Gordana Keresteš

University of Zagreb · Department of Psychology

The study explored changes in parent-adolescent school-related conflict rate and academic performance over a 5-year period among Croatian early adolescents and gender differences in these changes. Furthermore, it examined the relationship between conflict and achievement. The study was performed by applying an accelerated approach to overlapping co...

Having children affects many aspects of people's lives. However, it remains unclear to what degree the challenges that come along with having children are associated with parents' personality development. We addressed this question in two studies by investigating the relationship between parenting challenges and personality development in mothers o...

The aim of the study was to investigate long-term effects of exposure to war on children's aggressive and prosocial behavior, and to examine the potential moderating roles of perceived parenting and child's gender, by employing a multi-informant research design. Data were collected on a sample of school-age children from Croatia and their homeroom...

Informed by theories about processes in families with adolescent children, this study examined the contribution of self-perceived decline in physical and cognitive functioning related to midlife, marital satisfaction, and parent–child conflict to psycho-logical well-being of parents of young adolescents. Parental well-being was conceptualized withi...

Croatian elementary school children in grades 4 to 6 (N= 151) reported on direct and indirect aggressive behaviors of their classmates. Acceptance and rejection by classmates were also assessed, employing the sociometric nomination technique. Correlational analyses revealed that both forms of aggression were related to peer rejection, but unrelated...

Research has shown links between emotion regulation strategies and child mental health. However, it is not well known how the characteristics of children may moderate these links. The aim of this study was to explore whether environmental sensitivity—the ability to perceive and process information about the environment—moderates links between emoti...

Loneliness, an emotionally unpleasant experience resulting from a discrepancy between a person’s desired and perceived quality of social relationships, is highly prevalent among young adults nowadays. Therefore, it is important to investigate factors associated with the level of loneliness in early adulthood, especially among females whose self-con...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a multimodal program, designed for practicing reading, on reading development in struggling readers in two different countries. The research question was whether one specific training method will have a positive effect on pupils’ reading development in two different countries with d...

Previous studies showed that rejection sensitivity is a predictor of depressive symptoms. However, it is not clear whether gender is a moderator in this relation. This study aims to longitudinally examine the contribution of rejection sensitivity to depressive symptoms in university students and the moderating role of gender in that relation. A lon...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote schooling was conducted on several occasions in the Republic of Croatia. The aim of this study is to compare the remote schooling experiences of parents of elementary school children with hearing and/or speech and language disorders and those of parents of typically developing children during the COVID-19 pandem...

U ovoj monografiji prikazani su preliminarni nalazi drugog vala istraživanja Kako smo? provedenog krajem 2020. godine, koji pokazuju kakvo je psihološko stanje građana Hrvatske i kako su se s pandemijom COVID-19 i potresom u Zagrebu nosile osobe svih generacija i u različitim životnim ulogama: od učenika i studenata, preko osoba u vezi i samaca, ro...

Priručnik je nastao u okviru programa “Za snažniju obitelj” kojeg su pokrenuli Ministarstvo rada, mirovinskoga sustava, obitelji i socijalne politike i UNICEF. Priručnik je praktični vodič stručnjacima za provođenje osposobljavanja za udomitelje koje nastoji informirati, senzibilizirati i osposobiti za različite izazove u osiguranju adekvatne skrbi...

An increasing number of studies worldwide have demonstrated that human mental health has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which the pandemic influences people's psychological functioning. The aim of this study was to examine whether parental perceptions of changes in children's schooling d...

Osjetljivost na okolinu osobina je koja se odnosi na lakoću zamjećivanja informacija o okolini i dubinu njihove obrade. Individualne su razlike u osjetljivosti na okolinu znatne, a stupanj te osjetljivosti određuje pojedinčeve reakcije na pozitivne i negativne čimbenike kojima je izložen. Uloga osjetljivosti na okolinu u razvoju i prilagodbi djece...

Čitanje je iznimno složena aktivnost sastavljena od mnogih, primarno kognitivnih procesa, koji uključuju percepciju grafema i njihovo povezivanje s odgovarajućim fonemima, fonološko dekodiranje riječi te razumijevanje značenja riječi, rečenica i različitih vrsta tekstova. Uspješnost svih procesa pri čitanju ovisi o različitim razinama konteksta u k...

This study presents the results of an analysis of Croatian Language and Natural Sciences textbooks used in the fourth and sixth grade of primary education in Croatia. Textbooks are therein seen as core educational materials, influencing teacher practices—specifically, the reading comprehension instruction. Five textbooks were coded for text type, l...

Psycholinguistic databases containing ratings of concreteness, imageability, age of acquisition, and subjective frequency are used in psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies which require words as stimuli. Linguistic characteristics (e.g. word length, corpus frequency) are frequently coded, but word class is seldom systematically treated, alth...

The transition to parenthood brings changes in many areas of life, including the area of sexuality. The aim of this study was to examine differences in the frequency of sexual intercourse, sexual satisfaction and the sexual self-schema of participants in different stages of their transition to parenthood. The study involved men and women without ch...

This study analyzes a newly developed measure for assessing the knowledge of general academic vocabulary in upper-elementary school students in Croatia. This researcher-designed instrument assesses students' command of synonymy and the limits of collocational use as a proxy for academic vocabulary breadth and depth. Elementary school students in th...

Preliminary results of psychological effects of corona virus disease on children, adults and elderly in Croatia. Study on over 3500 participants from 7 to 95 years reports results on depressive, anxious and stress reactions, attitudes on anti COVID-19 measures and many other aspects of life during lock-down and afterwards. The Kako smo? project, de...

Čitanje je ključna akademska vještina, ne samo za uspjeh u školovanju, već i za opću prilagodbu i snalaženje u suvremenom svijetu, u kojem su pisane informacije i pisana komunikacija nezaobilazni u svim područjima života. Hrvatska je 2017. godine usvojila Nacionalnu strategiju poticanja čitanja za razdoblje od pet godina. Za ostvarivanje ciljeva de...

The global popularity of online social networks (OSN) prompted concerns about adverse effects on adolescents' psychological well-being. To further the understanding of the relation between adolescents' use of OSN and life satisfaction, we used data from 701 female and 456 male Croatian high-school students collected over a period of 23 months. Mult...

The purpose of this study was to investigate literacy development beyond the early school years. We investigated mean-level and rank-order changes in two reading (word decoding speed and reading comprehension) and two spelling (word and pseudoword spelling accuracy) tasks during a 4-year period from beginning to the later grades of elementary schoo...

The aim of the study was to investigate sexual self-schemas of Croatian university students in relation to their gender and recent sexual activity. The Sexual Self-Schema Scale was administered to 285 undergraduate students of both genders, and a single question on the presence of sexual partner in the past month was asked. Gender differences were...

The study examined concurrent relations between attachment to parents, Five-Factor Model personality traits, and internalizing problems in adolescence. The sample included 968 Croatian high school students (Mage = 15.16; 50.6% males). The results showed that both adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment related more strongly to adolescent...

This article presents the initial results of the project The Building Blocks of Croatian Mental Grammar: Constraints of Information Structure, within the scope of which the Croatian Psycholinguistic Database is being constructed. The database contains empirically established values for the categories of concreteness, imageability, subjective freque...

Za razliku od roditeljskih ponašanja i stilova kojima je posvećena znatna istraživačka pažnja, empirijskih podataka o tome kako se roditelji osjećaju u roditeljskoj ulozi te kako doživljavaju sebe kao roditelja i svoj odnos s djetetom znatno je manje. U Hrvatskoj je u posljednjih petnaestak godina proveden veći broj istraživanja u kojima su ispitan...

In sport, winning and losing are usually propounded as the most important criteria for the evaluation of coaches' competences. Thus, negative coaching behaviours are too often ignored, particularly if those behaviours are associated with sport success. Since existing measures for the assessment of coaches' leadership style are dominantly focused on...

U sportu se pobjeda i poraz uobičajeno smatraju najrelevantnijim kriterijem procjene kompetentnosti sportskih trenera. Posljedično, negativna se ponašanja trenera nerijetko ignoriraju, što naročito dolazi do izražaja u slučajevima kada su takvi oblici ponašanja povezani sa sportskim uspjehom. S obzirom na to da su postojeći mjerni instrumenti domin...

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, State Parties should ensure alternative care for children who are unable to live with their biological parents. Foster care is one of the leading alternative care systems. It provides children unable to live with their biological parents a family context, rather than rearing in...

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between Rohner's dimensions of parental behavior, as retrospectively perceived by young aduits, and some personality variables that are postulated to be associated with them. 130 female and 94 male students of the University of Zagreb participated in the study. The mean age of the sample was 21 y...

This study examined the accuracy of sixth- and seventh-grade boys’ and girls’ self-perceived popularity within a group of same- and opposite-gender peers. The links between popularity, self-perceived popularity, and the interaction of these variables in relation to girls’ and boys’ loneliness was also explored. The results showed that boys and girl...

The aim of this study was to compare personality resemblance in four independent Croatian samples using the same family study design, but different measures of five-factor personality traits. The family study design can provide evidence of familial aggregation of personality and of assortative mating. Father-mother correlations, father-offspring co...

This study examined gender differences in perceived popularity and the relationship of perceived popularity with gender of both the assessor and the assessed person. The relationship between perceived popularity, loneliness and pubertal timing was also investigated, with gender as a moderator in these relationships. Participants were 290 elementary...

Oružani sukobi i nasilje u društvu imaju negative posljedice po psihološku dobrobit djece i njihova akademska postignuća. Ciljevi su ovog istraživanja bili usporediti školski uspjeh djece koja odrastaju u područjima Hrvatske različito pogođenim ratom tijekom 1991.-1995. godine, ispitati u kojoj se mjeri školski uspjeh djece može objasniti odabranim...

U radu se daju rezultati istraživanja kojim smo primjenom kombinirane transverzalne i longitudinalne metodologije željeli utvrditi kako se u ranoj adolescenciji razvijaju samoregulacijski procesi postulirani modelom selekcije, optimizacije i kompenzacije Baltesa i suradnika (1990, 2002). Također, u istraživanju smo željeli provjeriti je li taj razv...

Armed conflicts and violence in society has negative impact on psychological well-being of children and their academic achievement. This study aimed to compare school achievement of elementary school pupils living in parts of Croatia differently affected by the Croatian War for Independence (1991-1995). Its task was also to examine the predictive p...

U radu se daju rezultati istraživanja kojim smo primjenom kombinirane transverzalne i longitudinalne metodologije željeli utvrditi kako se u ranoj adolescenciji razvijaju samoregulacijski procesi postulirani modelom selekcije, optimizacije i kompenzacije Baltesa i suradnika (1990, 2002). Također, u istraživanju smo željeli provjeriti je li taj razv...

Cilj rada bio je empirijski utvrditi prikladnost nekoliko mjera pubertalnoga sazrijevanja za primjenu u psihologijskim i drugim nemedicinskim istraživanjima razvoja adolescenata. U uzorku predadolescenata i mlađih adolescenata i njihovih roditelja prikupljene su samoprocjene i roditeljske procjene relativnoga pubertalnog statusa te izvještaji o dje...

23 © "Naklada Slap", 2012. Sva prava pridržana. Rad je nastao u okviru znanstvenog projekta Ličnost roditelja i roditeljstvo tijekom tranzici-je djeteta u adolescenciju koji podupire MZOŠ RH (broj projekta 130-130-1683-1400) Izvorni znanstveni članak -UDK 159.923.3 Sažetak Kulturalna specifičnost roditeljskih ponašanja stvara potrebu za razvojem mj...

Applying combined cross-sectional and longitudinal methodology, this study investigated how self-regulation develops in early adolescence, and whether that development is linear and similar for boys and girls. Baltes and colleagues (1990, 2002) operationalized self-regulation within the Model of selection, optimization and compensation. Participant...

Cultural specificity of parenting behavior creates the need for appropriate, culturally relevant measures of this complex construct. Based on this need, the questionnaire appropriate for measuring parental behavior in the Croatian cultural context was developed. The first version of the Parental Behavior Questionnaire, PBQ32, showed acceptable psyc...

Based on Belsky's (1984) model of parenting determinants, the study examined the contribution of social-contextual factors (quality of marriage indexed by marital satisfaction, perceived social support and parent-employee interrole conflict) to individual differences in parenting behaviour of parents of preschool children. The sample of participant...

Polazeći od modela determinanti roditeljskoga ponašanja (Belsky, 1984.), u ovom radu ispitana je povezanost roditeljskoga ponašanja zaposlenih roditelja s objektivnim obilježjima posla i roditeljevim subjektivnim doživljajem odnosa između roditeljske i radne uloge. U istraživanju su sudjelovala 162 zaposlena oca i 380 zaposlenih majki, koji su imal...

Cilj je ovoga rada bio ispitati spolne i dobne razlike u usamlje-nosti predadolescenata i mladih adolescenata te utvrditi pove-zanost između usamljenosti i nekoliko indikatora kvalitete so-cijalnih odnosa (sociometrijskoga statusa, prisnosti u istospol-nom prijateljstvu i socijalne podrške). U istraživanju je sudjelo-valo 188 učenika i učenica viši...

Based on theorizing about the role of parenting sense of competence in determining overall parenting functioning and the quality of parent-child relationship, this study has examined relationship between three aspects of sense of competence in parenting role (parenting self-efficacy, and parenting internal and external locus of control) and the fre...

Based on theoretical views about the role of parenting sense of competence in determining overall parenting functioning and the quality of parent-child relationship, this study has examined the relationship between three aspects of sense of competence in parenting role (parenting self-efficacy and parenting internal and external locus of control) a...

Based on Belsky's (1984) model of parenting determinants, the study examined the contribution of social-contextual factors (quality of marriage indexed by marital satisfaction, perceived social support and parent-employee interrole conflict) to individual differences in parenting behaviour of parents of preschool children. The sample of participant...

Although both lay persons and scientists tend to believe that a child's adolescence is one of the most difficult periods of parenthood, there is little empirical data about self-perception of parenthood among parents of adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine several aspects of self-perception of parenthood among mothers and fathers of yo...

During the last several decades, various aspects of adolescents' experiences and behaviors have been intensively examined. However, the role of pubertal maturation - central and most salient developmental change at transition from childhood to adulthood - is surprisingly scarcely examined within the research of other aspects of adolescents' functio...

The aim of the study was to assess the suitability of several subjective measures of pubertal maturation for application in psychological and other non-medical studies of adolescent development. In a sample of preadolescents and young adolescents and their parents, self-and parental-assessments of relative pubertal status, as well as reports about...

During the last several decades, various aspects of adolescents' experiences and behaviors have been intensively examined. However, the role of pubertal maturation central and most salient developmental change at transition from childhood to adulthood - is surprisingly scarcely examined within the research of other aspects of adolescents' functioni...

Interaction between students and teachers as well as students’ academic achievement are to a large extent dependant on students’ behavior in classroom and teacher’s perception of how problematic those behaviors are. The present study examines teachers’ perceptions of emotional and behavioral difficulties of elementary school students in grades 1 to...

The aim of this study was to compare five measures of aggressive and prosocial behavior of school children. Data were collected from elementary school children in grades 5th to 8th, their parents, classmates, and homeroom teachers. All five measures of aggression (self-ratings, peer ratings, home-room teachers' ratings, mother ratings, and father r...

The parent-child relationship and quality of parenting behavior have proven to be the most influential determinants of the child’s development. While great effort has been spent studying the parenting behavior and consequences of parenting, much less attention has been devoted to studying determinants of parenting behavior. Along with the child cha...

The study examined birth order effects on maternal ratings of infant temperament. Mothers of 120 fullterm infants (55 boys, 65 girls) completed the Rothbart Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) when their infants were 6 or 12 months old. There were 49 mothers of firstborns and 71 mothers of laterborns. A 2 (infant birth order) by 2 (infant gender) a...

Interaction between students and teachers as well as students' academic achievement are to a large extent dependant on students' behavior in classroom and teacher's perception of how problematic those behaviors are. The present study examines teachers' perceptions of emotional and behavioral difficulties of elementary school students in grades 1 to...

The aim of this study was to compare five measures of aggressive and prosocial behavior of school children. Data were collected from elementary school children in grades 5th to 8th, their parents, classmates, and homeroom teachers. All five measures of aggression (self-ratings, peer ratings, home-room teachers' ratings, mother ratings, and father r...

Cilj rada bio je ispitati postoje li razlike u depresivnosti s obzirom na darovitost, školski uspjeh, spol i dob učenika. U istraživanju su sudjelovali učenici 7. i 8. razreda iz pet zagrebačkih osnovnih škola, koji su u trećem razredu prošli kroz postupak identifikacije darovitih učenika. Uzorak se sastojao od 75-oro djece koja su identificirana k...

Rad prikazuje rezultate istraživanja roditeljskih laičkih (implicitnih) teorija dječje inteligencije. Uzorak se sastojao od 108 roditelja predškolske djece. Cilj rada bio je ispitati razlikuju li se implicitne teorije očeva i majki, odnosno teorije roditelja različitog obrazovanja. Implicitne teorije mjerene su prilagođenim upitnikom koji su u svoj...

To investigate whether prematurity itself, if not accompanied with serious medical risks, affects early temperamental characteristics, as measured by maternal ratings. Mothers' reports on temperamental characteristics of 104 low-risk, healthy premature infants were compared with those from a comparable sample of 120 full-term infants. Mothers compl...

Teachers' attitudes and beliefs toward children's aggressive behavior are important yet underinvestigated factors that can influence the development of children's aggression as well as the effects of school-based programs aimed at reducing and preventing aggression. The present paper deals with teachers' attitudes toward children's aggressive behav...

Teachers' attitudes and beliefs toward children's aggressive behavior are important yet underinvestigated factors that can influence the development of children's aggression as well as the effects of school-based programs aimed at reducing and preventing aggression. The present paper deals with teachers' attitudes toward children's aggressive behav...

Svrha ovog istraživanja bila je prikupljanje podataka koji će moći poslužiti kao polazna točka za bolje razumijevanje i unaprjeđivanje dječjih prava, društvenog položaja i slike djeteta u našoj zemlji. Ovo je istraživanje poduzeto s ciljem da se, barem djelomično, pokuša utvrditi kako se u našem društvu percipiraju djeca, koliko su djeca i njihovi...

Knjiga rasvjetljava dječje agresivno i prosocijalno ponašanje u kontekstu stresnih i traumatskih iskustava koje djeca doživljavaju u ratu. U prvom dijelu knjige prikazane su postojeće spoznaje o utjecaju rata na djecu, s posebnim naglaskom na utjecajima na agresivno i prosocijalno ponašanje. Također je objašnjen razvoj agresivnog i prosocijalnog po...

Cilj rada je utvrditi učinak spola roditelja te spola i dobi djeteta na roditeljsko ponašanje. Djeca rane adolescentne dobi (6.-8. razred osnovne škole, N = 491) i oba njihova roditelja u sklopu primjene većeg broja psihologijskih mjernih instrumenata ispunila su i upitnik o roditeljskom ponašanju CRPBI-57, kojim se mjere tri temeljne dimenzije rod...

Porast agresivnog ponašanja jedna je od najčešće očekivanih posljedica rata na djecu. Premda rezultati istraživanja nisu konzistentni čini se ipak da postojeći nalazi podržavaju takvo očekivanje. Permisivan stav društva prema agresivnosti i njezino pozitivno vrednovanje, izloženost agresivnim modelima, brojni izvori frustracije i prijetnje te pojač...

The main goal of this study, partly retrospective in character, was to explore if and how pet ownership in childhood is related to several indicators of socio-emotional development, as well as work values and professional choices in early adulthood. The sample consisted of 356 students (200 females, 156 males) from different colleges of the Univers...

The aim of this work is to examine the influence of family strcture, i.e. self-supporting motherhood on the child's and mother's assessment of the overall family atmosphere and three dimensions of the mother's parental behaviour (child acceptance, psychological control, behavioural control) and to check the interactive influence of the child's gend...

The aim of this work is to examine the influence of family strcture, i.e. self-supporting motherhood on the child's and mother's assessment of the overall family atmosphere and three dimensions of the mother's parental behaviour (child acceptance, psychological control, behavioural control) and to check the interactive influence of the child's gend...

The aim of the study was to examine whether three groups of children (without a pet, with a dog/cat and with other pets) differ in intensity of posttraumatic stress reactions (PTSR) and ways of coping with stress. Since boys and girls can differ in their reaction to trauma and coping strategies, as well as younger and older children, gender and age...

The aim of this study was to examine possible beneficial effects of pet ownership on the self-esteem of war-traumatized school children. The Croatian version of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale was administered to three groups of elementary school children of both sexes, grades 5 to 8, all severely affected by war: dog or cat owners (n=295), owners of...

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between Rohner's dimensions of parental behavior, as retrospectively perceived by young adults, and some personality variables that are postulated to be associated with them. 130 female and 94 male students of the University of Zagreb participated in the study. The mean age of the sample was 21 y...

U radu je prikazana uloga kućnih ljubimaca u socijalno emocionalnom razvoju djece predškolske dobi, je li vrsta ljubimca važna, na koje aspekte razvoja oni utječu i koliko je važna kvaliteta odnosa sa životinjom u odnosu na samu prisutnost životinje u domu djeteta.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether, and how, extreme environmental influence, such as a war situation, can affect the development of children's aggressive and prosocial behaviour. A combined longitudinal–cross-sectional design was used in the study. Subjects were preschool children whose behaviour was rated on the Children's Aggressiv...

U psihologiji je evidentan kronični nedostatak mjernih instrumenata za procjenu ponašanja i osobina ličnosti djece mlađe (predškolske) dobi. Polazeći od znanstvenoteorijskih interesa za izučavanjem agresivnog i prosocijalnog ponašanja te praktičnih potreba za procjenom tih dviju osobina kod djece, konstruirana je Skala za procjenu dječjeg agresivno...

Iako se u posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća razvoj različitih aspekata doživljavanja i ponašanja u razdoblju adolescencije intenzivno istražuje, uloga pubertalnoga sazrijevanja – središnje i najistaknutije razvojne promjene na prijelazu iz djetinjstva u odraslu dob – u razvoju ostalih aspekata funkcioniranja i ponašanja adolescenata ispituje se iznen...

In adolescence, peer group becomes an increasingly important context of development. Therefore, knowledge about predictors and correlates of quality of relationships with peers and status in the peer group is of significant theoretical and practical importance. Previous research has mostly been focused on relationships between externalizing behavio...

The aim of this work is to examine the influence of family strcture, i.e. self-supporting motherhood on the child's and mother's assessment of the overall family atmosphere and three dimensions of the mother's parental behaviour (child acceptance, psychological control, behavioural control) and to check the interactive influence of the child's gend...