Indirect Over-Time Relations Between Parenting and Adolescents’ Sexual Behaviors and Emotions Through Global Self-Esteem

The present study examined indirect over-time relations between parenting and adolescent sexuality through global self-esteem. Three waves of online questionnaire data were collected among a community sample of 1,116 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.9 years at baseline). Participants rated the quality of their relationship with parents, their global self-esteem, and their experience with various sexual behaviors. Sexually experienced adolescents (n = 168) evaluated their sexual experiences using six emotions. Path model results showed that a higher-quality relationship with parents at T1 predicted higher levels of self-esteem at T2, which in turn predicted less experience with sexual behaviors and more positive sexual emotions at T3. The indirect over-time path from relationship quality through self-esteem to adolescents’ sexual emotions was significant; the indirect path to adolescents’ experience with sexual behaviors was not significant at the .05 level. No significant age or gender differences were found in the path models. The findings indicate that self-esteem plays an important role in adolescent sexuality and that parents can contribute to positive sexual experiences of adolescents indirectly—through the enhancement of self-esteem—by fostering a high-quality relationship with their children. Implications for theory, future research, and strategies to promote healthy and positive youth sexuality are discussed.     

Gambling among Croatian young people: an exploratory study of the relationship between psychopathic traits,risk-taking tendencies and gambling-related problems

The present study investigated the relationship between psychopathic traits, risk-taking tendencies and gambling problem severity and if these associations varied by gender in a community sample of Croatian adolescents (N = 282; 148 males). Results of the regression analyses showed that the Impulsive-Irresponsible behavioural style (YPI-II) and the Grandiose-Manipulative interpersonal style (YPI-GM) were the strongest postdictors of gambling-related problems. Surprisingly, independently of the YPI-II dimension, the Callous-Unemotional traits were negatively associated to gambling-related problems. By, contrast, independently of the psychopathic traits, risk-tendencies were not significant postdictors of gambling problem severity. With respect to gender differences, higher levels of the YPI-II and YPI-GM dimensions were related to more severe gambling-related problems only in males, not in females. Furthermore, while the CU traits exhibited protective features against gambling-related problems in both genders, the effect was stronger for males than for females.     

An optimal search procedure

Consider the following problem. There are exactly two defective (unknown) elements in the set X={x₁, x₂,…,x_n}, all possibilities occuring with equal probabilities. We want to identify the unknown (defective) elements by testing some subsets A of X, and for each such set A determining whether A contains any of them. The test on an individual subset A informs us that either all elements of the tested set A are good, or that at least one of them is defective (but we do not know which ones or how many). A set containing at least one defective element is said to be defective. Our aim is to minimize the maximal number of tests. For the optimal strategy, let the maximal test length be denoted by l₂(n). We obtain the value of this function for an infinite sequence of values of n.     

Urban flora in the Southeast Europe and its correlation with urbanization

Many studies have refuted the opinion that urban floras are poor in total species number and characterized primarily by neophytes. Also, it has been proved that urban flora differs from its surroundings, and at the same time reflects its richness. Our study focused on urban flora, structure and similarities, and the possible correlation with the urban attributes. Therefore, we selected 11 cities in Southeast Europe, which differ in the development of transportation networks (roads, rails and inland waterways) and population size. Next, we compared two sets of data (structure of urban flora and urban attributes) to define the correlation patterns. Analyzed urban floras were primarily distinguished by a total number of species, number of unique species and neophytes. Belgrade is a city with the highest urbanization level, the most species and the highest number of unique species and neophytes as well. Kosovska Mitrovica, Grocka and Po?arevac stand out by floristic richness. These cities have a high number of species, yet a small proportion of neophytes. Other cities are characterized by similar floristic structure, with a relatively similar proportion of neophytes and approximately similar number of unique species in relation to the total number. It can be concluded that other factors beside the chosen urban attributes have additional effects on floristic structure, except for the factor - the presence of neophytes. This is in accordance with predefining subjects, since urban attributes were chosen based on knowledge about important corridors for invasive species.     

Capturing change: Doing research in a society undergoing transformation

Systematic review and synthesis methods have gained wide acceptance within the social sciences and, as a result, many postgraduate students now consider using them for their thesis or dissertation research. However, students are rarely aware of all the concrete implications that their decision entails. This reflective narrative reports the experience of a political science student who began to conduct a systematic review as part of his Ph.D. dissertation but who did not complete it. The aim of this article is to identify challenges and lessons learned from this experience and to formulate recommendations for postgraduate students who wish to make an informed choice with respect to the use of these methods.     

Is tolerance to shiftwork predictable from individual difference measures?

Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating the most important relations between individual characteristics of shiftworkers and their subjective health complaints, obtained by cross-sectional and longitudinal procedures. A total of 604 shiftworkers and 185 young subjects who were going to enter shiftwork were examined by means of individual difference and subjective health questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered concurrently to the group of workers already involved in shiftwork. In the other group studied, the questionnaires were administered before they entered shiftwork, and subjective health was re-examined after the first and third year of work on shifts. More health complaints were reported by the group of older workers and those with longer shiftwork experience, with higher scores of neuroticism, hard-driving and competitiveness, speed and impatience, and rigidity of sleeping habits, and lower scores on relaxedness, efficiency and vigorousness. However, the correlations between these dimensions, when taken before entering shiftwork, and subjective health complaints obtained after a few years working on shifts were small or absent, indicating low validity of the individual difference measures for predicting subsequent health problems in shiftworkers.     

Serb Returnees in Croatia – the Question of Return Sustainability1

The authors report on representative field research dealing with ethnic Serb returnees to Croatia. The total sample consisted of 1,500 randomly chosen persons from a population of 120,000 officially registered Serb returnees to Croatia. The main questionnaire was answered by 403 respondents. Drawing on references relating to the concept of sustainability, they further develop it through differentiation of seven sustainability aspects or dimensions: safety; socio‐demographic structure of returnees; socio‐economic conditions of return; refugee experiences; citizenship and minority rights; and subjective perceptions of sustainability. According to field findings, between 35 and 45 per cent of the registered returnees reside permanently at the addresses they reported upon return, and an additional 3,5 per cent moved to other locations within Croatia. At the same time, between 35 and 42 per cent actually reside in their refugee countries (mostly in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Some 6 per cent of returnees occasionally stay in Croatia and occasionally outside of it. The interviewers were unable to get any reliable information regarding permanent stay for 15 per cent of the people from the sample. Finally, 11 per cent of them have, in the meantime, passed away since registered return started in 1996. The research results confirm the prevailing impression that Serb returnees are predominantly old people. The average age of all interviewed family members is around 51. The findings and conceptualization suggest the need for a differentiated approach to a returnee body to better understand the complexity of a return. First, we have to distinguish among refugees potential returnees from non‐returnees (political and economic ones). Returnees themselves can then be grouped into several types: I) unconditional permanent; II) conditional permanent; III) semi‐returnees or trans‐national; IV) non‐formal and V) formal or quasi‐returnees.