Faculty Members from the Department of Psychology Participate in International EARA Conference in Cyprus

From 25 to 28 September 2024, the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) held its international conference in Limassol, Cyprus, with participation from several faculty members of the Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of Croatia.

Assistant Professor Lana Batinić, Ph.D., took part in the symposium Enhancing Adolescents’ Wellbeing and Resilience, organized by Professor Carmel Cefai, Ph.D., from the University of Malta. She presented the results of a study conducted jointly with Assistant Professor Francesca Giordano, Ph.D., and Professor Jasna Ćurković Nimac, Ph.D., titled Teaching Resilience in the Summer School “Practicing Resilience, Preparing for Recovery”: Examining Learning Processes and Related Outcomes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the summer school program held in 2024 in Šibenik, in which all three co-authors participated as lecturers. The summer school, organized for the third consecutive year by the Catholic University of Croatia, was held in collaboration with the Nanovic Institute (USA), the Ukrainian Catholic University, and the Catholic Universities Partnership.

Associate Professor Marina Merkaš, Ph.D., principal investigator of the project Digital Technology in the Family: Patterns of Behavior and Effects on Child Development, presented findings from a three-year longitudinal study conducted within the D.E.C.I.D.E. project. Her poster presentation was titled Physical Consequences of Problematic Smartphone Use in Adolescents: “Do They Feel Pain When They Use Their Phones for a Long Time?”

Teaching Assistant Matea Bodrožić Selak, mag. psych., participated in the symposium Family Interactions and Its Impact on Youth Psycho-Social Development in Families With and Without Migration Background. She presented the results of a longitudinal study conducted as part of the Digital Technology in the Family project with the presentation Effects of Parents’ Smartphone Use on Children’s Emotions, Behavior, and Subjective Well-Being. Additionally, she presented the poster Conflicts About Adolescents’ Smartphone Use Between Parents and Adolescents: Frequency, Gender Differences, and Association With Adolescent Well-Being.