Primenjena psihologija

Stress and coping strategies among Balkan mothers of children with developmental disorders

Maša Marisavljević — 2024-12-09

This study explored stress in Balkan parents of children with developmental disorders (DD), taking into account the type of child’s DD, sociodemographic factors, and coping strategies. Sample comprised 139 mothers from Serbia (42%), Montenegro (27%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (14%), Croatia (16%), and Slovenia (2%), whose children were diagnosed with specific developmental disorders of speech and language (37%), autism spectrum disorders (39%) and mixed specific developmental disorders (24%). Mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index-SF and Brief COPE, and provided information on sociodemographic characteristics. The one-way ANOVA revealed that mothers of children with ASD reported the highest stress intensity. Linear regression suggests that having a child with autism spectrum disorder, lower education, and the use of Self-blame contribute to the prediction of stress. The results of several mediation analyses indicate that Religion and Behavioral disengagement mediate the relationship between parental stress and the child’s age: parents of older children with DD show a greater tendency to use these coping strategies, which consequently leads to higher stress levels.

Gender differences in left-right ideology: European men are more right-wing, women are more centrist?

Aleksandra Trogrlić — 2024-12-09

Since the 1990s, women appear to have become more left-wing or liberal-oriented compared to men (Dassonneville, 2020). In this paper, we examine whether this observation holds in the more recent survey data from Europe. We show that the exclusive focus on differences in average scores provides an incomplete picture of gender differences in ideology. Since both men and women tend to be centrist, the observed gender differences in averages may be due to differences in the relative popularity of the middle point of the scale. The analysis uses the ninth wave of the European Social Survey data (ESS 9.3), which covers 29 European countries. The results show that European women are, indeed, on average, positioned to the left compared to men. However, additional analyses revealed that these differences are partly due to men's preference for rightist ideological positions and partly to women's relatively more frequent positioning on the scale midpoint.

Perception of intergroup threat of Croatian receiving community in the context of integration of refugees

Jana Kiralj Lacković — 2024-12-09

Integration of refugees and receiving community members (RCMs) has been an expanding topic in research on group dynamics in the past fifteen years. A higher level of integration is indicated by lower levels of the perception of intergroup threat felt between refugees and RCMs. The Integrated Threat theory defines two types of threat – realistic and symbolic. Realistic relates to resources and interests such as socio-economic and physical safety, while symbolic relates to cultural and social elements such as norms, values, and way of life. The goal of this study is to explore whether some socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics and socio-psychological indicators of integration predict the levels of realistic and symbolic threat perception in Croatian RCMs. A sample of 600 RCMs participated in the study, collected using the random walk technique. Data were analysed using SEM, and the two final models showed a good fit. More than a fifth of the variance of realistic threat and more than a third of the variance of symbolic threat was explained by the models. RCMs with lower levels of education, right-wing orientation, lower household income and less support for the rights of refugees showed higher levels of realistic threat. Higher levels of symbolic threat were shown by older RCMs, right-wing oriented, those who perceived refugees to be a part of the society in Croatia to a lesser degree, and showed less support for the rights of refugees. Political orientation and support for the rights of refugees are particularly highlighted as predictors of both types of threat.

Psychological traits of League of Legends players who prefer different positions and roles in the game

Nemanja Šajinović — 2024-12-09

Understanding the psychological characteristics of video game players provides game designers with greater opportunities to develop personalized gaming experiences. In this light, this study examined the relationships between preferred roles and positions in the video game League of Legends (LoL) and players’ indicated basic personality traits, empathy, and social rank styles. The study involved 3220 LoL players from around the world. Canonical covariance analysis was applied, with the left set of variables comprising preferences for positions and roles in LoL (Top, Mid, Jungle, Bot, Support positions; Tank, Fighter, Assassin, Mage, Marksman, and Support roles), and the right set representing personality traits from the HEXACO model, dimensions of empathy, and social rank styles. Three pairs of significant quasi-canonical functions were extracted. The structure of the first pair of quasi-canonical functions suggests that preferences for the Fighter and Assassin roles and, to a lesser extent, the Jungle position, as well as for avoidance of the Support role, are associated with a lack of affective resonance and honesty/humility and high affective dissonance, emotional stability, ruthless self-promotion, coalition avoidance, and uncooperativeness. The second pair of quasi-canonical functions indicates that preferences for the Jungle and Support positions and the Support role, as well as for avoidance of the Top position, are linked to dominant leadership, coalition building, extraversion, cognitive empathy, and openness to experience. The third pair of quasi-canonical functions implies that preferences for the Mid position and the Mage and Marksman roles are associated with ruthless self-promotion, emotional instability, a lack of honesty/humility, and affective dissonance. The results of this study suggest that personality characteristics are grouped differently in the latent space depending on which style of play individuals prefer, indicating that there are gaming patterns associated with specific psychological personality profiles.

Interpersonal cognitive distortions as a mediator for the effects of social anxiety and depression on loneliness among college students

Ana Petak — 2024-12-09

The aim of the research was to verify whether interpersonal cognitive distortions underlie the relationship of social anxiety and depression symptoms with loneliness among student population. The data of 228 students from various studies in the Republic of Croatia were collected, mostly students who attend programs in social sciences (72.8%) and undergraduate students (74.1%). The research was conducted online. Participants completed The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, The Loneliness Scale, The Interpersonal Cognitive Distortion Scale, and The Interaction Anxiety Scale. Through two mediation regression analyses, loneliness is separately predicted based on social anxiety and depressive symptoms, with the verification of the mediation effect of interpersonal cognitive distortions. In addition, two more mediation regression analyzes were conducted to control the effects of depressive symptoms in the model in which the predictor was social anxiety and to control the effects of social anxiety in the model in which the predictor was depressive symptoms. Social anxiety in addition to interpersonal cognitive distortions explains 26.8% of the variance of loneliness, and depressive symptoms in addition to interpersonal cognitive distortions explains 29.7% of the variance of loneliness. Partial mediation was established in both analyses, i.e. social anxiety and depressive symptoms predict loneliness directly, and indirectly through interpersonal cognitive distortions. The results are discussed in the context of the existing literature, along with suggestions for practical implications in counseling work.