Currently, there is a heated debate in society around the topic of vaccination. The views of supporters and opponents of vaccinations clash, which is particularly visible on the Internet and social media. Clearly, the discussions are particularly lively at this time due to the challenge facing countries around the world to immunise large numbers of people with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in order to contain the raging pandemic. Although the dispute over vaccination undoubtedly contributes to an increase in public awareness of this issue, it also brings a large dose of chaos and disinformation. The discussion about vaccinations is often accompanied by a lack of substantive content and presentation of scientifically verified arguments, while mutual hostility, threats and dissemination of untrue information dominate. This situation negatively affects parents who, as a consequence, have a problem with making an informed decision about their child’s vaccination. It is also a source of high stress: on the one hand, there is the obligation to vaccinate, while on the other hand, there is a fear of adverse reactions to vaccines, which is framed in psychology as the so-called approach–avoidance conflict and the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance. Many parents deal with this conflict by looking for information, e.g. by asking their paediatrician. However, they do not always find understanding with them either, which deepens their anxiety and frustration. The aim of the article is to draw attention to the above problem, to characterise the social discussion on vaccination, to emphasise the special role of the doctor and doctor–patient communication in this regard, and to provide recommendations on how to effectively conduct this kind of communication.

Taking into consideration the problem of “the cult of the body” among young women, the sociocultural context of their upbringing should be analyzed. Nowadays, it can be observed that many young women actively participate in promoting “the cult of the body”. The aim of the aforementioned actions is to get a slim, attractive figure consistent with the trends of women’s attractiveness promoted in the media. The analysis of the social networking sites and blogs indicates that more and more often women themselves are encouraged to promote their attractive, thin image in the Internet. This article will attempt to characterize the phenomenon of “the cult of the body”, in which adolescent women are engaged and which shapes their image of the body and has a potential influence on psychological and physical aspects of their existence. The analysis of the results of the research takes into account the analyzed subject and developmental conditioning of the time of adolescence in the context of sociocultural changes.

Introduction: Health consciousness is a theoretical construct that, depending on the concept, constitutes a psychological structure expressed primarily in the cognitive and behavioural sphere. It determines how individuals respond to health issues and the extent to which they are ready to take action to improve them. The level of health consciousness in the patient and his/her family has an impact on the achieved therapeutic effects. Due to the lack of an analogous tool for testing health consciousness in the Polish literature on this subject, the research objective was to create a Polish adaptation of the Ch.S.Hu Health Consciousness Scale and determine its psychometric properties. Material and methods: The study covered 599 people. Out of their group, a sample (N=291) was randomly drawn in order to conduct an exploratory factor analysis and determine the level of the reliability of the tool. The model was verified by a confirmatory factor analysis (N=599). HCS validity measures were based on the analysis of intergroup differences and correlations between selected variables. Results: The Polish version received a five-factor structure, containing 24 items. Both the entire scale and almost all subscales have a very high reliability coefficient (α=0.80). Medical professionals/persons with medical education achieve significantly higher results in HCS than other respondents. Conclusions: Conclusions. The Polish version of HCS has very good psychometric properties. This means that the tool is reliable and accurate. It can be used in both scientific research and individual diagnosis.

Wprowadzenie i cel pracy. Współcześnie obserwuje się rosnącą popularność medycyny komplementarnej i alternatywnej (complementary and alternative medicine – CAM). U podstaw zjawiska leży szereg uwarunkowań, które są przedmiotem zainteresowań nauk społecznych. Badania te napotykają na szereg metodologicznych trudności. Celem artykułu jest prezentacja psychologicznych uwarunkowań stosowania CAM w świetle literatury przedmiotu. Przedstawienie stanu wiedzy poprzedzono obszernym wstępem teoretycznym z uwagi na nikłość aktualnych polskich opracowań dotyczących omawianej tematyki w literaturze z zakresu psychologii zdrowia. Dokonano przeglądu prac badawczych z lat 1990-2021 w bazach danych dostępnych w zasobach Ebsco, tj. Medline, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL; w wyszukiwarce Google Scholar; spisach piśmiennictwa znalezionych artykułów oraz w zasobach własnych. Skrócony opis stanu wiedzy. Istniejących badań dotyczących zjawiska jest relatywnie niewiele, wyniki dotychczasowych badań niejednokrotnie są sprzeczne. Najlepiej poznanymi determinantami stosowania CAM są czynniki środowiskowe i poznawcze dotyczące stylów poznawczych i przekonań. Duże znaczenie mają również czynniki związane z duchowością i religijnością. Najmniej wiadomo na temat czynników osobowościowych i emocjonalnych. Podsumowanie. Tematyka psychologicznych uwarunkowań stosowania CAM wymaga dalszych  badań. Głębsze poznanie determinant zjawiska pozwoli na lepiej zrozumieć potrzeby i oczekiwania pacjentów, które stoją u podstaw postaw zdrowotnych.

Paul Hindemith is one of the most famous composers of the 20th century as well as the most important thinkers in the field of music. His aesthetic beliefs are mainly inspired by Boethius and Saint Augustine. He raises an issue of ideas of tradition and progress, which seemed quite disputable in the music of the 20th century. Hindemith believes that some universal spiritual principles exist in the world, which must be integrated by composers in the process of creating music. He criticises the approaches in which the technique itself appears to be predominant, therefore he negates such techniques as the twelve-tone chromatic scale. In the Hindemith's view, the development of music must be based on traditional fundaments, which, however, can be linked to modern styles and ideas. That seems crucial not only in the process of composing, but also in teaching music, both in theory and in practice.