Nikola Komlenac

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Innsbruck Medical University

Objectives Fear of being single (FOBS) refers to anxiety or distress about the prospect of being without a romantic partner and has been linked to experiences of unfulfilling relationships that often result in conflict. The current study investigated whether high levels of FOBS are associated with the use of partner search strategies that the indiv...

Theoretical Background: Traditional masculinity ideologies (TMIs) comprise social beliefs about how men should be. Higher conformity to TMIs has been associated with increased psychopathology. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Network analysis, increasingly used in clinical psychology, visualizes psychopathology as a system of inte...

Purpose of Review The present review summarizes associations reported in research published within the past five years between various forms of pornography consumption (e.g., frequency, problematic use, age at first consumption, consumption with a partner) and different sexual dysfunctions or aspects of sexual functioning, as defined by clinical cl...

Background Allonormative beliefs entail the idea that all people desire sexual activity with other people. Single and/or asexual individuals may face social disapproval or discrimination for not being in line with allonormative beliefs. The present study investigated whether individuals offered help or were likely to befriend a new co-worker differ...

Background The level of experienced sociocultural pressure to have an idealized body can vary depending on a person’s gender identity and sexual orientation. The current study explored whether differences in levels of body appreciation among people with different sexual orientations and gender identities vary because of differing levels of experien...

During hookups some people use coercive tactics to obtain sex from a reluctant partner. The current study explored whether individuals with greater conformity to traditional masculine ideologies (TMIs) are more willing to use coercive and coaxing tactics following sexual rejection than are individuals with less conformity to TMIs. German-speaking p...

Introduction Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people are often found to have lower levels of body appreciation than do cis-heteronormative people. Objectives The current study utilizes the social cure model and the intragroup status and health model to investigate whether identification with a SGM social group and identity centrality (i.e., the de...

Objectives To investigate the link between conformity to traditional masculine ideologies (TMIs) and the use of coercive (forceful and manipulative) and coaxing (benign or seductive) tactics following sexual rejection in cisgender men and women. Methods German-speaking participants (N = 771; 49.5% men and 50.5% women) were randomly assigned to rea...

Introduction Sexual rejection occurs when a person’s sexual advances are terminated by a potential sexual partner, leading to responses that may disregard the partner’s choice, such as attempts to entice or express resentment. Traditional masculine ideologies (TMIs) could play a role in motivating enticing or resentful responses. TMIs often emphasi...

The goal of affirmative action programs is to establish equal opportunities for women and men. Past research has focused on one type of affirmative action, namely quotas, and found that the implementation of quotas is often met by a backlash from employees. The current study adds to the literature by investigating fairness and importance perception...

Allonormativity Heteronormative ideas about sexuality contain sets of expectations and prescriptions that focus on people’s sexual desire and interests. Heteronormative standards prescribe that people are only attracted to and want to engage sexually with persons of a different gender.¹ Thereby, heteronormativity is often justified as being the nor...

Background Since the ruling handed down by the Austrian Constitutional Court in 2018 intersex variation has been recognized under Austrian law as a “third sex”. In order to ensure that people with intersex variation are not discriminated against based on their group membership affirmative actions (i.e., proactive practices to avert discrimination)...

Objectives The belief that everyone has a strong desire to be involved in a committed relationship can lead to stereotyping of singles (i.e., singlism). One stereotype is the characterization of single people as being unsatisfied with life. The current study explored whether people judge another person’s life-satisfaction and self-satisfaction diff...

Background Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in men is complicated by the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) often leading to reluctance toward psychotherapy, therapy interfering processes, or premature termination. In addition, it has been shown that men with MDD have a significantly increased risk of being hypogona...

Introduction In Western societies, men may frequently receive messages about ideals of an often unattainable male body through visual media, including pornography. Additionally, men may hold traditional masculinity beliefs that idealize slender and muscular male bodies. Objective The current study analyzed whether pornography consumption was assoc...

Many women and men experience intimate partner violence (IPV) during their lifetime. However, only relatively few people actually seek formal help after such an experience. The current study applied the mediated-moderation model of self-compassion and stigma that has previously been used to explain men’s help-seeking behavior for depressive symptom...

Background Men are disproportionately often perpetrators of physical domestic violence (DV). Gender role constructs, such as traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI), are broadly accepted as an explanation for this effect. Emotional competence further constitutes an important role in TMI and the prevention of DV. However, the interactions between t...

The present study translated the 30-item Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI-30) from English to German. Indices for measurement invariance across gender and sexual orientation, test–retest reliabilities, and indicators of convergent (positive correlations with the Male Role Norms Inventory–Short Form and the Gender Role Conflict Scale–Sh...

Background: Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in men is complicated by the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) often leading to reluctance towards psychotherapy, therapy interfering processes, or premature termination. In addition, it has been shown that men with MDD have a significantly increased risk of being hypogo...

Background: Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in men is complicated by the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) often leading to reluctance towards psychotherapy, therapy interfering processes, or premature termination. In addition, it has been shown that men with MDD have a significantly increased risk of being hypogo...

Objectives The current study utilized the Gendered Sexuality over the Life Course Model and analyzed whether young adults’ endorsement of gendered sociocultural norms and expectations is linked to feelings at virginity loss and subsequent sexual performance anxiety (SPA). Methods An online cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 18...

Objectives The current study utilized the Gendered Sexuality over the Life Course Model and analyzed whether young adults’ endorsement of gendered sociocultural norms and expectations is linked to feelings at virginity loss and subsequent sexual performance anxiety (SPA). Methods An online cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 18...

Background High levels of self-compassion might increase men’s willingness to seek formal help, including those men, who rigidly conform to masculinity norms (CMN). However, self-compassion has rarely been considered as an enabling factor for women’s help-seeking intentions. The current study analyzed the links between CMN, self-stigma, self-compas...

Background: Men are disproportionately often perpetrators of physical domestic violence (DV). Gender role constructs, such as traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI), are broadly accepted as an explanation for this effect. Emotional competence further constitutes an important role in TMI and the prevention of DV. However, the interactions between...

Introduction Studies that explain men’s reduced willingness for formal help-seeking for depressive symptoms often did not analyze whether assumed unique barriers, namely, conformity to masculine norms (CMN), reduced self-compassion, and self-stigma are also linked to women’s help-seeking behavior. Objectives The current study analyzed whether CMN,...

Physicians can play a critical role in helping lesbian, gay, and bisexual-identified (LGB) individuals face minority stress. The current questionnaire study among 305 medical students (62.6% women/37.4% men; Mage = 23.4, SD = 3.2) assessed whether medical students learn about LGB-specific concepts at an Austrian medical university. Students reporte...

Heterosexual-identified men, as compared to non-heterosexual-identified men, are less likely to seek out psychotherapy when experiencing psychological distress. Stronger endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) has been reported to be associated with reduced psychotherapy use among men. However, the relationship between psychotherapy...

The time-intensive work of publishing in scientific journals is an important indicator of job performance that is given much weight during promotion procedures for academic positions. The current study applied the job demands–resources model and analyzed whether family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) moderated associations between work stres...

Introduction Health care practitioners may rely on abstract concepts such as “virginity loss” when assessing emerging adults’ sexual history. Additionally, virginity loss can be an important life event or “a turning point” in a person's sexual life. Sometimes, virginity loss has social implications and can be associated with potential social status...

To date, only a few studies have examined the associations between pornography consumption and sexual functioning. The Acquisition, Activation, Application Model (3AM) indicates that the frequency of pornography consumption and the perceived realism of pornography may influence whether sexual scripts are acquired from viewed pornography. Having sex...

The Work–Family Conflict and Family–Work Conflict Scale (WFC & FWC Scale) is a questionnaire commonly used to assess conflicts that arise when required time devotion and strain for work obligations interfere with family responsibilities (work-family conflict) and conflicts that arise when family responsibilities interfere with work responsiblities...

Background: Heterosexual-identified men, as compared to non-heterosexual-identified men, are less likely to seek out psychotherapy when experiencing psychological distress. Stronger endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) has been reported to be associated with reduced psychotherapy use among men. However, the relationship between p...

Gender norms can influence women and men adopting different beliefs toward their own virginity. The current online cross-sectional questionnaire study was applied in a sample of German-speaking heterosexual-identified women (n = 536) and men (n = 181; Mage = 23.6, SD = 3.7). In men negative virginity loss experiences and sexual performance anxiety...

Past research reports that endorsement of the traditional masculinity ideologies (TMIs) is associated with a range of individual, social, or health outcomes. However, the studies of such associations have mostly been conducted in English-speaking samples because validated measures are not available in other languages. The present study analyzed the...

Past research on virginity loss definitions revealed that emerging adults’ definitions of virginity loss are associated with emerging adults’ own sociodemographic characteristics. However, previous research has not systematically studied whether emerging adults applied different criteria for virginity loss depending on the context of the judged beh...

Men as compared to women are half as often affected by depressive and anxiety disorders and seek significantly less help for mental health issues than women. Adherence to traditional male role norms (AtTMRN) may hinder men from describing prototypical depression symptoms and from seeking psychotherapy. The current study compared whether AtTMRN, gen...

Social comparison processes during pornography consumption and the pressure to adhere to traditional masculinity ideologies about how a male body should look may influence men’s body satisfaction and in turn explain potential associations between pornography consumption and men’s sexual functioning. The current study analyzed whether pornography co...

Background Genital satisfaction has been found to influence women’s sexual experience. We tested the Relational Bodily Experiences Theory (RBET) that predicts associations between women’s genital satisfaction, attachment models, and sexual desire. We extended the model by additionally considering sexual arousal, orgasmic sensation, or the experienc...

Background: Experiencing interpersonal violence and disclosing this experience to physicians can be associated with fear, shame, denial or emotional turmoil. Expressions of such feelings additionally conflict with masculine gender role ideologies and may be experienced as masculine gender role conflict. Masculine gender role conflict is often asso...

The current online-questionnaire study examined physicians’ (N = 135; 51.9% women and 48.1% men) attitudes toward homosexuality and assessed physicians’ barriers to and reasons for asking patients about their sexual orientation at an Austrian university hospital. Only 37.1% of female physicians and 27.7% of male physicians included questions about...

Introduction: Studies concerning barriers to patient-physician conversations about sexual health or, specifically, sexual functioning fail to go beyond descriptive analyses of such barriers. Aim: To identify barriers that predict the frequency of patient-physician conversations concerning sexual health or sexual functioning. Methods: An online...

Background Many physical diseases are associated with sexual health problems. Studies concerning physicians’ barriers to patient-physician conversations concerning sexual health often fail to go beyond descriptive analyses of such barriers. The current study focused on finding those barriers that best predict the frequency of patient-physician conv...

Studies have continuously shown that fewer women than men achieve leadership positions in academic medicine. In the current study we explored gender differences in clinical position among academic physicians at three university hospitals, each in a different European country. These countries, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria, differ in terms of...

Introduction The quantity and quality of education in the field of human sexuality vary greatly in medical education programs in the United States and Europe. Aim The current state of medical school education with regard to human sexuality was assessed at an Austrian medical university. Methods Self-constructed questionnaires and the Beliefs Abou...

Recommendations suggest that more sexuality education be implemented in medical school curricula to increase students’ comfort with regard to dealing with sexual health issues. For male medical students the adherence to masculine gender-role norms may also contribute to discomfort regarding dealing with this intimate topic. The current study analyz...

We assessed medical students’ opinion of affirmative action programs (AAPs), perception of gender equality and discrimination. 276 medical students (56.2% female) participated. Women considered AAPs to be more important than did men. Most women (62.6%) and men (71.9%) received equal treatment, but significantly more women (22.6%) than men (11.6%) e...

The Gender Role Conflict Scale – Short Form (GRCS-SF) assesses a person’s masculine gender role conflict. Masculine gender role conflict results when a person experiences discomfort showing a certain behavior because it is in conflict with masculine norms. The aim of the study was to test the questionnaire’s psychometric properties in an Austrian s...

Masculine norms are in part defined by sexual functioning. However, adherence to masculine norms may at the same time hinder men’s willingness to obtain help when problems involving sexual functioning arise. The current study analyzed the association between gender role conflict and the prevalence of self-reported sexual dysfunction or men’s expect...

In this study we explored whether attendance at lectures on Gender Medicine, students’ gender or university affiliation influenced students’ gender awareness in medicine. We recruited 483 students (352 women/131 men) of medicine, allied health profession with focus on patient contact and allied health profession students with focus on laboratory wo...

Background Mistreatment of medical students during medical education is a widespread concern. Studies have shown that medical students report the most mistreatment compared to students of other study programs and that the prevalence of mistreatment peaks during clinical training. For this reason, a study was conducted to assess prevalence of mistre...