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Non-Suicidal Self-Injury across the Levels of Personality Functioning among Mental Health Help-Seeking Adolescents
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent among adolescents receiving mental health services; it has been increasingly linked to impairments in personality development. However, less is known about how NSSI relates to the dimensional construct of the level of personality functioning (LPF). This study examined associations between LPF and NSSI characteristics in a clinical adolescent sample. The participants were 104 adolescents receiving mental health services in Lithuania (M age = 15.03 years, SD = 1.47). LPF was assessed by using the clinician-rated Semi-Structured Interview for Personality Functioning DSM-5 (STiP-5.1), and NSSI was assessed by using a researcher-developed questionnaire. Overall, 71.2% of adolescents reported a history of NSSI. NSSI prevalence increased progressively with greater impairments in personality functioning, from 20.0% among adolescents with normative functioning to 95.8% among those with severe impairment. Self-functioning impairments demonstrated stronger associations with NSSI than interpersonal functioning impairments. Although the age of onset and lifetime frequency of NSSI did not significantly differ across LPF, higher levels of personality dysfunction were associated with more recent NSSI and a greater likelihood of self-injury requiring medical attention. Emotion regulation was the most frequently endorsed function of NSSI, whereas adolescents with greater personality dysfunction more often reported interpersonal motives. The findings underscore the importance of assessing personality functioning in adolescents who self-injure to facilitate early identification and timely intervention for youth at risk for persistent and clinically severe NSSI.
Copyright (c) 2026 Agnė Grigaitė | Emilija Grikšelytė | Elena Gaudiešiūtė | Rasa Barkauskienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
“Why N=1?”: An Overview of the Clinical Case Study Method and Guidelines for Psychotherapists
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">This article examines the method of clinical case study in psychotherapy, with the aim of evaluating its place within the contemporary psychological and psychotherapeutic scientific discourse and defining its methodological and epistemological potential. Drawing on the longstanding critique of single-case (N=1) research, most commonly based on arguments of limited generalisability, the article proposes that such evaluations fail to adequately reflect the methodological specificity and epistemic value of clinical case studies. The first part of the article presents the development of the case study method, from early anthropological research to the psychoanalytic tradition, in which, the case study became established as a central form of theory construction and clinical thinking. Contemporary developments in case study research are also discussed, highlighting the importance of clinical case studies due to their capacity to maintain a close connection with everyday therapeutic practice. In the second part of the article, drawing on a clinical example, the article demonstrates how single-case analysis enables a systematic and multi-layered examination of the patient’s experience, the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship, diagnostic reasoning, and the functioning of theoretical assumptions within a specific clinical context. The article presents recommendations for writing clinical case studies, addressing key structural, methodological, and ethical aspects. The clinical case study method is thus understood not as an alternative or secondary approach, but as an essential form of knowledge in psychotherapy, enabling the investigation of complex psychological phenomena within their unique context.
Copyright (c) 2026 Greta Kaluževičiūtė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Gairės autoriams, teikiantiems paraiškas į žurnalą „Psichologija“
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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Short Version of the Personality Functioning Levels Questionnaire 12–18 (LoPF-Q 12–18 Short) in Lithuanian: Psychometric Properties in a Sample of Adolescents
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">The new concept of personality disorder presents a dimensional model in which the construct of personality functioning level becomes the most important feature of personality pathology. Since personality functioning impairments can already be observed in adolescence, it becomes particularly important to assess them by using reliable and valid instruments. This article examines the factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity, and clinical utility of the short version of the <em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">LoPF-Q 12–18<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> questionnaire (LoPF-Q 12-18 Short) in Lithuanian. The study sample consisted of 456 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years from the general population (N = 370; M = 14.58; SD = 1.56; 64.86% girls) and clinical (adolescents receiving mental health services; N = 86; M = 15.05; SD = 1.36; 81.40% girls). The results reveal that the factor structure of the <em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">LoPF-Q 12–18 Short<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> questionnaire is best explained by a bifactorial model consisting of a general factor of the <em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Level Personality Functioning<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> (LPF) factor and four specific factors (Identity, Self-determination, Empathy, and Closeness) reflecting the structural elements of LPF. Although the LoPF-Q 12–18 Short questionnaire allows for the detection of a multifaceted structure of the personality functioning level construct, the questionnaire is most reliable for assessing the general level of personality functioning. In addition, the study confirmed the convergent validity, partial discriminant validity, and preliminary clinical utility indicators of the Lithuanian version of the LoPF-Q 12–18 Short.
Copyright (c) 2026 Bernardas Liukaitis | Aurėja Žilionytė | Kirstin Goth | Rasa Barkauskienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
“I Know What You Think About Math, Now Tell Me What You Feel”: The Mediating Role of Emotions in the Relation Between Motivational Beliefs and Students’ Achievement
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">To better understand the motivational mechanisms underlying students’ academic success, this study examined the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between academic motivation and mathematics achievement, while controlling for prior achievement. Academic motivation was conceptualized within <em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Expectancy–Value Theory<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> and operationalized through motivational beliefs in mathematics, including expectancies for success, three value dimensions (interest, utility, and attainment value), and four cost dimensions (effort, opportunity, emotional, and ego cost). As value reflects positively and cost reflects negatively valenced appraisals of learning situations, we focused on the mediating role of positive and negative classroom-related emotions. The study used data from the longitudinal research project <em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“Towards Effective Learning: Analysis of the Psychological Mechanisms of Obstacles to Learning Mathematics”<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">. The sample comprised 1,430 ninth-grade students (M<span class="CharOverride-3" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">age<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> = 15.26) from across Lithuania, who completed questionnaires assessing motivational beliefs and classroom-related emotions, while mathematics achievement was obtained from school records. SEM-based mediation analysis revealed that positive emotions consistently served as mediators in the relationships between value and cost dimensions and mathematics achievement, whereas negative emotions played a more limited mediating role, as mediation through negative emotions was observed only for utility value and ego cost. Notably, ego cost exhibited a pattern distinctive from other costs: a higher ego cost was associated with stronger positive emotions, which in turn predicted higher mathematics achievement, while also being associated with stronger negative emotions, which predicted lower achievement. These findings highlight the importance of considering emotions as mediators in the relationships between motivational beliefs and achievement within the Expectancy–Value framework.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dovilė Butkienė | Laura Čepaitė | Lauryna Rakickienė | Gintautas Šilinskas | Saulė Raižienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Changes in Perceived Safety, Safety as a Value, and News Consumption in Lithuania before and during the War in Ukraine
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Safety has become an increasingly relevant topic in Lithuania in the context of recent geopolitical events. This study examined changes in perceived safety, safety as a value, and political news consumption among Lithuanians by using repeated cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey collected in 2018 (<em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">n<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> = 1835), 2020 (<em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">n<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> = 1659), and 2023 (<em class="italikas" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">n<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> = 1365). Between-wave comparisons and correlational analyses were conducted. The results showed that perceived safety was higher in 2020 and 2023 compared to 2018, while the importance of safety as a value remained stable across waves. Political news consumption decreased in 2020 and increased again in 2023 compared to 2018.
Copyright (c) 2026 Deividas Vepštas | Žygimantas Krivickas | Augustas Aleksejevas | Tadas Vadvilavičius https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Attractiveness of Women with “Dark” Personality: A Brief Report
As we discuss in this paper, physical attractiveness is not the only way to define a person`s appeal. We suggest that personality traits also have an impact on the perceived attractiveness of a person. The main objective of this paper was to assess the men’s perspective on the attraction of women with characteristics of Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). This study was based on a quasi-experimental design in which 94 men participated. Participants were randomly presented with one of two scenarios about the day of woman X, where the expression of the Dark Triad personality traits (low and high) was manipulated. Our research results revealed that women with a high level of Dark Triad traits are perceived by men to be less attractive (n = 52) than women with a low level of Dark Triad traits (n = 42). Our results partially support the idea that women are perceived as more attractive if they meet certain gender norms such as being friendly, community-oriented, being less aggressive, and non-manipulative.
Copyright (c) 2026 Tadas Vadvilavičius | Jovita Janavičiūtė-Pužauskė | Kristina Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0