Dean Ajdukovic | University of Zagreb (original) (raw)

Papers by Dean Ajdukovic

Drustvena Istrazivanja, 1999

U radu je izložen strukturalni model za predikciju promjena preventivnih ponašanja u svezi s AIDS... more U radu je izložen strukturalni model za predikciju promjena preventivnih ponašanja u svezi s AIDS-om kod mladih ljudi. Model je evaluiran pomoću procjena maksimalne vjerojatnosti, dobivenih uporabom računalnog programa LISRELVII. Egzogene varijable u modelu su: socio-ekonomski status, demografski status i dob. Model pretpostavlja da ove varijable uzrokuju znanje i stavove o AIDS-u koji, u nastavku procesa, uzrokuju percepciju osobne ugroženosti. Pretpostavljeno je da posljednja varijabla uzrokuje promjene u ponašanju koje imaju za cilj prevenciju AIDS-a. Model je testiran na četiri nezavisna uzorka, svaki od po N=200 mladih osoba. Sest od sedam indeksa podudarnosti sugeriraju prihvatljivu podudarnost modela s empirijskim podacima. Raspravljene su posljedice za prevenciju AIDS-a. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) je prva epidemija u ljudskoj povijesti za koju se vrlo brzo spoznalo da se može spriječiti samo specifičnim promjenama ponašanja. Stoga je AIDS, koliko zdravstveni, toliko i bihevioralni problem. Od 1981. godine, kad je prepoznat kao novo oboljenje, do danas su objavljena brojna istraživanja psiholoških apsekata te bolesti. Praćenje psihologijske literature vezane uz AIDS postalo je vrlo zahtjevan zadatak, o čemu svjedoči nekoliko iscrpnih bibliografija radova samo s engleskog jezičnog područja (Dessaint,

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 1, 2020

Intervention, Mar 1, 2008

The role of social contexts of traumatisation and healing has profound consequences for social re... more The role of social contexts of traumatisation and healing has profound consequences for social reconstruction and reconciliation of communities that have been exposed to upheaval and organized violence. The social contexts in which mass traumatisation of thousands of people occur and in which their recovery should progress have qualities that distinguish them in important ways from individualized traumatisation in which a person is a victim of an isolated violent attack, rape or a traffic accident. Massive violence affects both individuals and the community, while after-effects extend far beyond the trauma symptoms, both in time and psychosocial implications. Effective community-based interventions can help facilitate psychosocial reconstruction of the communities, decrease social tensions among groups that have been involved in a conflict, provide treatment for the most traumatized individuals and work towards re-connecting community members. The individual recovery from trauma and community social reconstruction are parallel, interwoven and non-linear processes. We see three simultaneous processes that comprise community social reconstruction that can lead to favorable outcomes at different levels: recovery from losses and exposure to violence ; establishing new social norms and tolerance ; empowerment of players of community change.

Unlike the individual traumatisation, disasters, wars and massive terrorist attacks are cases in ... more Unlike the individual traumatisation, disasters, wars and massive terrorist attacks are cases in which hundreds and thousands of people are exposed to trauma in a short period of time leading to multiple consequences that extend beyond the affected individuals and the incapaciting symptoms of trauma. Social milieu in which the survivor of individual trauma and survivors of mass traumatisation are embedded is qualitatively different, having important consequences for recovery. From a psychological perspective, the special case is organized violence since it is intentional, designed to hurt and destroy people, trauma is inflicted at selected groups and individuals in order to send a symbolic message to other people and communities and violence has a clear instrumental and political purpose. The search for meaning of what has happened is extremely difficult, but people use different coping strategies ranging from spiritual to scape-goating. At the same time people feel that gross injustice has been done to many of them and that their basic rights as human beings have been violated. The task of effective community-based interventions is to help facilitate psychosocial reconstruction of communities, decrease social tensions among groups with conflicting interests, provide treatment for the traumatized individuals and work towards re-connecting community

Socijalna psihijatrija, 2010

U radu se provjerava doprinos nekih osobina licnosti (psiholoske cvrstoce i samopostovanja) traum... more U radu se provjerava doprinos nekih osobina licnosti (psiholoske cvrstoce i samopostovanja) traumatizacije i sociodemografskih varijabli aktualnom stanju mentalnog zdravlja ratom traumatiziranih osoba. Podaci su prikupljani strukturiranim intervjuom na reprezentativnom uzorku odraslih osoba (N=454). Pokazalo se da objasnjenju sadasnjeg boljeg mentalnog zdravlja najvise doprinosi vece samopostovanje, dok je doprinos psiholoske cvrstoce, traumatizacije i sociodemografskih varijabli, obrazovanja i ekonomskog statusa znatno manji.

Links between perceived in-group victimization and discrimination are well-documented. However, t... more Links between perceived in-group victimization and discrimination are well-documented. However, the mediating mechanisms are little understood, especially among youth and in a context of a post-conflict ethnic divide. Building upon Social Identity Theory and the Integrated Threat Theory we propose two mechanisms for in explaining the link between in-group victimization and discriminationory tendencies: the ethnic upbringing within a family that makes ethnicity a salient and relevant social cue which also makes youth feeling more insecure or even threatened when encounter the outgroup. The present study was conducted in the city of Vukovar, Croatia. Participants (N = 225) were youth in the city of Vukovar, Croatia, aged 15.88 years (SD = 1.12) years old, and roughly split by gender (59% male) and ethnicity (51% Croat, 49% Serb). The questionnaire measuring perceived group victimization, ethnic upbringing practices, interethnic insecurity, tendency to discriminatorye tendencies, perceived in-group discrimination and sociodemographics was group administered. Serial mediation was conducted using MLE with bootstrapping, controlling for age, gender, and ethnicity (Croats/Serbs). Variables were entered as manifest scales ; perceived group victimization was exogenous, ethnic upbringing practices and interethnic insecurity were mediators, and perceived discrimination and tendency to discriminatory tendenciese were the outcomes. There were significant indirect effects for both perceived discrimination (CI: .002, .014) and tendency to discriminatory tendenciese (CI: .003, .013). The results showed that children who perceived their in-group as being more victimized during the war were more prone to discriminate the outgroup and also perceived more in-group discrimination. These relations were mediated by more intensive ethnic upbringing, and more insecurity that youth felt when encountering the outgroup.

Annual Review of Psychology, 2007

Psihologijske teme

The aim of this paper was to investigate the experience of possible positive consequences of the ... more The aim of this paper was to investigate the experience of possible positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and their connection with indicators of mental health and well-being, and to identify themes by which people describe the positive consequences of the pandemic. As part of a broader longitudinal project, participants completed a comprehensive online survey on various aspects of the pandemic. This paper presents the results obtained from 1,201 adult participants (50.1% women) on a quantitative measure of the experienced positive consequences, and on the qualitative answers to an open question about the positive aspects of the pandemic. The quantitative measure was created for the purposes of this research. Measures of sociodemographic factors, mental health (DASS-21) and well-being (WHO-5) were also used. The results show that participants experience positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through three factors: Awareness of life values, More time for oneself, and...

46th Annual Meeting of the European …, 2010

Background and aims: Predictive value of illness representations including seriousness, treatment... more Background and aims: Predictive value of illness representations including seriousness, treatment effectiveness and control, on multiple diabetes outcomes has been well established. This study aimed to determine how depressive symptoms interacted with personal model’s domains in predicting eating behaviour, physical activity, blood glucose self-monitoring and foot care in type 2 diabetic patients. Materials and methods: A randomly selected sample of 172 type 2 outpatients (55% female, aged 63±8, educated for 10.5±4 yrs., with diabetes duration of 10±8 yrs., 29% insulin-treated, with 6.5%±0.9 HbA1C and 30±4 kg/m2 BMI) was interviewed for psychological anamnesis and examined for depressive symptoms and personal model of diabetes. Respondents’ mood and illness representations were assessed by The Patient Health Questionnaire-Depression (PhQ-9) and the 8-item Personal Model of Diabetes Questionnaire (PM), and their self-care behaviours were approximated by the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). Participants were divided into three groups: without depressive symptoms (PhQ 0.05). Self-reported eating behaviour, exercise and foot care were comparable across the groups (all p>0.05). Blood glucose self-monitoring was most frequent in patients with minimal depressive symptoms, followed by non-depressed and moderately to severely depressed ones (H=5.80 p=0.05). Diabetes impact on daily life as measured by PM was reported greater by both depressed groups compared to the non-depressed one (H=6.18 p=0.04), while other domains - seriousness, diabetes control and prevention of complications - did not differ across the groups. Non-linear regression model indicated that the control beliefs independently predicted patients’ eating behaviour and physical activity as measured by SDSCA (Wald Stat=9.3 p=0.002 and Wald Stat=7.4 p=0.006, respectively). Foot care was predicted by seriousness beliefs (Wald Stat=4.6 p=0.03), while depressive symptoms were the only independent predictor of blood glucose self-monitoring (Wald Stat=7.9 p=0.01). Conclusion: Even mild depressive symptoms were found to be associated with illness representations in type 2 diabetic patients, implying a more highly perceived impact of diabetes on daily activities. Beliefs that self care controlled diabetes were the best predictors of eating behaviour and exercise, while feelings about diabetes seriousness and worry predicted foot care. Depressive symptoms rather than personal model domains predicted blood glucose self-monitoring, showing a positive effect in mild depressive symptoms and adverse in moderate to severe ones.

British Journal of Social Psychology, Mar 18, 2019

Journal of Loss and Trauma, 2010

Previous research has found that, in cases of intergroup conflict, people are likely to evaluate ... more Previous research has found that, in cases of intergroup conflict, people are likely to evaluate their groups more positively than the groups they do not belong to, but are also more ready to derogate the out-group. Two important factors need to be taken into consideration to explain these processes: self-esteem and group status. We explored the role of personal and social self-esteem in predicting in-group bias and out-group discrimination on two conflicted ethnic groups living in Vukovar. Consistent with the Social Identity Theory and Social Dominance Theory our results confirm that group status has impact on the self-esteem level in the way that members of the majority group tend to have higher social self-esteem. Furthermore, individuals with higher social self-esteem are more ready to express show more in-group bias and more out-group discrimination than individuals with low social self-esteem. Personal self-esteem proved to be less important in intergroup context. However, opposite to results of Long and Spears (1997), we suggest that it is individuals with high social and low personal self-esteem who express most in-group bias and out-group discrimination in order to enhance or maintain high social self-esteem and compensate for the lack of self-worth. The importance of environmental and political context for investigating group processes is discussed.

PLOS ONE

Background Contextual factors are essential for understanding long-term adjustment to the COVID-1... more Background Contextual factors are essential for understanding long-term adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study investigated changes in mental health outcomes and subjective pandemic-related experiences over time and across countries. The main objective was to explore how psychological responses vary in relation to individual and environmental factors. Methods The sample consisted of N = 1070 participants from the general population of Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, and Portugal. We applied a longitudinal mixed-methods approach, with baseline assessment in summer and autumn 2020 (T1) and follow-up assessment 12 months later (T2). Qualitative content analysis by Mayring was used to analyse open-ended questions about stressful events, positive and negative aspects of the pandemic, and recommendations on how to cope. Mental health outcomes were assessed with the Adjustment Disorder–New Module 8 (ADNM-8), the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), ...

Millions of people have been affected by wars and violent conflicts in twentieth century Europe. ... more Millions of people have been affected by wars and violent conflicts in twentieth century Europe. Individuals, communities and countries live with the memories of these troubled pasts and the emotions that come with it. In some cases there is an accumulation of troubled pasts: for example, the countries that were part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia experienced two World Wars, the communist authoritarian regime and the Balkan wars in the span of one century. How are troubled pasts used to deepen perceived divisions and legitimize radicalization or inclusion? What psychological processes can contribute to mutual understanding, resilience and the acknowledgement of troubled pasts? These questions have become more urgent in the present political climate. This symposium presents a multidisciplinary perspective on the way European societies deal with troubled pasts. The presentations are followed by a discussion

The purpose of the survey is to gain detailed insight into the socio-economic and socio-psycholog... more The purpose of the survey is to gain detailed insight into the socio-economic and socio-psychological dimensions of integration and their relations using a quantitative methodology that allows for statistical comparison of data collected on independent groups, both between the arriving and receiving community within the study countries, and between the study countries. The structure and content of the survey are based on extensive research of literature on integration conducted in WP2, and the survey and all materials used for the data collection were developed and piloted in WP3. This introductory section to the quantitative surveys includes a description of target groups from which samples of respondents were drawn in each study country, a short description of key research questions answered in this deliverable, and a note on the general impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on FOCUS survey field study. In the following section, the structure of the collected survey data is presented. T...

The FOCUS project is undertaking a range of research and piloting tasks which aim to improve unde... more The FOCUS project is undertaking a range of research and piloting tasks which aim to improve understanding of dynamic integration and to assist the implementation of effective practices. As part of this work a detailed programme of qualitative research has been undertaken in four countries. This report presents the country-specific findings of this research, which will be further consolidated in a cross-site analysis to be completed in the coming months. The purpose of the qualitative research within FOCUS is: "to provide a deeper understanding of the current sentiments and relations among and between members of the arriving and receiving communities; explore both opportunities for and barriers to integration from both perspectives as well as to generate hypotheses that guide future interventions for dynamic integration." The work was based on guidelines developed following an extensive review of the current state of research in this area and key knowledge gaps which requi...

This deliverable consists of five tasks which were designed to gain an in-depth and broad underst... more This deliverable consists of five tasks which were designed to gain an in-depth and broad understanding of the state-of-the-art on research, policy and practice on integration of refugees and host community relations. This was undertaken to form a foundation upon which to build Work Packages focusing on the field work (WP 3 and 4), the development of a refugee and host community toolbox (WP5 and 6) and the dissemination of all of these (WP7). To achieve this, WP2 has been divided into five separate, though highly interrelated Tasks. This includes; Task 2.1. a state-of-the-art review of the literature and research on the socio-economic integration of refugees. Task 2.2. a state-of-the-art review of the literature and research on the socio-psychological integration of refugees. Task 2.3 Part I. a comparative analysis of integration policies in Croatia, Germany, Jordan and Sweden. Task 2.3 Part II. a qualitative study of professionals' views on integration practices in Europe. Task...

Drustvena Istrazivanja, 1999

U radu je izložen strukturalni model za predikciju promjena preventivnih ponašanja u svezi s AIDS... more U radu je izložen strukturalni model za predikciju promjena preventivnih ponašanja u svezi s AIDS-om kod mladih ljudi. Model je evaluiran pomoću procjena maksimalne vjerojatnosti, dobivenih uporabom računalnog programa LISRELVII. Egzogene varijable u modelu su: socio-ekonomski status, demografski status i dob. Model pretpostavlja da ove varijable uzrokuju znanje i stavove o AIDS-u koji, u nastavku procesa, uzrokuju percepciju osobne ugroženosti. Pretpostavljeno je da posljednja varijabla uzrokuje promjene u ponašanju koje imaju za cilj prevenciju AIDS-a. Model je testiran na četiri nezavisna uzorka, svaki od po N=200 mladih osoba. Sest od sedam indeksa podudarnosti sugeriraju prihvatljivu podudarnost modela s empirijskim podacima. Raspravljene su posljedice za prevenciju AIDS-a. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) je prva epidemija u ljudskoj povijesti za koju se vrlo brzo spoznalo da se može spriječiti samo specifičnim promjenama ponašanja. Stoga je AIDS, koliko zdravstveni, toliko i bihevioralni problem. Od 1981. godine, kad je prepoznat kao novo oboljenje, do danas su objavljena brojna istraživanja psiholoških apsekata te bolesti. Praćenje psihologijske literature vezane uz AIDS postalo je vrlo zahtjevan zadatak, o čemu svjedoči nekoliko iscrpnih bibliografija radova samo s engleskog jezičnog područja (Dessaint,

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 1, 2020

Intervention, Mar 1, 2008

The role of social contexts of traumatisation and healing has profound consequences for social re... more The role of social contexts of traumatisation and healing has profound consequences for social reconstruction and reconciliation of communities that have been exposed to upheaval and organized violence. The social contexts in which mass traumatisation of thousands of people occur and in which their recovery should progress have qualities that distinguish them in important ways from individualized traumatisation in which a person is a victim of an isolated violent attack, rape or a traffic accident. Massive violence affects both individuals and the community, while after-effects extend far beyond the trauma symptoms, both in time and psychosocial implications. Effective community-based interventions can help facilitate psychosocial reconstruction of the communities, decrease social tensions among groups that have been involved in a conflict, provide treatment for the most traumatized individuals and work towards re-connecting community members. The individual recovery from trauma and community social reconstruction are parallel, interwoven and non-linear processes. We see three simultaneous processes that comprise community social reconstruction that can lead to favorable outcomes at different levels: recovery from losses and exposure to violence ; establishing new social norms and tolerance ; empowerment of players of community change.

Unlike the individual traumatisation, disasters, wars and massive terrorist attacks are cases in ... more Unlike the individual traumatisation, disasters, wars and massive terrorist attacks are cases in which hundreds and thousands of people are exposed to trauma in a short period of time leading to multiple consequences that extend beyond the affected individuals and the incapaciting symptoms of trauma. Social milieu in which the survivor of individual trauma and survivors of mass traumatisation are embedded is qualitatively different, having important consequences for recovery. From a psychological perspective, the special case is organized violence since it is intentional, designed to hurt and destroy people, trauma is inflicted at selected groups and individuals in order to send a symbolic message to other people and communities and violence has a clear instrumental and political purpose. The search for meaning of what has happened is extremely difficult, but people use different coping strategies ranging from spiritual to scape-goating. At the same time people feel that gross injustice has been done to many of them and that their basic rights as human beings have been violated. The task of effective community-based interventions is to help facilitate psychosocial reconstruction of communities, decrease social tensions among groups with conflicting interests, provide treatment for the traumatized individuals and work towards re-connecting community

Socijalna psihijatrija, 2010

U radu se provjerava doprinos nekih osobina licnosti (psiholoske cvrstoce i samopostovanja) traum... more U radu se provjerava doprinos nekih osobina licnosti (psiholoske cvrstoce i samopostovanja) traumatizacije i sociodemografskih varijabli aktualnom stanju mentalnog zdravlja ratom traumatiziranih osoba. Podaci su prikupljani strukturiranim intervjuom na reprezentativnom uzorku odraslih osoba (N=454). Pokazalo se da objasnjenju sadasnjeg boljeg mentalnog zdravlja najvise doprinosi vece samopostovanje, dok je doprinos psiholoske cvrstoce, traumatizacije i sociodemografskih varijabli, obrazovanja i ekonomskog statusa znatno manji.

Links between perceived in-group victimization and discrimination are well-documented. However, t... more Links between perceived in-group victimization and discrimination are well-documented. However, the mediating mechanisms are little understood, especially among youth and in a context of a post-conflict ethnic divide. Building upon Social Identity Theory and the Integrated Threat Theory we propose two mechanisms for in explaining the link between in-group victimization and discriminationory tendencies: the ethnic upbringing within a family that makes ethnicity a salient and relevant social cue which also makes youth feeling more insecure or even threatened when encounter the outgroup. The present study was conducted in the city of Vukovar, Croatia. Participants (N = 225) were youth in the city of Vukovar, Croatia, aged 15.88 years (SD = 1.12) years old, and roughly split by gender (59% male) and ethnicity (51% Croat, 49% Serb). The questionnaire measuring perceived group victimization, ethnic upbringing practices, interethnic insecurity, tendency to discriminatorye tendencies, perceived in-group discrimination and sociodemographics was group administered. Serial mediation was conducted using MLE with bootstrapping, controlling for age, gender, and ethnicity (Croats/Serbs). Variables were entered as manifest scales ; perceived group victimization was exogenous, ethnic upbringing practices and interethnic insecurity were mediators, and perceived discrimination and tendency to discriminatory tendenciese were the outcomes. There were significant indirect effects for both perceived discrimination (CI: .002, .014) and tendency to discriminatory tendenciese (CI: .003, .013). The results showed that children who perceived their in-group as being more victimized during the war were more prone to discriminate the outgroup and also perceived more in-group discrimination. These relations were mediated by more intensive ethnic upbringing, and more insecurity that youth felt when encountering the outgroup.

Annual Review of Psychology, 2007

Psihologijske teme

The aim of this paper was to investigate the experience of possible positive consequences of the ... more The aim of this paper was to investigate the experience of possible positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and their connection with indicators of mental health and well-being, and to identify themes by which people describe the positive consequences of the pandemic. As part of a broader longitudinal project, participants completed a comprehensive online survey on various aspects of the pandemic. This paper presents the results obtained from 1,201 adult participants (50.1% women) on a quantitative measure of the experienced positive consequences, and on the qualitative answers to an open question about the positive aspects of the pandemic. The quantitative measure was created for the purposes of this research. Measures of sociodemographic factors, mental health (DASS-21) and well-being (WHO-5) were also used. The results show that participants experience positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through three factors: Awareness of life values, More time for oneself, and...

46th Annual Meeting of the European …, 2010

Background and aims: Predictive value of illness representations including seriousness, treatment... more Background and aims: Predictive value of illness representations including seriousness, treatment effectiveness and control, on multiple diabetes outcomes has been well established. This study aimed to determine how depressive symptoms interacted with personal model’s domains in predicting eating behaviour, physical activity, blood glucose self-monitoring and foot care in type 2 diabetic patients. Materials and methods: A randomly selected sample of 172 type 2 outpatients (55% female, aged 63±8, educated for 10.5±4 yrs., with diabetes duration of 10±8 yrs., 29% insulin-treated, with 6.5%±0.9 HbA1C and 30±4 kg/m2 BMI) was interviewed for psychological anamnesis and examined for depressive symptoms and personal model of diabetes. Respondents’ mood and illness representations were assessed by The Patient Health Questionnaire-Depression (PhQ-9) and the 8-item Personal Model of Diabetes Questionnaire (PM), and their self-care behaviours were approximated by the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). Participants were divided into three groups: without depressive symptoms (PhQ 0.05). Self-reported eating behaviour, exercise and foot care were comparable across the groups (all p>0.05). Blood glucose self-monitoring was most frequent in patients with minimal depressive symptoms, followed by non-depressed and moderately to severely depressed ones (H=5.80 p=0.05). Diabetes impact on daily life as measured by PM was reported greater by both depressed groups compared to the non-depressed one (H=6.18 p=0.04), while other domains - seriousness, diabetes control and prevention of complications - did not differ across the groups. Non-linear regression model indicated that the control beliefs independently predicted patients’ eating behaviour and physical activity as measured by SDSCA (Wald Stat=9.3 p=0.002 and Wald Stat=7.4 p=0.006, respectively). Foot care was predicted by seriousness beliefs (Wald Stat=4.6 p=0.03), while depressive symptoms were the only independent predictor of blood glucose self-monitoring (Wald Stat=7.9 p=0.01). Conclusion: Even mild depressive symptoms were found to be associated with illness representations in type 2 diabetic patients, implying a more highly perceived impact of diabetes on daily activities. Beliefs that self care controlled diabetes were the best predictors of eating behaviour and exercise, while feelings about diabetes seriousness and worry predicted foot care. Depressive symptoms rather than personal model domains predicted blood glucose self-monitoring, showing a positive effect in mild depressive symptoms and adverse in moderate to severe ones.

British Journal of Social Psychology, Mar 18, 2019

Journal of Loss and Trauma, 2010

Previous research has found that, in cases of intergroup conflict, people are likely to evaluate ... more Previous research has found that, in cases of intergroup conflict, people are likely to evaluate their groups more positively than the groups they do not belong to, but are also more ready to derogate the out-group. Two important factors need to be taken into consideration to explain these processes: self-esteem and group status. We explored the role of personal and social self-esteem in predicting in-group bias and out-group discrimination on two conflicted ethnic groups living in Vukovar. Consistent with the Social Identity Theory and Social Dominance Theory our results confirm that group status has impact on the self-esteem level in the way that members of the majority group tend to have higher social self-esteem. Furthermore, individuals with higher social self-esteem are more ready to express show more in-group bias and more out-group discrimination than individuals with low social self-esteem. Personal self-esteem proved to be less important in intergroup context. However, opposite to results of Long and Spears (1997), we suggest that it is individuals with high social and low personal self-esteem who express most in-group bias and out-group discrimination in order to enhance or maintain high social self-esteem and compensate for the lack of self-worth. The importance of environmental and political context for investigating group processes is discussed.

PLOS ONE

Background Contextual factors are essential for understanding long-term adjustment to the COVID-1... more Background Contextual factors are essential for understanding long-term adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study investigated changes in mental health outcomes and subjective pandemic-related experiences over time and across countries. The main objective was to explore how psychological responses vary in relation to individual and environmental factors. Methods The sample consisted of N = 1070 participants from the general population of Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, and Portugal. We applied a longitudinal mixed-methods approach, with baseline assessment in summer and autumn 2020 (T1) and follow-up assessment 12 months later (T2). Qualitative content analysis by Mayring was used to analyse open-ended questions about stressful events, positive and negative aspects of the pandemic, and recommendations on how to cope. Mental health outcomes were assessed with the Adjustment Disorder–New Module 8 (ADNM-8), the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), ...

Millions of people have been affected by wars and violent conflicts in twentieth century Europe. ... more Millions of people have been affected by wars and violent conflicts in twentieth century Europe. Individuals, communities and countries live with the memories of these troubled pasts and the emotions that come with it. In some cases there is an accumulation of troubled pasts: for example, the countries that were part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia experienced two World Wars, the communist authoritarian regime and the Balkan wars in the span of one century. How are troubled pasts used to deepen perceived divisions and legitimize radicalization or inclusion? What psychological processes can contribute to mutual understanding, resilience and the acknowledgement of troubled pasts? These questions have become more urgent in the present political climate. This symposium presents a multidisciplinary perspective on the way European societies deal with troubled pasts. The presentations are followed by a discussion

The purpose of the survey is to gain detailed insight into the socio-economic and socio-psycholog... more The purpose of the survey is to gain detailed insight into the socio-economic and socio-psychological dimensions of integration and their relations using a quantitative methodology that allows for statistical comparison of data collected on independent groups, both between the arriving and receiving community within the study countries, and between the study countries. The structure and content of the survey are based on extensive research of literature on integration conducted in WP2, and the survey and all materials used for the data collection were developed and piloted in WP3. This introductory section to the quantitative surveys includes a description of target groups from which samples of respondents were drawn in each study country, a short description of key research questions answered in this deliverable, and a note on the general impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on FOCUS survey field study. In the following section, the structure of the collected survey data is presented. T...

The FOCUS project is undertaking a range of research and piloting tasks which aim to improve unde... more The FOCUS project is undertaking a range of research and piloting tasks which aim to improve understanding of dynamic integration and to assist the implementation of effective practices. As part of this work a detailed programme of qualitative research has been undertaken in four countries. This report presents the country-specific findings of this research, which will be further consolidated in a cross-site analysis to be completed in the coming months. The purpose of the qualitative research within FOCUS is: "to provide a deeper understanding of the current sentiments and relations among and between members of the arriving and receiving communities; explore both opportunities for and barriers to integration from both perspectives as well as to generate hypotheses that guide future interventions for dynamic integration." The work was based on guidelines developed following an extensive review of the current state of research in this area and key knowledge gaps which requi...

This deliverable consists of five tasks which were designed to gain an in-depth and broad underst... more This deliverable consists of five tasks which were designed to gain an in-depth and broad understanding of the state-of-the-art on research, policy and practice on integration of refugees and host community relations. This was undertaken to form a foundation upon which to build Work Packages focusing on the field work (WP 3 and 4), the development of a refugee and host community toolbox (WP5 and 6) and the dissemination of all of these (WP7). To achieve this, WP2 has been divided into five separate, though highly interrelated Tasks. This includes; Task 2.1. a state-of-the-art review of the literature and research on the socio-economic integration of refugees. Task 2.2. a state-of-the-art review of the literature and research on the socio-psychological integration of refugees. Task 2.3 Part I. a comparative analysis of integration policies in Croatia, Germany, Jordan and Sweden. Task 2.3 Part II. a qualitative study of professionals' views on integration practices in Europe. Task...

Sažetak Jedna od temeljnih odlika znanstvenih istraživanja jest prikupljanje podataka na valjan i... more Sažetak Jedna od temeljnih odlika znanstvenih istraživanja jest prikupljanje podataka na valjan i pouzdan način te njihova kritička interpretacija u kontekstu dotadašnjih spoznaja. Kvalitativna metodologija tom zahtjevu odgovara, kao i drugi istraživački pristupi, ukoliko se istraživači drže postavljenih standarda. Ipak se u kvalitativnim istraživanjima umjesto izraza valjanost često koristi vjerodostojnost kako bi se naglasile specifičnosti. Posebnost je kvalitativne metodologije što je njen glavni instrument za prikupljanje podataka čovjek koji se, zbog izravnog kontakta s materijalom i interakcija sa sudionicima istraživanja neizbježno mijenja, što utječe na daljnje prikupljanje podataka i njihovu interpretaciju. To je glavni uzrok skepticizma spram kvalitativne metodologije s pozicije pozitivističkog razumijevanja objektivne stvarnosti. Premda se slični izvori nevaljanosti javljaju bez obzira na vrstu istraživačke metodologije, kod kvalitativnog pristupa je nekima od njih nužno posvetiti posebnu pažnju. Zato su analizirane osobine kvalitativnog pristupa u odnosu na pojedine izvore ugrožavanja vjerodostojnosti istraživanja, kao što su: odabir i osipanje sudionika, reaktivnost sudionika i istraživača, ponovljeno ispitivanje i provedba istraživanja. Na temelju analize istaknuta je specifična odgovornost istraživačka koji rabe kvalitativnu metodologiju za osiguravanje vjerodostojnosti tog pristupa. Osobine kvalitativne metodologije i pitanje valjanosti Za odabir istraživačke metodologije ključni kriterij je njena prikladnost u odnosu na svrhu. Tako će i izbor kvalitativnog pristupa biti najuže povezan s istraživačkim pitanjem i ciljem