Drawing on qualitative research, this study endeavours to identify the determinants of return migration of young Romanians and Latvians in light of the most recent global economic crisis (GEC). The decision‐making patterns of young returnees are examined by three main research questions. How do macro‐events, such as the GEC, interfere with individual biographies creating specific return experiences? What can we say about the “crisis returnees”, their migration motivations and re‐adaptation in the origin country? What are the main challenges of young adults facing life strategies in such uncertain periods? Data are drawn from 51 in‐depth interviews with Romanian and Latvian young adults, carried out in late 2015 and early 2016. Findings show that return migration is associated with economic conditions, family life, feelings of homesickness, and re‐adaptation experiences. Our results also confirm that youth transitions and migration have become more diversified and complex in the context of the economic crisis.

IntroductionPersonality traits and social cognition are important predictors for the future performance, success, adjustment and mental health of medical students.ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to assess and compare personality traits and emotion recognition abilities of two medical student samples: general medicine (GM) and general nursing (GN) students.MethodsThe study was conducted between 2015–2016 on 173 Romanian medical undergraduates from the Timisoara “Victor Babes” university of medicine and pharmacy: sixth-year GM students (n = 96) and fourth-year GN students (n = 83). Personality traits were evaluated with the 60-item NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI). Emotion recognition abilities were assessed with the revised version of the “reading the mind in the eyes” test.ResultsThe GM sample consisted of 31 (32.3%) males and 65 (67.7%) females, with a mean age of 24.65 years (SD = 1.81). The GN sample was comprised of 13 (15.7%) males and 70 (84.3%) females, with a mean age of 23.84 years (SD = 2.12). Overall, compared with female students, males gave considerably less correct answers in the “eyes test” (P = 0.002) and had lower mean scores in “agreeableness” (P = 0.005). GM students scored significantly higher than GN students in “neuroticism” (P = 0.01), obtained lower mean scores in “agreeableness” (P = 0.015) and had poorer emotion recognition abilities (P = 0.03) than their GN colleagues.ConclusionsGN students appear to be more emotionally stable and with better emotion recognition abilities than GM students. Results of the present study represent a starting point for other studies that may use larger and diverse student samples.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Introduction: Suicide rates are implicit indicators of how effective social, religious and medical services address personal and economic crisis. Objectives: The assessment of suicide risk factors and patterns in a Romanian sample. Aims: To identify the most relevant suicide risk factors in the present context. Methods: The study included all suicide cases autopsied at Timisoara Institute of Legal Medicine from 2009 to 2012. The following data were analyzed: socio-demographic records, blood alcohol levels and the number of committed suicides. Results: The study included 310 (81% men and 19% women) individuals who committed suicide, with ages ranging between 13 and 93 years. In women, the mean age was 52.34 years (std.dev. = 19.1), while in men was 49.4 (std.dev. = 17.4). The most common suicide method regardless of age, sex and residence area was hanging (68.3%). The greatest number of suicides was found in the 40-60 age group / adults (47%), followed by the 20-40 age group / young adults (26.7%) and over 60 years / seniors (26.1%). The percentage of suicides under 20 years old / adolescents was 3.5 %. There was a statistically significant difference (t = 2.06; p < 0.05) regarding alcohol blood levels between adults (0.8‰) and seniors (0.4‰), but not when compared with adolescents (0.56‰), or young adults (0.6 ‰). The average percentage of suicides committed under alcohol influence was 40% regardless of age group. Conclusions: In the studied sample adults have the highest suicidal risk and alcohol is an important risk factor.