Kristina Sesar

University of Mostar · Psychology Department

The main aim of this study was to investigate how early attitudes towards sexting and sexually permissive beliefs (measured at Time 1) predict later sexting behaviour (measured at Time 2) among adolescents. We collected data from 547 Croatian adolescents aged 15-18 who participated in an online survey at baseline (2022) and after one year. Results...

Objective-This study examines the correlation between demographic characteristics (age and gender), attitudes toward sexting, and peer pressure and sexting behavior among adolescents. Materials and Methods-The current study was conducted among 359 adolescents ages 15-17 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with data collected again one year after baseline. P...

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are developmental phases in which the exploration of one's own sexuality takes on a high priority, which can increase the risk of risky sexual behavior. Due to technological advances, (non-consensual) sexting has increased among young people and has become an integral part of their sexual socialization. Therefore,...

The aim of this study was to examine the risk factors for sext victimization and perpetration among Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian adolescents. The sample comprised 4215 high school students (including 57.49% girls), aged 14 to 20 years (mean age 16.41). Attitudes toward sexting, self-control, attachment style, parental/school cell control, sch...

Background: Grieving is a life-long process, and children in the grieving process are faced with memories of a loved one, which act as a trigger for emotional reactions that may hinder the grieving process. Most children are able to cope with loss and complete the grieving process with the support of people close to them, however, some grieving...

Treći izvještaj (2023.) znanstveno-istraživačkog projekta financiranog od strane Hrvatske zaklade za znanost (br. 3553) PRIRODA I ODREDNICE SEKSTINGA MEĐU ADOLESCENTIMA I MLADIMA: KROSKULTURALNO ISTAŽIVANJE (SextYouth)

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a widely used framework for predicting behavior. Considering that technology supported sexual behavior (e.g., sexting) is widespread among emerging adults, it is logical to assume that it is driven by existing social norms, accepted standards of behavior, and the opinions of others, all of which are core cons...

Abstract - Although sexting is on the rise and is associated with various negative consequences, there is a lack of scientifically based and evaluated sexting prevention strategies. This publication introduces a sexting prevention program designed for high school students, grounded in various developmental psychological concepts as well as empirica...

The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes toward sexting using vignettes. Participants were 49 university students (ages 19-26) who participated in five online focus group discussions and responded to five written vignettes describing sexting. The five vignettes about sexting were composed of five types of sexting experiences: 1) sexting u...

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between sexting, risky sexual behaviour, and features of borderline personality disorder. Subject and methods: The study, conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, involved 265 people (70 males and 195 females) ranging in age from 17 to 25 years, with an averag...

Encouraged by increasing public and scientific attention, research has made great strides in recent years to improve our understanding of sexting. However, despite these advances, scientifically based and evaluated prevention strategies are not available and are still in development. There is a need to design sexting prevention strategies in order...

Introduction Even with growing interest in sexting research, not much is known about individual and cross-cultural predictors of sexting behaviors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine individual and cross-cultural factors associated with sexting. Methods A sample of 2571 adults (55.62% women and 44.38% men) aged 18 to 53 years (Mage =...

Povezanost različitih oblika razmjene seksualno eksplicitnog sadržaja elektroničkim putem (sekstinga) s pojedinim nasilnim oblicima ponašanja među adolescentima relativno je nepoznata. Kako bi ispitali raširenost pojedinih rizičnih oblika sekstinga i njihov odnos s rizičnim i nasilnim ponašanjem u bliskim vezama adolescenata, u sklopu projekta HRZZ...

Prior research has mainly focused on why individuals are engaging in sexting. However, little is known about sexting in intimate relationships, particularly sexting coercion. This study examined sexting coercion using social learning theory in a sample of young adults who had experience with a romantic relationship (N = 315, aged 14–28 years, 67.94...

Backgrounds: Given the negative consequences associated with sexting experiences, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have called for more thorough research on sexting. Research on sexting behaviour has primarily used quantitative methods. In recent years, mixed methods research has gained prominence in the field of sexting. However, to da...

One of the goals of research in the field of psychotherapy is to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of psychotherapeutic treatments. Researchers and professionals have been discussing the best methods for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of psychotherapeutic treatments for many years. This paper aims to give an overview of th...

This study (funded by HRZZ, grant number 3553) examined the association of sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, and relationship status) and sexual attitudes (permissiveness and instrumentality) with youth sexting behavior. Participants were 546 (75% female) youth of Serbian origin from Bosnia and Herzegovina, aged 15-24 years, who comple...

Objective − The aim of this research was to evaluate the physical and mental health of emerging adults who lost a parent before the age of 18, and to examine the predictors of satisfaction with physical and mental health. Materials and Methods − The subjects who participated in this study were emerging adults (18-29 years of age) from Bosnia and He...

Sexting has become another form of intimate communication in the digital society in which we live, not only for adults but also for adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to explore adolescents' perspectives on the definition of sexting, reasons for engaging, or not, in it, attitudes towards this phenomenon and its possible consequences. Focus gro...

This study explores the phenomenon of sexting among college students through a qualitative research design. Participants took part in online synchronous focus groups where they were asked twelve open-ended questions about their experiences with sexting. Overall, 49 Croatian and Bosnia and Herzegovinian students partici�pated in fve focus groups....

Qualitative research on sexting is not at all rare internationally (for an overview, see Doyle et al., 2021). Despite this steady increase in qualitative international research, qualitative studies examining the phenomenon of sexting in non- Western, traditional cultural contexts are rare. This study aims to qualitatively examine sexting in Croatia...

Kratka verzija BSL skale uspješno je prevedena na hrvatski jezik i validirana na ispitanicima mlađe odrasle dobi. Rezultati provedene konfirmacijske faktorske analize idu u prilog jednofak�torskoj strukturi skale. Nadalje, rezultati su pokazali visoku unutarnju pouzdanost skale kao i značajnu pove�zanost s traumatskim iskustvima u djetinjstvu. Val...

The main aim of the study was to retrospectively examine the correlations between childhood maltreatment, emotional processing, and symptoms of borderline personality disorder. The study was conducted through online platforms on a sample of 227 young woman participants from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The age range of participants in this s...

Many sexting studies conducted in the Western cultures have shown that the percentage is higher in less traditional cultures. However, the generalizability of this phenomenon to non-Western cultures has not been extensively researched. The purpose of this study is to examine and explain cross-cultural differences in sexting behavior among subjects...

Ovaj priručnik pripremljen je u sklopu projekta Priro�da i odrednice sekstinga među adolescentima i mladima: Kros-kulturalno istraživanje (SextYouth) Odjela za psiholo�giju Sveučilišta u Zadru, koji financira Hrvatska zaklada za znanost (HRZZ), od veljače 2021. do veljače 2026. godine. Priručnik sadrži opisane edukativne radionice za adolescen�t...

This manual was prepared as part of the project “Nature and determinants of sexting among adolescents and youth: A cross-national study (SextYouth)” of the Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, funded by the Croa�tian Science Foundation from February 2021 to February 2026. The manual contains a description of educational workshops for...

This article is theoretical in nature and sets out to explore how creative art therapies create useful intervention and therapeutic approaches for working with children and adolescents. Creative art therapy is an approach in the treatment of child trauma widely used by art therapists as well as psychologists and counsellors. Published articles and...

Prvi izvještaj (2021.) znanstvenoistraživačkog projekta: "Priroda i odrednice sekstinga među adolescentima i mladima: kroskulturalno istraživanje (SextYouth)"

The purpose of this study was to examine the sexting behaviors of surveyed participants through the lens of masculinity and femininity. A total of 352 high school students (264 girls, 88 boys; 14-20 years old) from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Croatia completed the Sexting Behaviors and Motives Questionnaire (SBM-Q) and the Traditional Masculi...

Sexting has become another form of intimate communication in the digital society in which we live, not only for adults but also for adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to explore adolescents' perspectives on the definition of sexting, reasons for engaging, or not, in it, attitudes towards this phenomenon and its possible consequences. Focus...

This compendium presents national reports about the contexts, current developments, and policy actions in the area of child and family support in 27 countries across Europe. The collection throws light on the conceptualisation and delivery of Family Support in Europe, which is one of the main areas of interest within the European Family Support Net...

A number of effective treatments are available for children and young people who have developed various forms of psychological difficulties as a consequence of traumatic experiences. The aim of this paper is to review the therapeutic approaches employed when working with children who have been exposed to various forms of abuse and neglect during th...

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between Eysenck's personality traits, trait arousability and coping strategies with bullying behaviour. This study was conducted among 372 elementary school children from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Personality dimensions were explored by the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Arous...

Dojenačko razdoblje i razdoblje ranog djetinjstva kritična su razvojna razdoblja za razvoj neuroloških osnova različitih aspekata funkcioniranja (psiholoških, afektivnih i relacijskih). Integracija nalaza o zlostavljanju i zanemarivanju u djetinjstvu, privrženosti i razvoju mozga pridonijeli su boljem razumijevanju njihove interakcije, te važnosti...

Proučavanje izloženosti djece zlostavljanju i zanemarivanju u djetinjstvu u početku se odvijalo sporo, a počelo je šezdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća prepoznavanjem tjelesnog zlostavljanja i imenovanjem takvog oblika zlostavljanja „sindromom pretučenog djeteta“. Krajem sedamdesetih godina počinju istraživanja seksualnog zlostavljanja, a nakon tog...

Null Hypothesis Significance Testing is a statistical procedure widely used in cognitive development research. There is widespread concern that the results of this statistical procedure are misinterpreted and lead to unsubstantiated claims about studies’ outcomes. Two particularly pertinent issues for research on cognitive development are: i) treat...

Objective − The aim of this paper was to collect and summarize findings regarding the factors associated with sexting experiences and their correlates, under Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological theory. Methods − We reviewed the literature in the field of sexting to show how numerous factors that have been found to influence sexting behaviour can be i...

This compendium presents national reports about the contexts, current developments, and policy actions in the area of child and family support in 27 countries across vEurope. The collection throws light on the conceptualisation and delivery Family Support in Europe, which is one of therein areas of interest with the European Family Support Network...

Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the faculties have been met with the task of modifying the traditional teaching environment to remote teaching. During two semesters of remote teaching, the students of the Department of Psychology from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of University of Mostar have been assessing their skills of using tec...

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and likely uniquely human phenomenon. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue by evoking social support intentions. Initial experimental studies supported this proposition across several methodologies, but these were conducted almost exclusively...

Kako slučajevi nasilja u partnerskim vezama postaju sve više dio složenoga društvenoga procesa, a posljedice agresivnih oblika ponašanja prijete funkcioniranju, dobrobiti i zdravlju žrtava te počinitelja nasilja, važno je opisati iskustva rada stručnjaka. Naša iskustva kao istražitelja i praktičara iz područja nasilja u vezama, pokazuju kako je...

Objective − The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between sexting, self-esteem and body-esteem. Subjects and Methods − A total of 707 subjects participated in this study of which 138 were male and 551 female students from Bosnia and Herzegovina (N=395), and the Republic of Croatia (N=294). They completed a modified version of the...

Psihološko značenje pandemije COVID-19 u suvremenome društvu postaje sve važnije. Kako se ovaj problem relativno nedav�no pojavio, velik broj znanstvenika i stručnjaka usmjeren je prema njegovu razumijevanju i utjecaju na mentalno zdravlje pojedinaca. U ovome priručniku pokušavamo rasvijetliti psihološko ponašanje u kontekstu pandemije COVID-19...

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and likely uniquely human phenomenon. The persistence of this behavior throughout adulthood has fascinated and puzzled many researchers. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue by triggering social support intentions. Initial experimental studie...

Sexting has recently become a relatively widespread and devastating problem among youth, and its complex nature and consequences are increasingly arousing the interest of current scientific and professional practice. Although researchers have made substantial efforts to provide the definition of the sexting there is no general consensus among them...

The book entitled Sexting: The Exchange of Sexually Explicit Content, written by Kristina Sesar and Arta Dodaj, seeks to provide comprehensive and objective understanding of the phenomenon of sexting relying on their own multiple sources as well as on others’ research findings. The authors, which are already highly renowned and successful young sci...

The predictive factors of violence between married couples or adolescents are well-known. However, less is known about the factors relating to intimate violence among college students. This study examined sociodemographic variables (age, duration of relationship, and relationship satisfaction), impulsivity, and empathy as predictors of dating viole...

Knjiga Seksting: razmjena seksualno eksplicitnog sadržaja prva je knjiga o sekstingu na hrvatskom jeziku koja nudi sve potrebne informacije o ovoj tematici. Područje sekstinga u Hrvatskoj krenulo se istraživati 2015. godine, a u Bosni i Hercegovini od 2019. Pregledom literature naći ćemo malo objavljenih istraživanja na našim područjima. Usprko...

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and mainly human phenomenon. The persistence of this behavior throughout adulthood has fascinated and puzzled many researchers. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue that binds individuals together and triggers social support intentions. Initi...

The aim of this article is to present a review of the research surrounding the short-term and long-term psychological and health consequences of child abuse and neglect. Research papers related to the consequences of child abuse and neglect and published in leading academic journals were identified and reviewed. We found that most of the available...

The aim of this article is to present a review of the research surrounding the short-term and long-term psychological and health consequences of child abuse and neglect. Research papers related to the consequences of child abuse and neglect and published in leading academic journals were identified and reviewed. We found that most of the available...

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and mainly human phenomenon. The persistence of this behavior throughout adulthood has fascinated and puzzled many researchers. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue that binds individuals together and triggers social support intentions. Initi...

Sexting, defined as the exchange of sexually explicit contents among adolescents and young adults using electronic media, has become a popular topic of interest in the wider public. This paper proposed a theoretical model to explain motivational determinants of sexting behaviour. We reviewed sexting literature to show how multiple empirical confirm...

The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between sexting and emotional competence. A total of 440 students from the University of Mostar took part in this research, aged from 18 to 25 years (M=21.32, SD=1.84). The participants completed the Scale of Sexting Behaviour, and The Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire. The results of t...

Relying on conceptualization of sexting as a deviant behavior, which appear to be related with mental health problems, we examined the relationship between sexting and psychological distress. A one-year longitudinal study was performed among 216 girls and 143 boys, aged from 15 to 17 years (M = 16.32, SD = .64). Participants completed the Sexting B...

Sexting has recently attracted the attention of researchers. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to investigate the prevalence of sexting among boys and girls, and b) to examine the relationship between different types of sexting and emotional difficulties in high school pupils. The research was conducted on a sample of 711 adolescents aged 14-1...

Reporting of mental health themes and issues are often followed with sensations, incomplete information and strongly affects to stigmatization and discrimination of the persons with experience of mental disorders, they families and close friends, but also mental health professionals and psychiatry as well. In this manual authors from different prof...

Sexting as a common adolescent behavior might me related with difficulties of emotion regulation, a skillset that draws on identifying the relationship between behaviors and emotions and then creating strategies for regulating such emotions. The aim of this study was to explore the relation between sexting and emotional regulation strategies. The s...

The first objective of this study was to examine whether there are achievement goal orientation profile differences regarding enjoyment of swimming. The second objective was to assess which sources of enjoyment differentiate swimmers of different achievement goal orientation profiles. Female (N=128) and male (N=174) swimmers aged 10 to 18 years com...

Objective – Te aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between problematic Internet use and negative emotional states among secondary school pupils. Method – Te sample consisted of 326 participants, ranging from 16 to 19 years of age. A Croatian adaptation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale was used to assess negative...

Purpose Intimate partner violence (IPV) represents a widespread social and public health problem. Researchers have been shown association between IPV and mental health problems. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature on relationship between wide ranges of mental health problems. Design/methodology/approach Research pa...

Iskustva institucija i nevladinih organizacija koje rade sa žrtvama nasilja su ukazala na potrebu rada sa počiniteljima nasilja i članovima njihovih porodica. Za razliku od obaveznog psihosocijalnog tretmana, dobrovoljni rad sa počiniteljima nasilja provodio se kroz grupe samopomoći, a u nekim institucijama i kroz individualni i/ili partnerski...

The aim of this study was to research the relation between exposure to maltreatment in childhood and working memory capacity in adulthood. A survey among 376 females in the age between 16 and 67 was administered. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood (sexual, physical and psychological abuse, neglect and witnessing family violence) was assessed ret...

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and reliability of the Croatian version of the Sources of Enjoyment in Youth Sport Questionnaire and to check the relative importance of sources of enjoyment for the sample of young Croatian male and female swimmers. A quasi-confirmatory factor analysis was conductedwith 302 swimmers agedbet...

This paper provides an overview and brief history of the theory of violence in dating relationship, a review of relevant research, and conclusions with the main findings and guidelines for future research. We discuss two broad approaches to adolescent dating violence. The first approach is based in the investigation of cultural or individual factor...

Kriza koja uzrokuje veliku ljudsku patnju i raseljavanje može biti prirodna katastrofa, poput potresa ili poplave, ili može biti situacija u kojoj su zaraćene frakcije dovele do toga da ljudi bježe iz svojih domova. Pravodobno i dobro pripremljen odgovor na kriznu situaciju može spasiti živote i osigurati dobrobit onih koji su pogođeni. Prev...

Roditelji djece s poteškoćama u razvoju izloženi su uobičajenom stresu zbog izazova roditeljstva ali i dodatnim stresorima povezanim sa zadovoljavanjem specifičnih potreba djeteta. Zbog visoke razine stresa koji proživljavaju, roditelji djece s poteškoćama u razvoju često izvještavaju o anksioznosti, depresiji, usamljenosti i beznadnosti. Različiti...

The aim of this review was to present the characteristics of coping strategies, and impact of bullying on the coping strategies chosen by children and/or adolescent victim to deal with the situation. This article involved an analysis of studies in coping strategies during bullying. Research databases were searched up until 2015 for studies relating...

U radu se opisuje kulturalni utjecaj na intenzitet, bihevioralnu ekspresiju i upravljanje emocijama. Navode se kulturalne razlike u doživljavanju, percipiranju i izražavanju emocija. U pregle-du je naveden veći broj istraživanja koja uglavnom ukazuju na veću poželjnost i primjerenost ugodnih emocija u zapadnim kul-turama, a na izraženu supresiju ug...

This study investigated achievement goal orientation profile differences between youth swimmers on perceived competence and enjoyment, and the contribution of goal orientation and perceived competence to enjoyment in swimming. Male and female swimmers (n=302), aged 10-18 years (M=12.7; sd=2.25) completed a questionnaire assessing goal orientation,...

Stvaranje društva u kojem nema rodno zasnova�nog nasilja, posebno nasilja nad ženama i nasilja u porodici, izuzetno je složen zadatak. U osnovi ovog cilja leži premisa da je nužno uspostaviti čvr�stu vezu između dostizanja rodne ravnopravnosti i suzbijanja različitih oblika rodno zasnovanog nasilja. Međunarodni standardi u ovoj oblasti pre�pozn...

Purpose-To examine differences in symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress between victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence and to examine the relationship between psychological difficulties and the role of victim and perpetrator of IPV, taking into account the form of violent behaviour. Design-A total of 347 participants formed thre...

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 nonsmok...

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of dating violence and jealousy among university students. The role of situational and background factors of risk in explaining violent behaviour was examined. The study included 33 men and 89 women participants, from 20 to 24 years of age, from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Mosta...

ABSTRACT 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...

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on the risk factors for intimate partner violence. Particular attention is paid to the definition of intimate partner violence. The controversial matter of gender symmetry and asymmetry in intimate partner violence is discussed. Four patterns of violence are described: coercive controlling vio...

The past research results of faking behavior on personality questionnaires are quite inconsistent. The reason of the discrepancies regarding the prevalence and consequences of faking may be the result of lack of clear operationalization of faking behavior. So the present research tested do two faking measures i.e. operalization (difference scores a...

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 p...

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on the risk factors for intimate partner violence. Particular attention is paid to the definition of intimate partner violence. The controversial matter of gender symmetry and asymmetry in intimate partner violence is discussed. Four patterns of violence are described: coercive controlling vio...