her difficulties in understanding children, the “prophylactic” (preventive) role of education, the necessity to adopt an optimum stance between the two poles of permissiveness and frustration, the links of education with sublimation and culture, the limits of education as compared to the individual’s development, etc. These views are discussed in relation to Anna Freud’s systematic elaboration on the relationship between psychoanalysis and education, as well as to various views of contemporary psychoanalysts on the same issue.

In this theoretical paper, we search and integrate historical information about Sigmund Freud’s, the founder of psychoanalysis, attendance of the classic Gymnasium in Vienna (1865‐1873). Drawing from Freud’s essay “Some reflections on schoolboy psychology” (1914), which he wrote for the fiftieth anniversary of his school, some of his letters, his biographer Ernest Jones, as well as the testimony of one of his sisters and the son of one of his classmates, we attempt to reconstruct Freud’s attendance in the Gymnasium. We also attempt a historical interpretation of psychoanalysis, according to which Freud’s years in the classic Gymnasium – mainly his relationships with his masters – are associated with the Oedipus complex, ambivalence, and of course the educational philosophy of that time.

Στόχος της εργασίας αυτής είναι να συνοψίσει και να παρουσιάσει τα ευρήματα των πιο πρόσφατων μετα-αναλύσεων και ανασκοπήσεων για την αποτελεσματικότητα των προληπτικών και παρεμβατικών προγραμμάτων κατά του σχολικού εκφοβισμού. Γίνονται αναφορές στα ερευνητικά σχέδια με τα οποία έχει αξιολογηθεί η αποτελεσματικότητα των προγραμμάτων, καθώς και στους τρόπους αξιολόγησης του εκφοβισμού και της θυματοποίησης στα προγράμματα αυτά. Με δεδομένη την ελάχιστη έως μέτρια επιτυχία των περισσότερων παρεμβάσεων, διατυπώνονται ερμηνείες για την περιορισμένη αυτή αποτελεσματικότητα. Η ερευνητικά τεκμηριωμένη γνώση των αρχών, των συστατικών και των επιπέδων παρέμβασης που επιφέρουν τη μεγαλύτερη μείωση του σχολικού εκφοβισμού είναι απολύτως απαραίτητη για τη διαμόρφωση της αντι-εκφοβιστικής πολιτικής και στην Ελλάδα.

The aim of my participation in the Round Table entitled “Victimization and bullying in school (kindergarten, primary school, secondary school)” is to present a number of dysfunctional beliefs of educators about school bullying, which impede the implementation of preventive and interventive anti-bullying programs. Data are drawn from empirical research in various countries, and from recent Greek studies. Identifying and challenging these dysfunctional beliefs is a necessary first step before anti-bullying intervention, as it is well documented that the effectiveness of this intervention depends largely on the educator.

Σκοπός αυτής της έρευνας ήταν να εξετάσει το κλίμα της σχολικής τάξης όπως το αντιλαμβάνονται τα παιδιά που έχουν προβλήματα συμπεριφοράς. Η συμβολή της έρευνας είναι ότι συμπεριέλαβε μια μεγάλη ποικιλία διαστάσεων του κλίματος της σχολικής τάξης και μια μεγάλη ποικιλία προβλημάτων συμπεριφοράς. Σε 221 μαθητές Ε΄ και Στ΄ τάξης από σχολεία της Αθήνας δόθηκε το Ερωτηματολόγιο της Ζωής στη Σχολική Τάξη (Johnson & Johnson, 1983). Από αυτούς, 46 μαθητές παρουσίαζαν προβλήματα συμπεριφοράς, σύμφωνα με το Achenbach Ερωτηματολόγιο για Εκπαιδευτικούς (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) και συγκρίθηκαν, ως προς το αντιληπτό κλίμα της σχολικής τάξης, με 50 μαθητές ίδιας ηλικίας και φύλου χωρίς προβλήματα συμπεριφοράς. Τα ευρήματα έδειξαν ότι οι μαθητές με προβλήματα συμπεριφοράς είχαν χαμηλότερη σχολική αυτοεκτίμηση, την τάση να βιώνουν αποξένωση, να έχουν εξωγενές κίνητρο και να βιώνουν ανταγωνισμό περισσότερο από τους συμμαθητές τους χωρίς προβλήματα συμπεριφοράς. Για κάθε σύνδρομο προβλημάτων συμπεριφοράς προέκυψαν διαφορετικές συνδέσεις με τη σχολική προσαρμογή και το αντιληπτό κλίμα της σχολικής τάξης. Συζητούνται και οι εκπαιδευτικές υποδηλώσεις των ευρημάτων.

The purpose of this case study is the presentation of the adverse long-term consequences of school bullying. This case study concerns a 22-year-old female who sought out therapy in order to cope with her intense negative feelings of stress and depression. During the therapeutic process, it became clear that the patient's current problems were related to having been the victim of systematic bullying during her school years. Her self-image in the period she sought out help deteriorated, as shown in her negative cognitions regarding her abilities and capacities, which had been shaped under the influence of the bullying experience. According to a number of empirical investigations (Hawker & Boulton, 2000; Nansei, Craig, & Overpeck, 2004; Kochenderfer & Ladd, 1996; Kochenderfer & Wardrop, 2001; and in Greece: Galanaki & Vogiatzoglou, 2007; Galanaki, Amanaki, & Noikokiri, 2009), some of the consequences of school bullying - such as relationship problems, low self-esteem, limited social contacts, stress, depression, feelings of loneliness - are likely to be maintained for an extended period of time, especially when the individual has failed to form a network of social support (Newman, Holden, & Delville, 2004). Thus, adults who as pupils suffered from bullying experience more feelings of loneliness, depression, and inadequacy and they encounter difficulties in their interpersonal relations (Gilmartin, 1987; Hugh-Jones & Smith, 1999; Isaacs, Hodges, & Salmivalli, 2008; Newman et al., 2005; Olweus, 1994; Storch, Roth, Cales, Heimberg, Bravata, & Moser, 2004). In this case study, the ongoing presence and lasting influence of these negative consequences in adult life become obvious.

Lapsley’s (1993) “New Look” model for the interpretation of adolescent egocentrism, as an alternative to the classic cognitive one formulated by Elkind (1967), was tested in this study. According to the “New Look” model, the two manifestations of adolescent egocentrism – the imaginary audience and the personal fable – are adaptive coping mechanisms used by adolescents in their attempt to deal with the stressful developmental aim of separation-individuation. Two-hundred ninety seven adolescents 11-18 years’ old completed the Imaginary Audience Scale (Elkind & Bowen, 1979), the New Imaginary Audience Scale (Lapsley, Fitzgerald, Rice, & Jackson, 1989), the Personal Fable Scale (Elkind, personal communication, August 10, 1993), the New Personal Fable Scale (Lapsley et al., 1989), and the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (Levine, Green, & Millon, 1986; Levine & Saintonge, 1993). The “New Look” model was generally supported by the data. The various dimensions of separation were significantly associated with the imaginary audience, whereas the dimensions of individuation had stronger links with the personal fable. In addition, some associations were found between the imaginary audience and individuation, as well as between the personal fable and separation. Consistent age and gender differences in the variables studied were found. Results are discussed in the framework of the literature on adolescent egocentrism and on parent-adolescent relations.

Στόχος της εργασίας αυτής είναι να συνοψίσει και να παρουσιάσει τα ευρήματα των πιο πρόσφατων μετα-αναλύσεων και ανασκοπήσεων για την αποτελεσματικότητα των προληπτικών και παρεμβατικών προγραμμάτων κατά του σχολικού εκφοβισμού. Γίνονται αναφορές στα ερευνητικά σχέδια με τα οποία έχει αξιολογηθεί η αποτελεσματικότητα των προγραμμάτων, καθώς και στους τρόπους αξιολόγησης του εκφοβισμού και της θυματοποίησης στα προγράμματα αυτά. Με δεδομένη την ελάχιστη έως μέτρια επιτυχία των περισσότερων παρεμβάσεων, διατυπώνονται ερμηνείες για την περιορισμένη αυτή αποτελεσματικότητα. Η ερευνητικά τεκμηριωμένη γνώση των αρχών, των συστατικών και των επιπέδων παρέμβασης που επιφέρουν τη μεγαλύτερη μείωση του σχολικού εκφοβισμού είναι απολύτως απαραίτητη για τη διαμόρφωση της αντι-εκφοβιστικής πολιτικής και στην Ελλάδα.

The aim of this study was to examine coping with loneliness during early, middle, and late childhood, which is a highly neglected research issue. Children's perceptions of coping with loneliness and coping with real loneliness experiences in the past were investigated. Interviews were conducted with 180 second, fourth, and sixth graders from Athens, Greece. Qualitative analyses of children's responses were done on the basis of a recent conceptualization of coping with stress in childhood and adolescence (Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007), which was supported by the data. Statistically significant age and gender differences were found. Results are discussed from the viewpoint of the two literatures—coping and loneliness—that this study attempted to bring together, and suggestions for future research are made.

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of bullying/victimization during preadolescence and early adolescence in Greece, in relation to age and gender. Participants were 655 fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth graders from Athenian schools. They completed the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 2006). Data showed a high prevalence of bullying and victimization, with verbal bullying and social exclusion as the most frequent forms. Self-reported victimization decreased with age, with the exception of electronic victimization which increased, whereas self-reported verbal, sexual, and electronic bullying increased with age. Boys preferred verbal, physical, racial, sexual, and electronic bullying significantly more than girls. More boys felt bullied for racial reasons than girls, whereas girls felt more sexually victimized than boys. Results are discussed in the framework of the existing literature on bullying and victimization, and some implications for interventions are presented.

Bullying, as a prevalent phenomenon in Greek schools, is a stressful situ­ation, often with a traumatic character. The aim of this research was to examine the associations between bullying/victimization and loneliness in the peer group (social loneliness) and the dyadic friendship (emotional loneliness). Partic­ipants were 208 fifth-grade students from schools located in the center of Athens. They completed the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire-Revised Edi­tion (Olweus, 2006) and the Peer Network and Peer Dyadic Loneliness Scale (Hoza, Bukowski, & Beery, 2000), which showed adequate internal consis­tency. Linear regression analyses indicated that the tendency to be bullied was associated with loneliness in the peer group and in the dyadic friendship, whereas the tendency to bully was not associated with any dimension of lone­liness. Bullies/victims were the children experiencing the highest loneliness of all the other groups. Sexual victimization, social exclusion, and stealing/dam­aging belongings were significantly related to the various dimensions of lone­liness. More boys than girls were bullies/victims, but no gender difference was found for loneliness. Discussion focuses on the importance of knowing the personal, subjective experience of bullies and victims, as well as on the impli­cations of these findings for school-based interventions.

The purpose of the present study was to examine children’s loneliness and social dissatisfaction in relation to social support in school, that is, personal and academic support by teachers and classmates. Participants were 221 fifth- and sixth-grade students from primary schools in Athens, Greece. They completed the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale (Greek version; Galanaki & Kalantzi-Azizi, 1999) and the Social Support subscales of the Classroom Life Measure (Johnson, Johnson, Buckman, & Scott-Richards, 1985). Results showed high feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction in the school, both of which were significantly associated only with personal support from classmates. The associations were stronger for sixth-grade students and girls. Results are discussed in light of the importance of interpersonal relations for the emergence of loneliness during late childhood. Some suggestions for educational practice are also made.

The aim of this study was to examine differences in intrinsic motivation and perceived academic competence as well as in their association between 5th- and 6th-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) (n = 40) and their typically achieving peers. Participants were 980 Greek elementary students from the metropolitan area of Athens. As predicted, students with LD showed lower intrinsic motivation and perceived academic competence than students without LD almost across all subscales. Exceptions were noticed in intrinsic motivation concerning curiosity/interest and history subscales as well as perceptions of academic competence in the subjects of history and science. Support was found that among typically achieving students intrinsic motivation was positively and significantly related at a moderate level to perceived academic competence across all subscales, as opposed to students with LD, for whom few correlations were found.

Στη θεωρητική αυτή εργασία εξετάζεται η ηλικιακή περίοδος από το 18ο μέχρι το 25ο έτος περίπου υπό το πρίσμα μιας καινούριας θεώρησης που χαρακτηρίζει την περίοδο αυτή ως «αναδυόμενη ενηλικίωση» (Arnett, 2004) και με βάση σχετικές έρευνες κυρίως από τις Η.Π.Α. και τη Δ. και Β. Ευρώπη, οι οποίες ανασκοπούνται. Αρχικά, επιχειρούνται αποσαφηνίσεις της έννοιας αυτής και η διάκρισή της από άλλους όρους που έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί για να αποδώσουν την ίδια περίοδο. Στη συνέχεια, περιγράφονται τα γενικά χαρακτηριστικά της αναδυόμενης ενηλικίωσης και εντοπίζονται κοινωνικο-πολιτισμικές παράμετροι με τις οποίες συνδέεται η ύπαρξη και η αναγνώρισή της. Παρουσιάζονται αναλυτικά οι αντιλήψεις των νεαρών ατόμων για την ηλικία αυτή, καθώς και τα αναπτυξιακά χαρακτηριστικά τους και, τέλος, συνδέεται η αναδυόμενη ενηλικίωση με τη φοίτηση στην τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση.

In this essay, we describe, compare and comment on various psychoanalytic approaches to loneliness. Loneliness has long been neglected by psychologists and psychiatrists, and there are very few studies on the psychoanalytic interpretation of this universal human condition. After some conceptual clarifications, the developmental origins of loneliness are discussed (on the basis of Mahler’s and Stern’s theories). Subsequently, the relation of loneliness to anxiety and narcissism is analyzed, drawing from the Freudian framework, as well as the theories of Klein, Bion, Bowlby, Zilboorg, Kohut, Kernberg, and Balint. Other facets of the pathology of loneliness are discussed, such as the loneliness of the depressed and the borderline individual (Freud, Fairbairn, Guntrip, Kernberg). Finding solace in alternative worlds (e.g., phantasies, illusions, manic defenses, obsessive acts) is a way of dealing with painful loneliness, described in this essay. The capacity to play and to live in the location of cultural experience, according to Winnicott, are evaluated as fundamental ways of making creative use of aloneness. Solitude or beneficial aloneness – a human state highly neglected by psychology (theory and research) – is psychoanalytically approached in the theories of Freud, Winnicott, Storr, and Quinodoz. Moreover, the notion of the private self (Winnicott, Bollas, Stern, Modell, Ogden) is also developed in relation to solitude. In conlusion, the role that loneliness has played in the lives of several psychoanalysts is stressed, and an attempt to delineate the many faces of loneliness is made.

This theoretical paper presents and discusses recent research findings on victimization in childhood as assessed by children themselves and by peers. The two sources of information are found to yield four categories of victims: true victims, self-identified victims (or "paranoids", or "sensitives"), peer-identified victims (or "deniers", or "defensives"), and non victims. Discussion focuses on the different characteristics of these categories of victims, on age and gender differences, as well as on the implications of the existing research data for prevention and intervention.

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between loneliness/social dissatisfaction and teacher-identified behavioural risk during late childhood. A broad range of behaviour problems, as well as academic adjustment, are assessed, in order to specify in which types of behaviour and academic problems loneliness/social dissatisfaction is most likely to occur. Forty-six fifth and sixth graders who were in the borderline or clinical spectrum on the basis of their total Teacher's Report Form score completed the Children's Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale, and were compared with 50 students who did not have behaviour problems. Overall, the behaviourally at-risk group experienced more loneliness/social dissatisfaction than the comparison group. Loneliness was a more strong correlate of the variables studied than social dissatisfaction. For the behaviourally at-risk students, the strongest positive associations were found between loneliness and social problems, withdrawn/depressed behaviour and inattention; a trend for a negative association between loneliness and hyperactivity/impulsivity, as well as rule-breaking behaviour was also found. Children having both internalizing and externalizing problems experienced more loneliness than children with either internalizing or externalizing problems. Academic adjustment (i.e. academic performance, how much a student is learning and how happy he/she is) had negative links with loneliness. Several hypothetical explanations are offered and suggestions for research and action are made.

The aim of this study was to examine if Hymel, Tarulli, Hayden Thomson, and Terrell-Deutsch's (1999) three-dimension model of children's loneliness perceptions could be applied in Greece, and to examine age and gender differences in these perceptions. In addition, a more detailed examination of the emotional dimension in the perceptions of loneliness was attempted, based on Parkhurst and Hopmeyer's (1999) hypotheses for the emotions associated with loneliness. One-hundred and eighty 2nd-, 4th-, and 6th-grade children from Athens were interviewed about their understanding and experience of loneliness. Responses fit Hymel et al.'s (1999) model for the perceptions of loneliness, with some additions. Children perceived loneliness as a painful experience with emotional, cognitive, and contextual dimensions. Statistically significant age and gender differences were found in these dimensions, as well as in the loneliness-related emotions. The implications of these findings for the existing theoretical views on loneliness are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

This theoretical study presents an overview of the links between bullying / victimization and loneliness during childhood. Bullying and victimization are conceptually clarified and research evidence is briefly reviewed about bullying and victimization as risk factors for children's mental health. Next, this study focuses on the links between bullying / victimization and loneli­ness mainly in the school context. Complex paths leading from bullying / vic­timization to loneliness and vice versa, and developmental trajectories of this association emerged from the existing concurrent and longitudinal data. Finally, some research implications for prevention and intervention efforts aiming at reducing bullying in school are discussed.

The aim of this research study was to examine the associations between teacher and student academic and personal support, cooperation, and academic self-esteem during late childhood. Participants were 221 fifth- and sixth-grade children from Athens. They completed six subscales of the Classroom Life Measure (Johnson, Johnson, Buckman, & Richards, 1985). Results showed the expected positive links among all the above variables. Correlations varied as a function of the source and type of support. When low/high cooperation and low/high academic self-esteem groups were distinguished, the associations proved to be robust. Age differences were not found, but correlations were significantly higher for girls than for boys. Results are discussed in the framework of the existing literature on the links among these facets of classroom life, and some suggestions for educational practice are made.

In this study an attempt was made to provide conceptual, methodological, and developmental clarifications of social withdrawal in childhood. The existing research data on the various types of social withdrawal are reviewed, and several types of social withdrawal are defined. Related concepts, such as behavioral inhibition, shyness, and reticence, as well as the types of solitude (i.e., aloneness, loneliness, and constructive aloneness) are also defined. Social withdrawal is differentiated from sociometric neglect and sociometric rejection. Motivational issues (i.e., approach-avoidance) are discussed in order to achieve further definitional clarity. From a methodological viewpoint, the most frequently used techniques (observation and questionnaires for educators and peers) for the assessment of the various types of social withdrawal are reviewed, and some of their limitations are noted. Lastly, developmental clarifications are provided through a review of the extant research on the stability of different types of social withdrawal over time, their developmental trajectories, their correlates and consequences (e.g., their association with internalizing problems), possible mediator variables, and the role of gender and culture. Conclusions are drawn for the current status and for the future of research on social withdrawal in childhood.

The aim of this study was to investigate children‘s perceptions (i.e. expectations) of the interventions that teachers should implement to deal with their loneliness. The role of significant others in children‘s attempts to cope with loneliness and the children‘s perceptions of that role have been neglected by researchers. A random sample of 180 second, fourth and sixth graders from Athens, the capital of Greece, were individually interviewed. Qualitative analysis using the ‘concept-indicator model‘ (Strauss, 1987) showed that school-age children have an adequate understanding of the loneliness alleviation strategies that teachers can and should use. The strategies may be distinguished into the two already known broad categories of coping, that is problem-focused or active coping strategies (i.e. manifestation of interest and care, intervention in the peer group, encouragement to approach peers and make friends, consultation for personal improvement, informing parents), and emotion-focused or avoidance coping strategies (i.e., emotion regulation, encouragement to engage in activities and inability to cope). Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the role of the teacher in alleviating loneliness, for school-based interventions with this purpose, as well as for their contribution in the existing knowledge about coping with loneliness strategies.

The article examines the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the Greek version of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001), as well as the quality of this relationship in preadolescents. A large body of relevant research has examined the relationship between students and teachers during the preschool and early childhood years. ln this study, 28 teachers completed the STRS and the adaptive functioning subscale of the Teacher's Report Form for their 502 students (fifth and sixth graders). The results showed that STRS exhibited adequate internal consistency and low standard error of measurement. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the three factors of the scale -conflict, closeness, and dependency- in the Greek sample of preadolescents. However, the student-teacher relationship presented a somewhat different picture compared to the U.S.A. samples of young students. For example, closeness and dependency were somewhat likely to co-exist in teachers' representations of relationships. Dependency shared little variance with the total relationship score and age and gender differences were observed. The expected findings emerged for the links with adaptive functioning. For example, conflict was the strongest (negative) correlate of adaptive functioning. The developmental implications of these data for the student-teacher relationship during preadolescence are discussed.

The aim of this study was to examine whether the only existing, to date. model for the explanation of children's understanding and experience of loneliness - a model proposed by Hymel, Tarulli, Hayden Thomson, and Terrell-Deutsch (1999), and documented in Greece by Besevegis and Galanaki (2003) and Galanaki (2004a. 2004b) - is supported through the use of the retrospective method and, more specifically, through memories of childhood loneliness. The participants were 203 students from the University of Athens (Greece), who were asked to write down a memory of childhood loneliness (6-12 years). Results showed that the above model fits, with some differentiations, the loneliness memories. The individual differences In the experience of childhood loneliness, the stability of loneliness across time and situations, the relevant attributions, and the issue of beneficial aloneness are also discussed.

The aim of this study was to collect, present, and discuss Anna Freud's references to the phenomenon of aloneness and loneliness among children-victims of World War II. Those references are included in Anna Freud's observations of parentless children, children who had lived in concentration camps, children who were separated from their parents due to the evacuation of London, etc. All these children were living in the residences founded by Anna Freud and her collaborators in London (Freud & Burlingham, 1944, 1973; Freud & Dann, 1951). Unfortunately, Anna Freud did not utilize those observations for the interpretation of severe early trauma and for the formulation of her developmental theory. Among Anna Freud's observations, various themes on traumatized children's experience of aloneness and loneliness are identified and discussed, the following: type of attachments; separation anxiety in the relationships with parents, siblings, and peers; fear of loneliness; nature of loneliness; inability to be alone; inability to use aloneness constructively; disturbed and non disturbed ways of mastering the fear of loneliness (e.g., attachment, playing, fantasies, defense mechanisms). The discussion points out that aloneness and loneliness among children with such severe early traumas (war, death of parents, separation from parents, hospitalization) constitute extremely painful and deviant experiences, warranting psychotherapeutic intervention. Anna Freud's observations are discussed in the framework of the classic psychoanalytic approaches, as well as some recent empirical investigations on children's experience of aloneness and loneliness.

Στην εργασία αυτή παρουσιάζουμε, σε θεματικές, σημαντικές απόψεις του Piaget για την εκπαίδευση και την παιδαγωγική, ένα θέμα στο οποίο δεν έχει δοθεί η απαιτούμενη προσοχή. Αναφέρονται και σχολιάζονται οι απόψεις του για τη σχέση μάθησης-ανάπτυξης, παιδαγωγικής-ψυχολογίας, για την αναγκαιότητα της γνώσης από τον εκπαιδευτικό της ψυχολογίας του παιδιού, για το περιεχόμενο της μάθησης και τα είδη της γνώσης, για τις διαδικασίες προαγωγής της μάθησης, για την ομαδική-συνεργατική μάθηση, για το παιχνίδι, για τη σχέση της γνωστικής με την ηθική εκπαίδευση, για την αυτοδιακυβέρνηση και την αλληλεγγύη, καθώς και για τη διεθνή παιδεία ως παιδεία της ελευθερίας και της ειρήνης. Επισημαίνεται η διαχρονική και ιδιαίτερα επίκαιρη αξία των ιδεών αυτών του Piaget.

Στην εργασία αυτή ανασκοπούνται κριτικά τα ευρήματα της διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας για την πρόληψη και αντιμετώπιση της μοναξιάς του παιδιού και του εφήβου, ιδίως στο σχολικό πλαίσιο. Μέχρι σήμερα, δεν υπάρχει μια τέτοια ανασκόπηση, ο αριθμός των σχετικών ερευνών είναι μικρός και δεν έχει ελεγχθεί εμπειρικά η αποτελεσματικότητα των αντίστοιχων σχολικών παρεμβάσεων. Ειδικότερα, αποσαφηνίζονται εννοιολογικά οι επιμέρους μορφές μοναξιάς και ανασκοπούνται ευρήματα για τη σχέση του εκπαιδευτικού με τη μοναξιά των μαθητών του και τις αντίστοιχες σχολικές παρεμβάσεις. Εντοπίζονται κενά και προτείνονται οδοί περαιτέρω ερευνητικής ενασχόλησης με το θέμα.

The aim of this study is (a) to identify among the texts included in reading textbooks and anthologies in the Greek primary school those that, explicitly or implicitly, refer to loneliness; and (b) to approach their content and to attempt to analyze it from the viewpoint mainly of developmental psychology. The contribution of this study lies in the following aspects: (a) children's loneliness is a rather neglected issue of theoretical and empirical study in psychology; (b) loneliness is a universal human experience, with very important negative dimensions (it is associated with deviant development and poor mental health), as well as positive ones (it is associated with identity formation and creative activity); (c) literature texts provide a means for a profound understanding of loneliness; and (d) educators and psychologists should be aware of the facets of loneliness which are taught to children in order to be able to organize and implement the appropriate prevention and/or intervention strategies. Aspects and dimensions of loneliness are identified and discussed in terms of the existing theoretical approaches and the recent empirical findings within the field mainly of developmental psychology.

In this paper, we identify and examine a notion of Daniel Stern's theory (1985, 1994, 1995) that was formulated only recently, in 1995, and has not received adequate attention by psychologists and psychiatrists. namely the "schema-of-being-with-the­-self". We regard it as a very important notion from both a developmental and a clinical point of view. We describe the main features of this kind of schema and comment upon its relation to several long-standing and recent theoretical formulations and research findings from psychoanalysis, infant psychology, and from the study of aloneness and loneliness.

School-age children’s ability to distinguish among the concepts of aloneness, loneliness, and solitude was the focus of this study. This ability has been largely neglected by researchers. Also, the relation of this ability with self-reported loneliness was examined. Individual interviews were conducted with 180 second, fourth, and sixth graders from Athens, Greece. Their responses were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. Results showed that school-age children were able to perceive the differences between aloneness and loneliness, although they frequently associated being alone with feeling lonely. Nearly half of them perceived the motivational dimension, which distinguishes voluntary from involuntary aloneness. The ability to recognise the existence of beneficial aloneness, that is, solitude, was extremely limited among second graders, but increased dramatically up to the beginning of adolescence. About two thirds of the total sample acknowledged the human desire to be alone. Girls were significantly more able than boys to perceive the differences between aloneness and loneliness, the motivational dimension, and the desire to be alone. More than two-thirds of the total sample had experienced loneliness, but this experience appeared to be unrelated to their understanding of the various aloneness concepts. Age and gender differences, as well as children’s various justifications of their responses, are discussed in the framework of the existing theoretical and research literature on children’s aloneness, loneliness, and solitude.

The aim of this study was to investigate children‘s perceptions (i.e. expectations) of the interventions that teachers should implement to deal with their loneliness. The role of significant others in children‘s attempts to cope with loneliness and the children‘s perceptions of that role have been neglected by researchers. A random sample of 180 second, fourth and sixth graders from Athens, the capital of Greece, were individually interviewed. Qualitative analysis using the ‘concept-indicator model‘ (Strauss, 1987) showed that school-age children have an adequate understanding of the loneliness alleviation strategies that teachers can and should use. The strategies may be distinguished into the two already known broad categories of coping, that is problem-focused or active coping strategies (i.e. manifestation of interest and care, intervention in the peer group, encouragement to approach peers and make friends, consultation for personal improvement, informing parents), and emotion-focused or avoidance coping strategies (i.e., emotion regulation, encouragement to engage in activities and inability to cope). Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the role of the teacher in alleviating loneliness, for school-based interventions with this purpose, as well as for their contribution in the existing knowledge about coping with loneliness strategies.

This study discusses and evaluates the views of Donald W. Winnicott (1896-1971), a distinguished British pediatrician and psychoanalyst, which explicitly or implicitly are related to loneliness and solitude. Α theoretical approach to the developmental origins of loneliness is as yet to be formulated in the field of developmental psychology. Notions such as the capacity to be alone, the good-enough mother, holding and mirroring, true and false self, childhood psychotic isolation, illusion and disillusionment, transitional object and transitional phenomenon, potential space, playing and creative activity, the non-communicating core self, the “journey” from absolute dependence towards independence, etc., are discussed in the light of their implications for the understanding of loneliness and solitude experiences. The exploration and interpretation of these notions show their usefulness in the construction of a developmental model of loneliness and solitude as well as their fruitfulness for further empirical research on this topic.

The aim of this study was to investigate school-age children's perceptions and experience of family-related loneliness, and of coping with it. The literature review showed that these dimensions have not been empirically investigated. This study is part of a larger research program that examined children's perceptions of loneliness and its causes, as well as coping with loneliness strategies. Individual interviews were conducted (the interview was constructed on the basis of two pilot studies) and the projective technique of oral story was used with 180 second, fourth and sixth graders. Also, 758 fifth and sixth graders were asked to write a story about loneliness. The samples were randomly chosen from schools in Athens and Piraeus. Children's responses indicating their personal, subjective views of family-related loneliness are discussed within mainly the psychoanalytic developmental framework, and their importance for the construction of a developmental model of loneliness experience in childhood is noted.

The aim of the present study was to investigate a) which kinds of the infant's behaviour kindergarten teachers identify most often as problem behaviour, and b) which kinds of interventions teachers implement to deal with the problem behaviours. Although there is a large body of research on this issue concerning elementary and high-school teachers, this is not the case for kindergarten teachers. The sample consisted of 131 kindergarten teachers from a post-training program at the University of Athens. They were asked to describe in written form a recent problem behaviour of an infant in their school and the interventions they tried. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the written descriptions revealed the most common problem behaviours of the infants from the teacher’s viewpoint, and the corresponding interventions. The way kindergarten teachers describe the infant’s problem behaviour, the way they organize their interventions, the quality of the interventions, the teachers’ attitudes toward the effectiveness of their interventions, as well as their overall attitudes toward the problem behaviour are discussed and interpreted in light of their implications for teacher education and counseling programs.

This article is based on the assumption that psychotherapy should operate as an open system in order to improve its effectiveness. This assumption originates from cybernetics and systems theory. The degree to which the "openings" in psychotherapy enhance its effectiveness must be put under systematic empirical investigation. The aim of this article is to discuss several examples of "openings" that reflect the systemic perspective of the cognitive-behavioral methods, as well as the postmodern approach to psychotherapy, in which the cognitive and the systemic aspects are interwoven. These "openings" are evident in the cognitive­ behavioral family therapy (three models are presented), as well as in the management of problematic situations in the school and in the community (consultation). Moreover, we elaborate on the systemic "openings" with regard to some central concepts of both the systemic and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, such as symptom, reinforcement, reframing, circular causality, and resistance.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the two main manifestations of adolescent egocentrism, that is, the imaginary audience and the personal fable, in relation to the frequency of risk behavior and risk perception. The contribution of this study is the empirical test of Elkind's Piagetian formulation (1967, 1978) about the relation between these factors, for the first time in a broad age range, with most of the existing egocentrism instruments, and for a variety of risk behaviors. ln a sample of 297 Greek adolescents 11-18 years old it was found that only certain dimensions of the personal fable had a positive correlation with the frequency of risk behavior and a negative correlation with risk perception. Contrary to our prediction, the imaginary audience in the form of heightened self-consciousness had a negative correlation with the frequency of risk behavior. Age and gender differences were also found. The limitations set by the somewhat low reliability of some egocentrism instruments are discussed, as well as a broader multivariate interpretation of adolescent risk-taking behavior, part of which is egocentrism. Finally, the implications of the results for health education programs are presented.

In this article we describe aspects of systems theory which are useful for the educator, the school psychologist, and the career counselor when coping with problem situations in school. Namely, we present the main systemic principles, such as circular causality, nonadditivity, equifinality, multifinality, morph stasis, morphogenesis, and the concept of rules. Next, we discuss in systemic terms the school-family contact when children's problem behavior occurs. Finally, we describe and question common dysfunctional views which deter us from adopting the systemic perspective and bring to an impasse our efforts to deal with problem situations in school.

Στα πλαίσια αυτής της παρουσίασης, θα επιχειρηθεί, αρχικά, να δοθεί ένας ορισμός του όρου "κοινωνικές αναστολές" και θα διευκρινιστεί το πότε η κατάσταση αυτή συνιστά πρόβλημα το οποίο χρειάζεται ειδική αντιμετώπιση. Στη συνέχεια, θα περιγραφούν οι πηγές των κοινωνικών αναστολών και τα συγκεκριμένα χαρακτηριστικά της συμπεριφοράς του παιδιού με κοινωνικές αναστολές. Ακολούθως, θα δοθούν πρακτικές κατευθύνσεις για τον τρόπο με τον οποίο οι γονείς και οι εκπαιδευτικοί μπορούν να μειώνουν τις κοινωνικές αναστολές των παιδιών. Τέλος, θα παρουσιαστεί συνοπτικά ένα σχετικό πιλοτικό πρόγραμμα παρέμβασης στον χώρο του σχολείου.

We examined the relation of children's loneliness and social dissatisfaction in school to self-efficacy for peer interaction in the same context. Two hundred thirty-eight fourth- and sixth-grade Greek children completed Asher, Hymel, and Renshaw's (1984) Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire-Greek version, and Wheeler and Ladd's (1982) Children's Self-Efficacy for Peer Interaction Scale-Greek version. The instruments showed adequate reliability and validity. Results indicated a modest but significant negative correlation between the variables studied. The correlation was stronger for social dissatisfaction than for loneliness; also, loneliness and social dissatisfaction were higher for the nonconflict than for the conflict peer interactions, and this finding was consistent across grade and sex. Sixth graders had marginally significantly higher loneliness scores than fourth graders, and girls had marginally significantly higher loneliness scores than boys. School achievement was negatively related to social dissatisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of the existing literature on children's loneliness and self-efficacy.

The aim of this article is to describe the concept, the source, the characteristics and the main manifestations of a rather neglected issue in child development, namely egocentrism in school-age children, according to David Ekind's theory. Egocentrism takes on a unique form in each stage of cognitive development and constitutes a negative but necessary by-product of each stage. First, we describe briefly the concept, the source and the decline of egocentrism in general as well as those of the sensorimotor and the preoperational egocentrism. Then, the association between egocentrism in school-age children and concrete operational abilities is discussed. The "assumptive realities", that is, the inability to distinguish between the products of thought and the perceptual data, is analyzed as the main characteristic of concrete operational egocentrism. This form of egocentrism manifests itself as a differentiation failure between the transient and the abiding rules, between the subjective and the objective rules, and between the particular and the universal rules. With the emergence of formal operational abilities, children become able to decentrate their thought by testing hypotheses against reality and discovering their arbitrary nature. Finally, several educational implications, that is, ways through which the educator can reduce his/her students' egocentrism and facilitate their transition to higher levels of cognitive functioning, are suggested.

In this article, we offer a brief description of the current theories of adolescent egocentrism, namely Piaget's, Elkind's and Lapsley's theories. Aspects from Blos', Mahler's and Josselson's psychodynamic views, as well as from Selman's theory of interpersonal understanding are integrated into Lapsley's theory. For each theory, the content, the source, the main forms and the developmental features of egocentrism are discussed. In conclusion, we attempt to evaluate the explanatory power of these theories and we suggest a model of adolescent egocentrism which includes physical, cognitive, social and emotional factors.

In this article, we present ways of applying a well-known systemic technique, reframing and paradox, in the management of problematic situations in the school. The rationale, the utility, and the advantages of this technique are described. We discuss notions such as the many different interpretations of the same behavior, the vicious cycle of the interactions and the circular causality, the cooperative perspective, the therapeutic double bind, the self-fulfilling prophecy, the reframing of relapses, etc. We also present two case studies that illustrate the use of the reframing technique in the school context.

Στο άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζονται οι κυριότερες μέχρι σήμερα θεωρητικές απόψεις, καθώς και τα ερευ­νητικά ευρήματα για το συναίσθημα της μοναξιάς του παιδιού σχολικής ηλικίας. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, περιγράφονται τα ευρήματα για τον τρόπο με τον οποίο το παιδί αντιλαμβάνεται, βιώνει και αντιμετω­πίζει το συναίσθημα αυτό και συζητούνται οι προσπάθειες για την ψυχομετρική αξιολόγηση του φαινο­μένου. Στη συνέχεια, ανασκοπούνται τα ευρήματα για τη σχέση της μοναξιάς με διάφορες κρίσιμες παραμέτρους, όπως: η ηλικία, το φύλο, η θέση του παιδιού στην ομάδα των συνομηλίκων του, οι φιλίες, η αντίληψη του παιδιού για τις κοινωνικές του δεξιότητες, τα χαρακτηριστικά της συμπεριφοράς του, η απόδοση αιτίων για τις κοινωνικές επιτυχίες και αποτυχίες και η κατάθλιψη. Τέλος, διατυπώνονται συμπεράσματα για το επίπεδο στο οποίο βρίσκεται η κατανόηση της μοναξιάς των παιδιών και για πι­θανά κενά στη σχετική θεωρητική και ερευνητική ενασχόληση.

The present study was part of a broader research prograrn of the first author concerning loneliness and coping behaviour in childhood. We attempted to explore children's definitions of loneliness as well as the kind and frequency of coping strategies children employ in order to deal with loneliness. 238 4th- and 6th-grade pupils answered the questions: 'What is loneliness?' and 'When you feel lonely, what do you do in order to stop feeling that way?'. Children defined loneliness as the sad feeling caused by the absence of friends and by peer rejection. Children used various coping strategies, including seeking the companionship of important others (e.g., parents, siblings, grandparents, peers, pets); solitary play; indoor and outdoor activities (e.g., television, video games, sports); cognitive strategies (e.g., attempt to forget this feeling, attempt to improve oneself in order to find friends and not being rejected by peers); and passive ways of coping (e.g., doing nothing, crying, going to sleep). The two most frequent strategies were seeking companionship in peers and watching television. Results are discussed in terms of age and gender differences and of their relevance to coping taxonomies known from relevant literature.

The aim of the present study was to assess the two main forms of adolescent egocentrism, the imaginary audience and the personal fable phenomenon, in Greek adolescents. Piaget defined adolescent egocentrism as a differentiation failure, a negative by-product of the newly acquired formal operational abilities. Elkind stated that adolescents often believe that they are the focus of attention and act as if they are performing in front of an audience (imaginary audience). They also feel special/unique, omnipotent and invulnerable (personal fable). The Greek adaptations of Lapsley's New Imaginary Audience Scale and New Personal Fable Scale were administered to 783 14-18-year-old adolescents from Athens and semi-rural areas of Greece. The New Imaginary Audience Scale was a highly reliable measure, whereas the New Personal Fable Scale had a lower, though adequate, reliability. Factor analyses showed that the imaginary audience consisted of several factors, the most important of which were, among the 14-16-year-old adolescents, leadership abilities, physical strength, material possessions and, among the 16-18 year-old adolescents, physical appearance, relationships with the opposite sex, and leadership abilities. The distinction among the three dimensions of the personal fable was confirmed in general. Both the imaginary audience and the personal fable decreased significantly with age. Boys had significantly higher personal fable scores than girls. Adolescents from semi-rural areas had significantly higher imaginary audience and personal fable scores than those living in Athens. The necessity to assess adolescent egocentrism, a developmental phenomenon that explains various adolescent behaviours, within a multidimensional framework is discussed.