Nasilje nad lezbijkama, gejevima i biseksualnim osobama u Hrvatskoj: izvještaj istraživanja

Ovo je prvo istraživanje u Hrvatskoj provedeno unutar LGB zajednice koje ispituje rasprostranjenost i strukturu nasilja nad LGB osobama zbog seksualne orijentacije te psihološke korelate iskustva s nasiljem. Ciljevi istraživanja su: 1. informiranje LGB osoba o iskustvima nasilja i osjećajima vezanim uz pripadanje LGB populaciji, 2. skretanje pažnje javnosti i nadležnih državnih tijela na rasprostranjenost homofobnog nasilja te na potrebu zakonskog reguliranja i rješavanja tog problema i 3. senzibiliziranje institucija koje su odgovorne za pružanje pomoći žrtvama nasilja o problemu nasilja nad LGB osobama. Istraživanje je provedeno krajem 2005. godine na uzorku od 202 osobe iz LGB populacije u Zagrebu, Rijeci i Osijeku. Pokazalo se da je svaka druga lezbijka, gej i biseksualna osoba pretrpjela nasilje zbog svoje seksualne orijentacije u zadnje 4 godine. U tom razdoblju je gotovo 40% sudionika i sudionica istraživanja doživjelo uvrede ili psovke, 20% prijetnje fizičkim nasiljem, dok je fizičko nasilje doživjelo 14% sudionika i sudionica. Nasilje su najčešće počinile žrtvama nepoznate osobe, bilo na javnim otvorenim ili zatvorenim mjestima. Kao i brojne studije prije ove i naša je pokazala da je iskustvo nasilja povezano s više simptoma psiholoških poteškoća. Osobe koje su od 2002. do kraja 2005. godine doživjele napade i ograničavanje slobode zbog svoje seksualne orijentacije su anksioznije, depresivnije i nižeg samopoštovanja od osoba koje nisu doživjele nasilje i onih koje su doživjele verbalno nasilje, a također više od ostalih smatraju da je pripadanje LGB zajednici važno za definiranje njihovog identiteta. Pokazalo se i da je socijalna okolina žrtava nasilja bolje upoznata s njihovom seksualnom orijentacijom nego okolina LGB osoba koje nisu doživjele nasilje. Čak 84% ispitanika i ispitanica zna za više slučajeva fizičkog napada na neku njima nepoznatu LGB osobu zbog njezine seksualne orijentacije, a 56% sudionika i sudionica istraživanja ima jednu ili više bliskih LGBT osoba koje su bile žrtve fizičkog nasilja. Ljudi kojima je više bliskih osoba napadnuto su depresivniji i anksiozniji od ostalih. Kada je riječ o pripadanju LGB populaciji, pokazalo se da lezbijka, gej ili biseksualna osoba koja rjeđe prešućuje stavove o homoseksualnosti ima višu razinu osobnog samopoštovanja. Rezultati također pokazuju da su manje anksiozne one osobe koje manje skrivaju seksualnu orijentaciju s ciljem izbjegavanja nelagode, diskriminacije ili nasilja. Na kraju izvještaja dale smo preporuke institucijama koje su zadužene za pomoć žrtvama nasilja, te LGBT organizacijama za smanjenje i prevenciju nasilja zbog seksualne orijentacije i sekundarne viktimizacije koja može uslijediti kada se žrtva obraća za pomoć

Violence against lesbians, gays and bisexuals in Croatia: research report

This is the first research conducted within the LGB community in Croatia which investigated the extent and structure of violence against the LGB persons due to their sexual orientation. The goals of the research are as follows: 1. informing Croatian LGB community about their member’s life experiences with homophobic violence, 2. drawing attention of the public and the relevant state institutions to the prevalence of the homophobic violence and to the need of its better legal regulations and 3. raising awareness of the police, psychotherapists, social and medical workers, e.g. everyone responsible for offering help to the victims of violence on the issue of violence against the LGB persons. The research was conducted in late 2005 at the sample of 202 persons from the LGB population in Zagreb, Rijeka and Osijek. It became apparent that every second lesbian, gay and bisexual person in Croatia had suffered violence due to her/his sexual orientation in the last 4 years. Almost 40% of participants experienced insults or swearing in that period, 20% of them suffered threats with physical violence, while 14% of participants suffered physical violence. The violence had mostly been committed by the persons who were unknown to the victims, either in open or enclosed public areas. As the numerous studies before this, our study showed as well that the experience of violence was related to several symptoms of the psychological problems. The persons who experienced assaults and limitation of freedom due to their sexual orientation from 2002 up to the end of 2005 show more anxiety, depression and lower self-esteem that the persons who had not experienced violence and those who experienced verbal violence, and feel that belonging to the LGB community is important for defining their own identity. It also appeared that the social environment of the victims of violence knew better about their sexual orientation than of those LGB persons who did not experience violence. Even 84% of participants are aware of more than one case of a physical violence against an unknown to them LGBT person due to his/her sexual orientation. 56% of participants in the research have one or more close LGBT persons who were victims of physical violence. People whose several friends or partners were attacked show more depression and anxiety than the others. When it comes to belonging to the LGB population, we noticed that a lesbian, gay or bisexual person who is more open about his/her views on homo/bisexuality has a higher level of a personal self-esteem. The results have also shown that less anxious persons are those who do not conceal his/her sexual orientation in order to avoid unease, discrimination or violence. At the end of the report we gave basic recommendations to the institutions in charge of helping the victims of violence as well as LGBT organisations on prevention and reduction of primary and secondary victimization due to sexual orientation

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals in Croatia: how the stigma shapes lives?

The goal of this paper was to examine to what extent can Goffman's concepts of stigma and methods of stigma management (Goffman 1963) be applied to sexual minorities, and to what extent are lesbians, gays and bisexual persons in Croatia stigmatized and how they manage stigma in their everyday lives. The survey was conducted at the end of 2005. Participants in this study were 202 lesbian, gay and bisexual persons from three Croatian cities: Zagreb, Rijeka and Osijek aging from 15 to 60 years. Information gathered dealt with participants' self-perception of visibility as homosexuals or bisexuals, the strategies of managing information about their sexual orientation, and about violence that LGB people face because of their sexual orientation. Results have shown that Goffman’ s concept of stigma and stigma management can be applied to the LGB community in Croatia even some forty years after the model of stigma management was formulated. Respondents - members of the LGB community are aware that they could become victims of discrimination or violence. A significant number of them avoided talking about their private life or did not kiss or hold hands with their same-sex partners in public because of concerns that they could experience unease, discrimination or violence due to an open manifestation of their sexual orientation. Also, over 50% of the respondents experienced some type of violence due to their sexual orientation. It was concluded that damaging consequences of the stigmatization of sexual minorities are present in Croatian society

The mediating role of personality and gender roles on the relationship between gender and empathy: a study on preservice teachers

IN ENGLISH: Teacher empathy is an essential part of teacher professional role, related to various student outcomes. Research have shown that women are more empathetic than men. However, when personality traits or gender roles are included into regression models, gender no longer predicts empathy. Research have pointed to agreeableness and expressiveness as the strongest correlates of empathy among personality traits and gender roles respectively, but these determinants of empathy are still rarely studied in teachers. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the role of agreeableness and expressiveness in the relationship between gender and empathy on a sample of preservice subject teachers. Two serial mediation models with gender as a predictor, agreeableness and expressiveness as mediators, and empathic concern and perspective taking as criterion variables were tested. Results showed that agreeableness and expressiveness mediated the relationship between gender and empathy. Significant serial mediation effects showed that female preservice teachers reported greater agreeableness, which had a positive effect on expressiveness, which then had a positive effect on empathic concern and perspective taking. Our study indicates that a differentiated approach to empathy training should be used with different groups of preservice teachers, particularly with those who report lower agreeableness and expressiveness. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Nastavnička empatija važan je dio profesionalne uloge nastavnika i povezana je s brojnim ishodima kod učenika. Istraživanja pokazuju da su žene empatičnije od muškaraca, ali rod prestaje biti prediktorom empatije nakon što se u regresijske modele uključe osobine ličnosti ili rodne uloge. Ugodnost i ekspresivnost pokazale su se najsnažnijim korelatima empatije među osobinama ličnosti odnosno rodnim ulogama, no te su determinante empatije još uvijek rijetko istražene kod nastavnika/ca. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja ispitati ulogu ugodnosti i ekspresivnosti u odnosu između roda i empatije na uzorku studenata/tica nastavničkog smjera različitih fakulteta. Testirana su dva serijalna medijacijska modela s rodom kao prediktorom, ugodnošću i ekspresivnošću kao medijatorima te aspektima empatije kao kriterijskim varijablama. Rezultati su potvrdili medijacijsku ulogu ugodnosti i ekspresivnosti u odnosu između roda i empatije. Značajni učinci serijalne medijacije pokazali su da su buduće nastavnice iskazale veću ugodnost što je imalo pozitivan učinak na ekspresivnost, a to je potom imalo pozitivan učinak na empatičnu brigu i zauzimanje tuđe perspektive. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na potrebu za diferenciranim pristupom treninzima empatije s različitim skupinama budućih nastavnika/ca, posebno s onima koji imaju manje izraženu ugodnost i ekspresivnost

Gender Differences and Motivation for The Teaching Profession: Why Do Men Choose (Not) To Teach?

The aim of this study was to explore gender differences in motivation for choosing teaching as a profession and perceptions of men’s demotivation for the choice of this profession. 279 preservice subject teachers from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, filled in the FIT-Choice Scale (Watt & Richardson, 2007) and the Demotivation of Men for Teaching Career Choice Scale. Results revealed that, regardless of their gender, preservice subject teachers were primarily motivated by the intrinsic and social utility values of teaching, while specific gender differences imply the importance of the role of social factors in men’s choice of this career. Low status of the teaching profession was perceived as the dominant reason for demotivation of men to choose it. Women were more likely than men to assume that men are demotivated to choose teaching because it is a “women’s profession”. Policy implications of findings on men’s (de)motivation for teaching are discussed

Kako studenti i studentice biraju studije?: kvalitativno istraživanje motivacijskih, rodnih i kontekstualnih čimbenika odabira

IN CROATIAN: Cilj rada bio je kvalitativnom metodom istražiti kako studenti/ce razumiju vlastiti proces odabira studija na visokoškolskoj razini. Teorijski okvir činila je teorija situiranih očekivanja i vrijednosti Eccles i sur. Istraživačka su pitanja bila: što studenti/ce prepoznaju kao glavne razloge za vlastitu odluku o odabiru studija, kako percipiraju ulogu važnih drugih osoba u odluci o odabiru studija te kako razumiju odnos rodnih stereotipa o studijima i zanimanjima te vlastitog odabira studija. Polustrukturirani intervjui provedeni su sa 44-ero studenata i studentica prve godine sveučilišnih i stručnih studija (22 djevojke i 22 mladića). Tematska analiza intervjua pokazala je da su motivacijska uvjerenja, važne druge osobe te rodni stereotipi imali različite uloge u odabiru studija. Subjektivne vrijednosti, posebno interes, percipirana korisnost i cijena truda, prepoznate su kao važni motivacijski utjecaji. Roditelji, profesori/ce te posebno prijatelji/ce utjecali su na odabir studija svojim savjetima, pružanjem informacija i podrške. Analiza rodne dimenzije pokazala je da je prisutnije shvaćanje da rodni stereotipi nisu utjecali na vlastiti odabir studija. No kada se prepoznaje utjecaj rodnih stereotipa na odabir, on je u skladu s očekivanjima teorije: studenti/ce rodno tipičnih studija navode da su izbjegavali rodno nestereotipne profesionalne odabire, dok studentica rodno nestereotipnog studija (strojarstva) opisuje važnost odbacivanja stereotipa za svoj odabir studija. Praktične implikacije rezultata odnose se na dodatno informiranje učenika/ca o sveučilišnim i stručnim studijskim programima te njihovo osvještavanje o utjecaju rodnih stereotipa na obrazovne odabire radi širenja spektra mogućih odabira studija. --------------- IN ENGLISH: The goal of the paper was to investigate, using the qualitative method, how students understand their own process of choosing a study course at the higher education level. This study was grounded in the Eccles et al.’s situated expectancy-value theory. The research questions were the following: 1) What do students recognize as the main reasons for their own course choice decision?, 2) How do they perceive the role of important others in their decision to choose a course?, and 3) How do they understand the relationship between gender stereotypes about studies and occupations, and their own course choice? A semi-structured interview was conducted with 44 first-year university students (22 young men and 22 young women). The thematic analysis of the interviews showed that motivational beliefs, important others and gender stereotypes played different roles in the choice of a study course. Subjective values, especially interest, perceived usefulness and cost of effort are recognized as important motivational influences. Parents, teachers, and especially friends influenced course choices with their advice, information and support. The analysis of gender dimension showed the prevalence of a perception that gender stereotypes did not influence one’s own study course choice. However, when the influence of gender stereotypes was recognized, it was in line with the expectations: students of gender-typical courses stated that they avoided gender non-stereotyped professional choices, while a female student of mechanical engineering described the importance of rejecting stereotypes for her decision to study a typically male course. Practical implications aiming at expanding the spectrum of possible course choices include providing additional information for pupils about study courses and raising their awareness about the influence of gender stereotypes on educational choices

Obrazovne nejednakosti u srednjoškolskom obrazovanju iz učeničke i nastavničke perspektive

IN CROATIAN: Cilj istraživanja prikazanog u ovoj monografiji bio je produbiti razumijevanje različitih aspekata obrazovnih nejednakosti u srednjoškolskom obrazovanju iz učeničke i nastavničke perspektive. U tu svrhu prvo su predstavljene neke od teorija važnih za objašnjenje i razumijevanje obrazovnih nejednakosti (teorija kulturne reprodukcije, teorija situiranih očekivanja i vrijednosti, teorija prijetnje stereotipom i model manjinskog stresa), zajedno s pregledom recentnih istraživanja obrazovnih nejednakosti u srednjoškolskom obrazovanju u Hrvatskoj. U drugom dijelu izloženi su rezultati aktualnog kvantitativnog i kvalitativnog istraživanja s učenicima i nastavnicima srednjih škola. Istraživanje je provedeno u 25 srednjih škola iz Grada Zagreba te Krapinsko-zagorske, Međimurske, Varaždinske i Zagrebačke županije. Provedena su anketna istraživanja s učenicima (N=1238) i nastavnicima (N=268), te fokus grupe s učenicima i intervjui s nastavnicima. Rezultati kvantitativnog istraživanja s učenicima pokazuju da su nejednakosti u obrazovnim ishodima i dobrobiti učenika povezani s društvenim porijeklom, vrstom školskog programa, rodom, kao i sa statusom ranjivosti učenika. Razgovori s učenicima upućuju na razmjernu osviještenost nepovoljnog položaja određenih skupina učenika u školi. Učenici pritom posebno izdvajaju učenike s teškoćama i učenike s (financijski ili relacijski) nepovoljnom obiteljskom situacijom, dok se druge skupine učenika u nepovoljnom položaju spominju rijetko (npr. učenici-putnici) ili se uopće ne navode. Nastavnici su u svojim procjenama anketom ispitanih aspekata obrazovnih nejednakosti razmjerno homogeni, posebno s obzirom na dob i predmetno područje u kojem poučavaju. U tom smislu njihove odgovore obilježava visoka razina prihvaćanja i poštivanja vrijednosti jednakosti i sociokulturne različitosti, kao i pozitivna procjena školske klime. Kada je riječ o učenicima u nepovoljnom položaju u školi, nastavnici smatraju da siromaštvo i konfliktni odnosi u obitelji, problemi mentalnog zdravlja, invaliditet i zdravstvene poteškoće najviše smanjuju šanse učenika za uspjeh u srednjoj školi. Nasuprot tome, individualna obilježja učenika poput roda, seksualne orijentacije ili etničke pripadnosti znatno manji postotak nastavnika doživljava kao izvor ranjivosti koji može umanjiti obrazovne šanse učenika. Da se adresiranje različitih oblika ranjivosti u školi ne odvija bez poteškoća, vidljivo je iz razgovora s nastavnicima u kojima se ukazuje na brojne izazove u radu s učenicima u nepovoljnom položaju, kao i na moguće predrasude samih nastavnika prema ranjivim učenicima u školi. Dobiveni nalazi potvrđuju da je obrazovne nejednakosti potrebno adresirati s obzirom na razlike u obrazovnim ishodima, ali i s obzirom na razlike u dobrobiti učenika. Naglašava se da je takva integralna perspektiva važan preduvjet da škole, u većoj mjeri nego do sada, kompenziraju obrazovne prilike i mogućnosti za pojedince iz različitih skupina u nepovoljnom položaju. --------------- IN ENGLISH: The aim of the research presented in this monograph was to deepen the understanding of various aspects of educational inequalities in secondary education from the perspective of students and teachers. For that purpose, firstly some of the theories important for the explanation and understanding of educational inequalities were presented (the theory of cultural reproduction, the situated expectancy-value theory, the theory of stereotype threat and the minority stress model), along with an overview of recent research into educational inequalities in secondary education in Croatia. In the second part, the results of the present quantitative and qualitative research with secondary school students and teachers were provided. The research was conducted in 25 secondary schools in the City of Zagreb, as well as Krapina-Zagorje, Međimurje, Varaždin and Zagreb Counties. The questionnaire surveys were conducted with students (N=1238) and teachers (N=268), while focus groups included students, and interviews involved teachers. The results of the quantitative research with students show that inequalities in educational outcomes and students' well-being are related to the social background, type of the school programme, gender, as well as the students' vulnerable status. The focus groups with students reveal that they are rather aware of an unfavourable position of certain groups of students at school. They particularly point to students with disabilities and students with an unfavourable family situation (financial or relational). Other groups of vulnerable students are rarely mentioned (e.g. students-commuters), or not mentioned at all. The teachers are rather homogenous in their assessments of the surveyed aspects of educational inequalities, especially with regard to age and their respective subjects. In that sense, their answers point to a high level of accepting and respecting of the values of equality and sociocultural diversity, as well as the positive assessment of the school climate. When it comes to students in an unfavourable position at school, teachers find that poverty and conflict family relations, mental health problems, disability and health problems are the factors mostly reducing the students' chances to succeed in secondary school. Contrarily, students' individual characteristics, such as gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity, are perceived by a significantly lesser percentage of teachers as the source of vulnerability that can decrease the students' educational odds. The addressing of various forms of vulnerability at school does not always go smoothly, which is evident in the interviews with teachers, in which numerous challenges in working with vulnerable students are pointed to, as well as the possible prejudice of the teachers themselves towards the vulnerable students at school. The findings confirm that educational inequalities need to be addressed with regard to the differences in educational outcomes, but also according to the differences in students' well-being. It is emphasised that such an integral perspective is an important precondition for schools to compensate, more strongly than previously, the educational chances and oportunities for students belonging to various vulnerable groups

The mediating effect of student-teacher relationships for the relationship between empathy and aggression: insights from Slovenia and Croatia

IN ENGLISH: Numerous interventions in the school environment focus on supporting empathy to prevent aggressive behaviour. But when planning interventions inside classrooms one needs to consider the context of each specific classroom, e.g., relationships between students and teachers. Based on the Developmental System Theory and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Model, this study examines the mediating effect of the positive and negative student-teacher relationships on the relationship between empathy (cognitive and emotional components) and aggression. We use a randomised sample of 539 students from two countries (Slovenia: N = 271, M = 12.91 years, 56.3% female; Croatia: N = 268, M = 13.60 years, 47.4% female). We measure empathy with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, aggression with the AG-UD Aggression Scale and student-teacher-relationships with the Perceived Quality of Student-Teacher Relations measures. The findings show that empathy plays an important role in aggression, but interestingly, the component is different in the two countries. In Slovenia, there is a significant negative direct path from the cognitive component of empathy, Perspective taking, to aggression, while in Croatia, there is a similar path, but starting from the emotional component of empathy, Empathic concern. In both countries, Negative student-teacher relationships mediated the relationship between mentioned components of empathy and aggression, thus showing the importance of classroom context, e.g., the relationships with teachers, when addressing empathy and aggression of students in the school context. The practical implication based on our findings is the prevention of negative student-teacher relationships and the promotion of empathy among students (as well as teachers). --------------- IN CROATIAN: Brojne intervencije u školskom okružju usmjerene su na podržavanje empatije kao način prevencije agresivnog ponašanja. No prilikom planiranja intervencija u razredima važno je uzeti u obzir kontekst svakog razreda, npr. odnose između učenika i učitelja. Na temelju teorije razvojnog sustava i Bronfenbrennerovog modela ekoloških sustava, ovo istraživanje ispituje medijacijski učinak pozitivnih i negativnih odnosa učenika i učitelja na odnos između empatije (kognitivne i emocionalne komponente) i agresivnosti. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 539 učenika iz dvije zemlje (Slovenija: N = 271, M = 12,91 godina, 56,3% djevojčica; Hrvatska: N = 268, M = 13,60 godina, 47,4% djevojčica). Empatija se ispitivala Indeksom interpersonalne reaktivnosti, agresivnost AG-UD ljestvicom agresivnosti, a odnos između učenika i učitelja pomoću upitnika Percipirane kvalitete odnosa između učenika i učitelja. Nalazi pokazuju da empatija igra važnu ulogu u agresivnosti, no komponente empatije koje su značajne, različite su u dvije zemlje. U Sloveniji je značajan negativan direktni učinak kognitivne komponente empatije (zauzimanja tuđe perspektive) na agresivnost, dok u Hrvatskoj postoji sličan učinak, ali emocionalne komponente empatije (empatične brige). U obje zemlje negativni odnosi između učenika i učitelja posredovali su u odnosu između spomenutih komponenti empatije i agresivnosti, pokazujući na taj način važnost razrednog konteksta, npr. odnosa s učiteljima, kada se govori o empatiji i agresivnosti učenika u školskom kontekstu. Praktična implikacija temeljena na našim nalazima je važnost prevencije negativnih odnosa između učenika i učitelja te promicanje empatije među učenicima (kao i učiteljima)