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The main aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the loneliness in adolescencecan be explained by self-esteem and peer pressure. In fact, numerous studies have mostly focusedon bivariate relation between these variables and so far in the Croatian sample of adolescentsis not examined relations between loneliness, self-esteem and peer pressure simultaneously.Although most authors believe that loneliness can occur in all developmental periods, it has beenemphasized that loneliness is more expressed during adolescence and even the most during theperiod of early adolescence. Establishing and maintaining satisfactory relationships is a priority,as inadequate and unsupported relationships with peers makes a risk for the experience ofloneliness. In addition to peer relationships, a positive attitude about yourself, or self-esteem hasa significant role in the successful development of adolescents. Earlier studies have shown thatself-esteem, which decreases during early adolescence, is an important determinant of loneliness.Therefore, the sample of this study consisted of two groups of adolescents, 200 seventh graders,who represented a group of early adolescents, and 200 students of fourth graders of highschool, who formed a group of late adolescents. The questionnaire, which consisted of threegroups of scale, Short version UCLA scale, Self-liking/self-competence Scale-Revised Versionand Susceptibility to Peer Pressure Scale. The results showed a higher level of loneliness inearly adolescents, and lower self-esteem, but a greater level of susceptibility to peer pressurein relation to the late teens. Girls, regardless of age had slightly lower self-esteem compared toboys, while the level of loneliness does not change significantly with respect to sex. However,male adolescents are more prone to risk behavior (eg, consumption of opiates and risky sexualbehavior) and inappropriate behavior at school (eg. unexcused absence from class) under theinfluence of peers. Finally, negative self-image, or low self-esteem and expressed susceptibility topeer pressure are significant determinants of loneliness in adolescence. The results are explainedin terms of developmental changes that make adolescents at risk for the occurrence of loneliness.

Brat i sestra su uz roditelje najbliži članovi obitelji i bez obzira u kakvom se odnosu nalazili(suparništvo, prijateljstvo) to je jedna od najdubljih emocionalnih veza. Uz izuzetak jednogistraživanja na skupini odraslih, kod nas, koliko je poznato, nije bilo sustavnog istraživanjaovog odnosa u ranijim periodima razvoja. Sukladno tome, cilj provedenog istraživanja bio jeispitati kvalitetu odnosa sa starijom ili mlađom sestrom kod mlađih adolescenata. U istraživanjusu sudjelovali adolescenti (N = 160) i adolescentice (N = 192) u dobi od 13 do 15 godina kojisu imali do 5 godina stariju ili mlađu sestru. Jedna podskupina sudionika procjenjivala je odnossa starijom sestrom (N = 181), a druga s mlađom sestrom (N = 171). Primijenjena je adaptiranaverzija Upitnika o odnosima među braćom i sestrama kojim je obuhvaćeno devet pozitivnih (npr.sličnost, ljubav, prisnost) i šest negativnih aspekata (npr. svađe, natjecanje, antagonizam) odnosakoje dječaci i djevojčice doživljavaju u odnosu sa svojom sestrom. Rezultati analiza rodnihrazlika, između ostalog, ukazuju da u usporedbi s adolescentima, adolescentice percipirajuznačajno više prisnosti ljubavi, suradnje, sličnosti i druženja u odnosu sa sestrom. Nisu utvrđeneznačajne razlike između adolescenata i adolescentica na mjerama negativnih aspekata odnosameđu braćom i sestrama. Nadalje, utvrdile su se razlike u percepciji kvalitete odnosa sa starijomodnosno mlađom sestrom. Faktor dobne razlike pokazao se značajnim na gotovo svim mjeramakvalitete odnosa među braćom i sestrama. U skladu s pretpostavkama, mlađi adolescenti iadolescentice imaju kvalitetniji odnos sa starijom sestrom., Most people grow up in a family with at least one brother or a sister. The relationship betweensiblings can be marked with rivalry and conflict, but it can also be one of the closest and mostintimate relationships that a person has in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Unlike parentchildrelationships and children’s peer relationships, there is far less empirical research related tothe study of sibling relationships which is very surprising given that it is the longest relationshipof an individual’s life. With the exception of a research on a group of adults, in our country, aswe know, there was no systematic study of this relationship in the early stages of development.Accordingly, the aim of the study was to assess the quality of relationships with older or youngersister, in early adolescence. Participants in this study were 352 adolescents (192 girls and 160boys) ranging in age from 13 to 15. The mean age of the participants was 13.9 years. Adolescentassessed the relationship with the sister who is 1-5 years older or younger than them. Onesubgroup of respondents assessed the relationship with older sister (N = 181) and the other witha younger sister (N = 171). The data were collected by anonymous self-report questionnairecontaining the measures of the children’s perception of quality of sibling relationship. Resultsof the analysis of gender differences indicate that compared to boys, girls perceive significantlymore intimacy, cooperation, friendship and similarities in relationship with their sister. Therewere no significant differences between boys and girls on measures of negative aspects of thesibling relationship. Age difference proved to be significant in almost all measures of the qualityof sibling relationship. In accordance with the assumptions, adolescents and early adolescencehave better relations with their older sister.

Most people grow up in a family with at least one brother or a sister. The relationship betweensiblings can be marked with rivalry and conflict, but it can also be one of the closest and mostintimate relationships that a person has in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Unlike parentchildrelationships and children’s peer relationships, there is far less empirical research related tothe study of sibling relationships which is very surprising given that it is the longest relationshipof an individual’s life. With the exception of a research on a group of adults, in our country, aswe know, there was no systematic study of this relationship in the early stages of development.Accordingly, the aim of the study was to assess the quality of relationships with older or youngersister, in early adolescence. Participants in this study were 352 adolescents (192 girls and 160boys) ranging in age from 13 to 15. The mean age of the participants was 13.9 years. Adolescentassessed the relationship with the sister who is 1-5 years older or younger than them. Onesubgroup of respondents assessed the relationship with older sister (N = 181) and the other witha younger sister (N = 171). The data were collected by anonymous self-report questionnairecontaining the measures of the children’s perception of quality of sibling relationship. Resultsof the analysis of gender differences indicate that compared to boys, girls perceive significantlymore intimacy, cooperation, friendship and similarities in relationship with their sister. Therewere no significant differences between boys and girls on measures of negative aspects of thesibling relationship. Age difference proved to be significant in almost all measures of the qualityof sibling relationship. In accordance with the assumptions, adolescents and early adolescencehave better relations with their older sister.

Glavni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi u kojoj mjeri se usamljenost u adolescenciji možeobjasniti samopoštovanjem i vršnjačkim pritiskom. Naime, brojna istraživanja su se većinomusmjerila na bivarijatne odnose među spomenutim varijablama, te do sada na hrvatskom uzorkuadolescenata nije istovremeno provjeravan odnos usamljenosti sa samopoštovanjem i vršnjačkimpritiskom. Iako većina autora smatra da se usamljenost može javiti u svim razvojnim razdobljima,ipak se naglašava da je usamljenost tijekom adolescencije izraženija i to čak najviše u razdobljumlađi adolescencije. Uspostavljanje i održavanje zadovoljavajućih odnosa postaje prioritet, štoneadekvatne i nepodržavajuće odnose s vršnjacima čini rizičnim faktorom za pojavu usamljenosti.Osim vršnjačkih odnosa, značajnu ulogu za uspješan razvoj adolescenata ima i pozitivan stav osebi, odnosno samopoštovanje. Ranija istraživanja su pokazala da je samopoštovanje, koje opadatijekom rane adolescencije, važna odrednica usamljenosti. Stoga su uzorak ovog istraživanjačinile dvije skupine adolescenata, 200 učenika sedmih razreda osnovne škole, koji su predstavljaligrupu mlađih adolescenata, i 200 učenika četvrtih razreda srednjih škola, koji su činili skupinustarijih adolescenata. Primijenjen je upitnik koji se sastojao od tri skupine skala, Kratka verzijaUCLA skale, Revediriana skala samoprihvaćanja i samokompetentnosti te Skala podložnostivršnjačkom pritisku. Rezultati ukazuju na višu razinu usamljenosti kod mlađih adolescenata,te niže samopoštovanje, ali veću razinu podložnosti vršnjačkom pritisku u odnosu na kasneadolescente. Djevojke bez obzira na dob imaju nešto niže samopoštovanje u odnosu na mladiće,dok se razina usamljenosti značajno ne mijenja s obzirom na spol. Međutim, adolescenti suskloniji nego adolescentice rizičnom ponašanju (npr. konzumiranje opijata i rizična seksualnaponašanja) i neadekvatnom ponašanju u školi (npr. neopravdano izostajanje s nastave) podutjecajem vršnjaka. Također je za pojavu usamljenosti u adolescenciji važna negativna slika osebi, odnosno nisko samopoštovanje, te izraženija podložnost vršnjačkom pritisku. Dobivenirezultati su objašnjeni u okvirima razvojnih promjena koje čine adolescente rizičnim za pojavuusamljenosti., The main aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the loneliness in adolescencecan be explained by self-esteem and peer pressure. In fact, numerous studies have mostly focusedon bivariate relation between these variables and so far in the Croatian sample of adolescentsis not examined relations between loneliness, self-esteem and peer pressure simultaneously.Although most authors believe that loneliness can occur in all developmental periods, it has beenemphasized that loneliness is more expressed during adolescence and even the most during theperiod of early adolescence. Establishing and maintaining satisfactory relationships is a priority,as inadequate and unsupported relationships with peers makes a risk for the experience ofloneliness. In addition to peer relationships, a positive attitude about yourself, or self-esteem hasa significant role in the successful development of adolescents. Earlier studies have shown thatself-esteem, which decreases during early adolescence, is an important determinant of loneliness.Therefore, the sample of this study consisted of two groups of adolescents, 200 seventh graders,who represented a group of early adolescents, and 200 students of fourth graders of highschool, who formed a group of late adolescents. The questionnaire, which consisted of threegroups of scale, Short version UCLA scale, Self-liking/self-competence Scale-Revised Versionand Susceptibility to Peer Pressure Scale. The results showed a higher level of loneliness inearly adolescents, and lower self-esteem, but a greater level of susceptibility to peer pressurein relation to the late teens. Girls, regardless of age had slightly lower self-esteem compared toboys, while the level of loneliness does not change significantly with respect to sex. However,male adolescents are more prone to risk behavior (eg, consumption of opiates and risky sexualbehavior) and inappropriate behavior at school (eg. unexcused absence from class) under theinfluence of peers. Finally, negative self-image, or low self-esteem and expressed susceptibility topeer pressure are significant determinants of loneliness in adolescence. The results are explainedin terms of developmental changes that make adolescents at risk for the occurrence of loneliness.

The main goal of this research was to examine the role that the quality of relationships among siblings has in explaining aggressive behaviour during adolescence. In other words, the research studied the contribution of specific quality dimensions (warmth, conflicts and mother’s favouritism) of relationships with sisters in explaining proactive and reactive aggression in young adolescents. Boys (N=160) and girls (N=192) aged 13 to 15 who have an up to 5 years younger or older sister participated in the research. The results of the analyses of gender differences show that boys have a greater tendency to exhibit proactive and reactive aggression, and that in comparison with boys, girls perceive significantly more warmth in their relationships with their sisters. The correlation and regression analyses confirm the assumptions that there is a strong connection between positive and negative aspects of relationships with sisters on the one hand and some aspects of psychosocial functioning in mixed (brother-sister) and same-gender dyads (sister-sister) on the other. More specifically, the conflict dimension in relationships with sisters is a significant independent predictor of reactive and proactive aggression in both boys and girls. Namely, the results of regression analyses show a higher level of proactive and reactive aggression in girls and boys who have stronger feelings of antagonism, competitiveness, arguing and domination in relationships with their sisters. In the girls subsample, another significant predictor of reactive aggression was the dimension of warmth in the relationships with their sisters.

Sukobi među roditeljima koji su neprijateljski i ne razrješavaju se konstruktivno narušavaju povoljno ozračje u obitelji te mogu negativno utjecati na psihosocijalno funkcioniranje djece. Utjecaj međuroditeljskog sukoba na djecu ovisi o tome kako roditelji izražavaju i rješavaju sukob te kako djeca interpretiraju njegovo značenje i implikacije za vlastitu dobrobit. Stoga se u ovom radu ispitala uloga dječje percepcije sukoba između roditelja u objašnjenju dječjih problema u psihosocijalnoj prilagodbi. Odnosno, ispitao se doprinos zasebnih dimenzija roditeljskog sukoba (značajki sukoba, percipirane prijetnje i samookrivljavanja djece za sukob) u objašnjenju zastupljenosti internaliziranih (depresivnih simptoma) i eksternaliziranih problema (proaktivne i reaktivne agresivnosti) mlađih adolescenata. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 352 učenika (192 djevojčice i 160 dječaka) prosječne dobi 13 godina. Rezultati analiza razlika između djevojčica i dječaka ukazuju da su dječaci skloniji iskazivanju proaktivne i reaktivne agresivnosti te samoookrivljavanju za nastale sukobe između roditelja. Rezultati regresijskih analiza ukazuju da izloženost učestalijim sukobima roditelja koji uključuju visoke razine neprijateljstva i agresije značajno doprinosi objašnjenju proaktivne agresivnosti dječaka. Na poduzorku djevojčica percipirana prijetnja uslijed roditeljskog sukoba značajno objašnjava reaktivnu agresivnost djevojčica. Objašnjenju zastupljenosti depresivnih simptoma i kod dječaka i kod djevojčica u najvećoj mjeri doprinosi dimenzija percipirane prijetnje uslijed roditeljskog sukoba. Na poduzorku djevojčica značajnim prediktorom depresivnih simptoma pokazala se još i dimenzija samookrivljavanja za nastale roditeljske sukobe., Hostile and constructively unresolved conflicts between parents are damaging for the positive family environment and, therefore, can have a negative impact on the psychosocial functioning of their children. The impact of the interparental conflict on children depends on the way in which parents express and resolve their disagreement and, also, in the way in which children interpret its meaning and its implication for their wellbeing. Thus, this paper seeks to examine the extent in which a child's perceptions of the interparental conflict explain the disorder in psychosocial adjustment of a child. In other words, various dimensions of a parental conflict were examined (i.e. conflict characteristics, their appraisals of threat and self-blame) to explain the presence of internal (depression symptoms) and external (proactive and reactive aggression symptoms) problems in young adolescents. The research was carried out on 352 school children who were at an average of 13 years of age (of which 192 were girls and 160 were boys). The analyses examining the differences between boys and girls show that boy are more likely to express proactive and reactive types of aggressive behaviour and to self-blame for the interparental conflict. More so, results of the regression analysis show that frequent exposure to a highly hostile internparental conflicts and aggression can result in a proactive aggressive behaviour in boys. On the other hand, perceptions of threat during the interparental conflict significantly explain the reactive aggressive behaviour in girls. More so, the perception of threat dimension further explains presence of the depression symptoms in boys and girls. Furthermore, the self-blame dimension has been another significant depression symptoms predictor in girls.