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• Sources of High Shool Students’ Anxiety

  51-64

  Judit Sáfrány

  Ferenc Mező

  Views:

  313

  Anxiety Related To the school environment adversely affects secondary school students in multiple respects. Sources of students’ anxiety may include social or peer situations, academic activities, various emotionally based experiences, life outside school, interactions with teachers, the broader educational context, and the experience of aggression. The aim of this study was to explore whether students’ gender and grade level have an impact on trait anxiety, on the perception of anxiety sources, and on the anxiety management strategies they are familiar with or apply. The research sample comprised 638 secondary school students aged between 14 and 20 years. The methods applied included the STAI-Trait subscale (Trait Anxiety Inventory), a questionnaire assessing students’ known and used anxiety management strategies, and the Sources of Students’ Anxiety (SZF-T) Questionnaire (available from the Author). According to the findings, gender had a significant influence on students’ sources of anxiety, trait anxiety levels, and their knowledge and use of anxiety management strategies. Grade level, however, showed no relationship with trait anxiety or with the number of strategies known or used, and only a limited association with anxiety sources. Based on participants’ responses, the most frequent and intense sources of anxiety were lack of free time, poor grades, and academic assessments (tests, oral recitations, exams). The investigation of anxiety and the identification of students’ anxiety sources constitute a relevant area of research in relation to the school adjustment and broader life success of the younger generation. Future research should be extended to include students from other types of educational institutions as well.

• Reality or Illusion? A Scientific Focused Examination of Pathological Expectation Avoidance, or PDA, Based on Domestic Literature

  187-194

  Gergő Vida

  Ádám Dabrowsky

  Views:

  1282

  Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a behavioural pattern that, based on available descriptions, can manifest itself in extreme, anxiety-ridden resistance to expectations and oppositional behaviour. In terms of its described "symptoms," it may overlap with many areas of autism spectrum disorder, which is why it became the focus of our study, as PDA is not part of the official diagnostic systems (DSM-5, ICD-11) and is therefore often confused with other disorders, primarily autism, oppositional defiant disorder, or ADHD, and its indiscriminate use can be particularly misleading. This kind of confusion or potential misinterpretation not only causes diagnostic problems but can also hinder the development of appropriate educational and therapeutic interventions for those affected. Based on the principles of inclusive education, every student has the right to support tailored to their individual needs. However, PDA currently falls outside the categories of special education and psychological care, so children are believed to be affected, and their families are often marginalised or may not receive adequate diagnosis-based intervention until later. This study argues that a scientific approach to PDA, its recognition and interpretation, is not only an ethical issue but can also be understood from the perspective of fairness, pedagogical flexibility, and social inclusion. Based on our findings, it can be argued that the "diagnosis" of PDA should be the subject of scientific research. The aim of this study is to analyse the findings of available sources to determine what we can understand by PDA and how it can be considered as a separate behavioural profile type.