This study introduces and validates the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire (BEPQ), a new instrument designed to assess beliefs that men and women possess inherent, biologically determined differences in parenting roles. Despite evolving norms favoring gender-equal parenting, essentialist views continue to influence family dynamics, workplace policies, and cultural expectations. In Study 1 (N = 488, Poland), we developed the BEPQ and confirmed a two-factor structure, distinguishing maternal and paternal essentialism, through exploratory factor analysis. Both subscales demonstrated high internal consistency and negative correlations with gender-neutral parenting beliefs, supporting their reliability and convergent validity. Study 2 (N = 1249) extended validation to parents in Poland, Italy, and Sweden. Confirmatory factor analysis and multigroup modeling established strict measurement invariance across countries and gender identities, ensuring robust cross-cultural applicability. Findings showed that Polish parents most strongly endorsed essentialist beliefs, followed by Italian and then Swedish parents. Heterosexual parents reported stronger essentialist views than LGBTQ+ parents, men showed higher paternal essentialism, and women endorsed maternal essentialism more strongly, with non-binary parents consistently reporting the lowest levels across both dimensions. By providing a reliable and cross-culturally validated tool, the BEPQ advances research on how biological essentialist ideologies maintain gendered caregiving roles within diverse family structures. These findings can inform interventions and policies aimed at promoting gender equality in family life.
This study examined cognitive and temperamental predictors of susceptibility to orientation illusions, using adjustment tasks based on the Poggendorff and Zöllner figures. Cognitive predictors included field dependence–independence and the efficiency of Posner’s attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control), while temperamental traits were assessed within Strelau’s Regulative Theory of Temperament. A total of 161 participants aged 20–33 years took part in the study. Susceptibility to the Poggendorff illusion was associated only with lower alerting network efficiency. In contrast, susceptibility to the Zöllner illusion was linked to both cognitive and temperamental factors: a field-dependent cognitive style combined with moderate or high Endurance, and an efficient orienting network combined with high Briskness. The findings support a multifactorial, illusion-specific account of susceptibility to orientation illusions, demonstrating that attentional, cognitive-style, and temperamental characteristics jointly contribute to individual differences in illusion strength.
Most former studies on maternal gatekeeping have been limited to mothers’ reports and the United States context. Accordingly, we modified the Maternal Gatekeeping Measure (MGM) to measure both mothers’ and fathers’ beliefs and behaviors and titled the new version the Parental Gatekeeping Measure (PGM). We conducted two studies on Polish parents having children under 3 years old. In the first, aimed to verify the internal structure and reliability of the PGM, we recruited 290 parents (aged 22–45; 54% mothers). Next, 113 heterosexual dyads of parents (n = 226; aged 23–44; 50% mothers) were recruited in Study 2, which aimed to investigate the PGM’s criterion validity by examining its relationships with parental identity, values, dyadic perfectionism, and another measure of parental gatekeeping. The original three-factor structure of the MGM was replicated in the modified Polish version. Additionally, we successfully established the gender invariance of the PGM and found significant differences in the intensity of gatekeeping between mothers and fathers. Our analysis revealed that stronger parental gatekeeping was related to stronger dyadic perfectionism, control, discouragement, and traditional values. Thus, the Polish modification of the MGM is a reliable, valid, and psychometrically sound measure of parental gatekeeping beliefs and behaviors.
Introduction & Objectives
The aim of this paper is to present the process of developing and validating the Polish version of the Identity Distress Survey (IDS-PL).
Method
First, the back-translation method was adopted to develop the IDS-PL. Second, four studies were conducted with a total of 738 people (67.1% female; all Caucasian) aged 17 to 27 (M = 21.90, SD = 2.23) to: 1) investigate the internal structure (confirmatory factor analyses); 2) verify the reliability (internal and test–retest); and 3) establish the criterion validity of the IDS-PL.
Results
CFA allowed us to choose the best approach to calculating IDS-PL scores and revealed that data from the Polish sample are well fitted to the internal structure of the IDS. The internal and test-retest reliability of the IDS-PL was confirmed to be acceptable. Finally, the criterion validity of the IDS-PL was established by findings indicating that stronger identity distress was related to lower self-esteem, a lower presence of meaning in life, stronger anxiety and depressiveness, and higher ruminative exploration.
Discussion
Taken together, the IDS-PL may be considered a reliable measure of identity distress that can be used in studies concerning identity development in young people.
This article introduces three distinct theories emerging from contemporary Chinese literary circles: the search for “global elements” proposed by Chen Sihe, Cao Shunqing’s variation theory, and Wang Ning’s concept of “global poetics.” Each of these theories creatively reimagines the relationship between Chinese literature and world literature, challenging the dominant image of a literary system that has been mostly shaped by Western aesthetics and concepts. In this context, world literature is conceptualized in the article as a kind of ideoscape. Although each of these three contributions pursues slightly different aims, they all hold the potential to expand our understanding of the global circulation of literary ideas.
