Goal: To analyze the appearance of neurodevelopmental disorders in children delivered post-term and to find out whether prolonged pregnancy may be a cause of such disorders in a selected group participants. Patients and methods: This study included a cohort of 34 children born post-term suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders who were treated at the Service for psycho-physiological and speaking disorders in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina during an 18-year period. Results: There were 59.4% of male and 40.6% female patients (P=0.002). The most common neurodevelopmental disorder in the sample was intellectual disability (38.2%), followed by epilepsy (26.4%), delayed psychomotor development (14.7%), and cerebral palsy (11.7%) (P<0.001). The correlation between mothers’ parity and post-term delivery was found (P=0.016). Conclusion: Post-term delivery may be the cause of neurodevelopmental disorders. The most common disorder among them were intellectual difficulties.

The aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between the morning level of serum cortisol and perceptive experience of optimism in a selected group of 60 patients with newly diagnosed cancer who were treated at Mostar University Clinical Hospital during a one-month period. Patients and methods: The morning level of serum cortisol was measured in all patients following the verification of oncological disease. The patients also filled out a questionnaire of socio-demographic data, as well as the scales for optimism/pessimism assessment. Results: The average morning serum cortisol level was within the reference values in the majority of patients, independently of their perceptive experience of optimism/pessimism. There was no significant difference in the morning level of serum cortisol among the subgroups of patients high and low on the scale of optimism, as well as the scale of pessimism. No correlation existed between the serum cortisol morning level and expressed optimism/pessimism, as well. The great majority of respondents had secondary and lower education, was retired or unemployed, and suffered lower socio-economic conditions of life. Therefore, their access to medical information and their knowledge of cancer modern treatment options and possibilities were restricted, what may also have an influence onto perceptive experience of optimism/pessimism. Conclusion: The results concerned with the perceptive experience of optimism/pessimism assessment were not a consequence of stress reaction but they were more correlated to general personal characteristics, the level of education, and socio-economic status of patients. The results do not confirm the impact of morning serum cortisol level onto physiological reactions to stressful conditions and situations in selected group of patients with de novo carcinoma.

Aims: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between different forms of maltreatment in childhood with the perpetration of violent behaviour and exposure to violence in partner relationships. Methodology: The sample comprised 147 participants (100 women and 47 men) involved in intimate partner violence and 200 control subjects (100 women and 100 men). A child abuse questionnaire was used for the assessment of multiple types of abuse occurring during childhood. Partner violence was assessed using Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2). Results: The findings indicated that exposure to maltreatment in childhood had a significant effect on intimate partner violence. Significant differences were observed between the participants exposed to physical and psychological abuse, neglect and those witnessing family violence through partner violence compared to the control group. Forms of violence committed by fathers and mothers had a more important effect on partner violence compared to the violence committed by other persons. Conclusion: The results obtained from this study can potentially help in the development of

Early studies supposed that personality traits and students’ life, which include brings many social and academic changes, may be relevant factors in initiation and maintenance of smoking. The aims of this study were to investigate differences in personality dimensions, as well as exposure to stressful life events among students’ smokers and nonsmokers and finally to examine the predictive contribution of these variables to smoking status. The study was conducted on the sample of 200 students from the University of Mostar, with a median age of 21 (interquartile range, 3) who completed Goldberg’s Personality Questionnaire and Scale of stressful life events. The group of students who never smoke (N = 101) and the group of smokers (N = 99) took part in the study. The results have shown that personality dimension of neuroticism and stressful life events related to social alienation, academic failure and everyday social conflict differed the smokers and non-smokers group. The smokers had higher scores in comparison to non-smokers group of students. Neuroticism and stressful life events academic failure and academic maladjustment were also significant predictors to smoking status.

Objective – The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD) and to identify comorbid disorders according to subtype of ADHD. Method – The study sample included 404 children aged from 6-12 years old. Parents completed The Child Behaviour Checklist/4-18 to detect internalizing and externalizing psychological difficulties in children. Assessment of ADHD was performed using the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Test. Results – ADHD symptoms were found in 15% of girls and 12.1% of boys. The differences in the frequency of different subtype of ADHD in terms of the gender were obtained for the subtype of hyperactivity (Z=-2.075, p=0.038). Boys had more pronounced symptoms of hyperactivity compared to girls. There was no statistically significant gender difference for the subtype of impulsivity (Z=-1.422, p=0.155) and inattention subtype (Z=-0.234, p=0.815). The results obtained showed a higher prevalence of internalized and externalized difficulties with the combined subtypes of ADHD compared to other subtypes. Conclusion – ADHD is a complex condition, affecting a significant number of children and therefore it needs to be better identified. Children who seek medical or psychological help have at least one or more comorbid disorder and these problems also need to be appropriately identified and treated.