1. Influences on and prevention of self-harm behavior among the most at-risk adolescents : study protocol for the SH-MARA prospective longitudinal cohort studyLana Sernec Podnar, Petra Tomažič, Anja Tomašević Kramer, Barbara Plemeniti Tololeski, Gorjan Tasevski, Žiga Rosenstein, Simona Klemenčič, Tadej Battelino, Blaž Vrhovšek, Tadej Lahovnik, Jernej Kovač, Carla Sharp, Barbara Jenko Bizjan, Sašo Karakatič, Maja Drobnič Radobuljac, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Background Both suicidal and non-suicidal self-injuring behaviors (NSSI) are common during adolescence In Slovenia, adolescent suicide rates are high, making suicide the leading cause of death in the year 2022 in this age group. These behaviors are influenced by a complex interplay of environmental, psychological, and genetic factors. Previous research has identified risk and protective factors mainly for suicidal behavior in adults, a notable gap in understanding these factors in adolescents remains, especially for NSSI. Notably there is an important lack of effective clinical tools or psychometric assessment methods to reliably assess the risk for either suicidal or NSSI behaviors in acutely hospitalized adolescents. Methods and analysis The proposed study uses a mixed-method observational design consisting of a prospective longitudinal cohort component involving adolescents hospitalized for high risk of DSH, and a cross-sectional comparison with a control group of healthy adolescents recruited from primary care settings. It is aimed at identifying genetic, psychosocial, and clinical factors associated with suicidal behaviors and NSSI in adolescents. The study group is recruited from adolescents aged 12–19, admitted to the Intensive Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit in Ljubljana due to severe self-harm risk. Exclusion criteria include involuntary treatment, acute psychotic disorders, intellectual disability, severe physical or central nervous system illnesses and acute intoxication. The control group comprises adolescents of comparable age, recruited through regular scheduled health check-ups in Slovenia. Exclusion criteria include suicidality, severe mental disorder, a history of self-harm behavior in a first-degree relative, intellectual disability, severe physical or central nervous system illnesses and acute intoxication. Enrollment runs from February 1, 2023, to December 31, 2025. Participation is voluntary, requiring parental or guardian consent for those 14 or younger
Keywords: adolescents, deliberate self-harm, non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal behavior, intensive psychiatry, personality disorder, traumatic experience, genetics, epigenetics
Published in DKUM: 17.10.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 2
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2. Experiences with and risks of internet use among children in KosovoHasan Saliu, Zija Rexhepi, Saranda Shatri, Mimoza Kamberi, 2022, review article Abstract: This paper aims to explore the use of, experiences with, and risks of internet among children in Kosovo. This country has never been involved in the European project called Kids Online. Through a survey based on the Kids Online questionnaire, 437 children aged 11-16 were surveyed in 34 schools across the country. The results show that over 90% of children of this age stay online from one to six hours; YouTube and Instagram are the most preferred platforms; over 90% of them own smartphones. Conversely, many parents have admitted to being less knowledgeable about technology than their children. Parental mediation and schooling remain important, and the paper recommends the introduction of Media Literacy as a separate subject in pre-university education in Kosovo.
Keywords: children, adolescents, internet use, social media, cyberbullying
Published in DKUM: 24.07.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 2
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3. Peer victimization and anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic : disentangling between and within person effectsKatja Košir, Tina Pivec, Ana Kozina, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Peer victimization and anxiety are consistently positively correlated, though the longitudinal relationship remains inconsistent. Previous research often failed to ac count for the reciprocal relationship between traditional and cyber victimization, with limited evidence of the influence of broader societal factors. Thus, the present study aimed to longitudinally examine the relationship between victimization, cyber victimization, and anxiety within the specific context of the COVID-19 pandemic during one school year (2021/22), employing both the cross-lagged panel model and the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. The study included 1766 stu dents (58.5% females; Mage= 15.33; SD = 1.20) from lower- and upper-secondary schools in Slovenia who participated in three time-points with approximately 8 weeks apart, with T1 occurring before school closures, T2 during school closures (which lasted 17–21 weeks), and T3 after school closures. Findings revealed that the relationship between anxiety and victimization changed across the school year. The results of the cross-lagged panel model indicated that traditional victimization in T1 positively predicted anxiety in T2, and anxiety in T2 positively predicted traditional victimization in T3. Cyber victimization at T2 predicted lower anxiety at T3. The results of the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model showed that t the within-person level, students experiencing more cyber victimization than ex pected reported greater subsequent victimization, especially after school closures. The study provides insights into the dynamics of the relationship between peer victimization and anxiety during a specific period of school closure. The findings do not fully align with any single theoretical model, highlighting the complexity of these interactions in the pandemic context. This study underscores the need to con sider broader socio-environmental factors in understanding the relationship between peer relationships and psychosocial outcomes.
Keywords: victimization, cyber victimization, enxiety, middle adolescents, longitudinal studies, school closure
Published in DKUM: 18.07.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 8
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4. Survival camps in nature as a form of social skills trainingMatej Vukovič, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: This paper presents survival camps in nature as a form of social skills training. The camps are aimed primarily at adolescents with behavioural and emotional difficulties. They comprise many everyday social skills where both the group and the individual in the group are important. Social skills are among the many skills we teach in survival camps. Participants become acquainted with the content, methods and skills, and they strengthen the competences that help them to better integrate and function in the society. We shall present to what extent and in what way the social skills of young people are strengthened at survival camps, how young people gain vital experiences and competences and develop their potential.
Keywords: adolescents, social skills, training, survival, group
Published in DKUM: 30.06.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 14
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5. The experience of residential care from the perspective of adolescents and caregiversIvana Gazilj, Ivana Jeđud Borić, Andrea Ćosić, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Aim of the study is to provide an insight into the experience of residential care from the perspective of beneficiaries and experts. The data was collected in two male residential units. The results show that adolescents and caregivers tend to have a negative attitude toward residential care. Adolescents are even more skeptical about the purpose of treatment since they experience shortcomings in the activities and the methods of treatment, as well as monotony and stigmatization by the local community. Caregivers highlight their disappointment regarding the inadequate intervention system and the complexity of working with children with multiple risks and problems.
Keywords: residential care, experience, adolescents, caregivers
Published in DKUM: 30.06.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 2
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6. Sprachspiele als Motivationsfaktor im DaF-Unterricht mit jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen : Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Sprachelementspielen im WortschatzerwerbBrigita Kacjan, 2007, doctoral dissertation Abstract: Ausgehend von einem interdisziplinären Studium eng miteinander verwobener wissenschaftlicher Disziplinen wird in der vorliegenden Dissertation theoretisch untersucht und belegt, wie der Wortschatzerwerb bzw. das Wortschatzlemen bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen verläuft und wie Sprachelementspiele sinnvoll in diesen Prozess integriert werden können. Die so eruierten Paradigmen bilden die Grundlage fUr die Entwicklung einer Sprachspieltypologie, die sich speziell mit dem institutionellen Wortschatzerwerb hei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen beschäftigt, Anhand einer empirischen Fallstudie wird die Effizienz einiger ausgewählter Sprachelementspiele in der Praxis mit jugendlichen Deutschlernem überprüft. Vor dem Hintergrund der theoretischen und empirischen Erkenntnisse werden die aufgestellten Hypothesen im Bezug auf den motivationalen Charakter von Sprachspielen bzw. Sprachelementspielen auf ihre Gilltigkeit überprüft. Schließlich werden noch ein Fragenkatalog und die entwickelte Sprachspieltypologie als Werkzeuge angeboten, die es einer DaF-Lehrkraft ermöglichen, Sprachelementspiele sinnvoll und zielgerichtet in ihrem DaF-Unterricht mit Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen einzusetzen. Dies alles wird durch die genau beschriebene, erklärte und begründete Schrittabfolge des Wortschatzerwerbs, den ausgearbeiteten Fragenkatalog und die entwickelte Sprachspieltypologie ermöglicht.
Keywords: German, foreign languages, didactics, vocabulary, language games, motivation, cognition, learning, adolescents, dissertations
Published in DKUM: 27.05.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 8
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7. School belongingness and family support as predictors of school bullying perpetration and victimization in adolescents : are relations the same for students with an immigrant background?Katja Košir, Martina Zakšek, Ana Kozina, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine school belongingness and family support as predictors of bullying behavior and victimization, and the moderating role of students’ gender and immigrant background in a large representative sample of Slovenian adolescents (N = 1925; 42.50% male). The results indicated that school belongingness significantly predicted both bullying and victimization. Family support did not contribute to the incremental validity beyond school belongingness in predicting victimization. Gender was found to moderate the relationship between school belongingness and both bullying outcomes. The relationship between school belongingness and victimization was stronger for students with an immigrant background.
Keywords: bullying, victimization, school belongingness, family support, immigrant background, adolescents
Published in DKUM: 31.05.2024; Views: 165; Downloads: 32
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8. Cannabis use and parenting practices among young people : the impact of parenting styles, parental cannabis-specific rules, and parental cannabis useKarmen Osterc-Kokotovič, Mateja Pšunder, Andrej Kirbiš, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug. Its use typically starts in adolescence, and parents play a key role in young people’s cannabis use. Our study aimed to examine and compare the effects of parenting styles, parental cannabis-specific rules, and parental cannabis use on young people’s cannabis use. The research sample consisted of 839 students from various secondary education programs in Slovenia, aged 14 to 21. Associations between the young people’s lifetime cannabis use and their experience of parenting practices were assessed using logistic regression, with demographic, socioeconomic, educational, health, and risk behaviors controlled in a multivariate model. Maternal authoritative parenting (in comparison with permissive parenting), strict maternal, cannabis-specific rules, and parental cannabis non-use statistically significantly reduced the likelihood of young people’s cannabis use. Its strongest predictor was parental cannabis use, followed by the mother’s specific cannabis-use rules and maternal parenting style. The findings of our study can contribute to the development of public health policies to more effectively prevent cannabis use among adolescents and emerging adults, including by designing prevention programs aimed at strengthening parents’ general and cannabis-specific practices and competences.
Keywords: parenting styles, parental cannabis use, parental cannabis-specific rules, adolescents, substance use
Published in DKUM: 12.04.2024; Views: 198; Downloads: 44
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10. Management of children and adolescents with coeliac disease in selected Central European countriesPetra Rižnik, 2021, doctoral dissertation Abstract: Coeliac disease (CD) is a lifelong systemic autoimmune disorder elicited by gluten and related prolamines in genetically susceptible individuals and is one of the most common chronic diseases, affecting about 1% of the population. It has a very diverse clinical presentation, involving intestinal, extraintestinal and even asymptomatic presentations. Due to its genetic background, CD is more common among family members of affected individuals and is associated with a number of other conditions. The diagnosis of CD is traditionally based on the presence of a specific immune response and characteristic histological changes in the small intestinal mucosa. In the recently published European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) guidelines, the initial diagnostic step is determination of CD-specific IgA autoantibodies against type-2 (tissue) transglutaminase. Positive autoantibodies imply a high probability of mucosal atrophy. To confirm the diagnosis, an upper endoscopy with multiple duodenal biopsies should be performed. However, ESPGHAN guidelines for the past eight years allow paediatric gastroenterologists to diagnose the disease without intestinal biopsy when certain criteria are met. The only available treatment for CD is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet, which should only be initiated after firm confirmation of the diagnosis. Patients have to avoid all gluten-containing products, including products from wheat and wheat cultivars, rye, barley, Khorasan wheat, triticale and bulgur. Owing to the high likelihood of cross-contamination, avoidance of oats is also recommended in many regions.
Despite being one of the most common lifelong disorders, CD still remains undiagnosed for a long time in many adult and paediatric patients. Diagnostic delays in some regions exceed 10 years, which can have important adverse effects on patients’ health and quality of life.
The aims of our study were to analyse the clinical presentation of CD in children and adolescents in selected Central European (CE) countries, to evaluate the compliance with current ESPGHAN guidelines for diagnosing CD in children and adolescents, to assess the diagnostic delays in children and adolescents with CD in selected CE countries, to identify possible regional differences, and to determine whether the clinical presentation or the diagnostic approach influence diagnostic delays.
The study was carried out as a part of the Focus IN CD project with twelve project partners from five CE countries (Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia). Paediatric gastroenterologists from the included regions were encouraged by the regional project partners to complete a web-based questionnaire, providing anonymised medical records of children and adolescents below 19 years of age who were diagnosed with CD in 2016. The questionnaire was translated into the languages of all project partners and focused on the onset of the CD-related symptoms, clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, and the results of all performed tests. The medical records of children and adolescents were then analysed, and the results compared regionally.
We found that a non-classical clinical presentation and asymptomatic disease are becoming more common, and the classical clinical presentation with malabsorption syndrome less frequent in children and adolescents with CD. Abdominal pain was found to be the most common leading symptom in children older than three years, whereas, in very young children (
Keywords: coeliac disease, children, adolescents, Central Europe, clinical presentation, management, diagnostic delays
Published in DKUM: 18.03.2021; Views: 2145; Downloads: 119
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