Various approaches are used to assess spirituality via questionnaires, ranging from one-dimensional scales to highly multidimensional models. For the present investigation, a-in spirituality research unorthodox -factor analytic method was chosen: principal axis analysis with oblique rotation. An item collection was examinated and cross-validated via internet. The spirituality questionnaire contains four dimensions: belief in God, search for meaning, mindfulness, and feeling of security. They present with high internal consistencies. The factorial structure of the four dimensions was confirmed. Based on the better fit of this method of extraction the authors assume that these dimensions may depict the concept of spirituality more precisely than the previously used factor analytic methods, i.e. the principal component analysis (PCA) with orthogonal rotation.

Aim: How children grow up differs from country to country. The aim of the present investigation was to compare childhood experiences, family characteristics, and psychological features during the post World War II period in Poland and Germany.Subject and Methods: A questionnaire regarding various childhood experiences and family circumstances was administered to two samples, one each in Poland and Germany (n = 500 each) via Internet. Comparisons between Poland and Germany were performed by use of ANOVA and X²-tests, logistic regressions were performed to compare the effects of risk factors.Results: Probands from Poland described almost all aspects of their lives, their families, and their childhoods as having been better than did probands from Germany. Risk factor for suicide attempts were childhood physical abuse, and for alcohol abuse gender and childhood sexual abuse in both countries.Conclusion: There is some evidence for idealisation of the past in Poland, which might be due to the fact that almost 90% of the Poles were Christians. Germans seem to be more realistic in their views of the past but possibly deny their personal weaknesses. RESULTSWe present the results in four groups: (1) demographics and general background, (2) family problems (the image of the mother, the father, and their

The Childhood Questionnaire (CQ) was designed for adults to retrospectively describe their relationships with their parents. A cross-national survey was performed to test the intelligibility and precision of the questions and to explore cultural differences. A short version of the CQ was administered to two samples via Internet, one each in Poland and Germany. It contained four dimensions concerning each parent: perceived love, control, ambition and role reversal, all of which could be assessed reliably in both Poland and Germany. It was concluded that the Childhood Questionnaire is suitable for research in both countries. Characteristic differences between the respondents of the two countries can be explained as a function of history.