Individualism and collectivism are some of the most widely applied concepts in cultural and cross-cultural research. They are commonly applied by scholars who use arithmetic means or sum indexes of items on a scale to examine the potential similarities and differences in samples from various countries. For many reasons, cross-cultural research implicates numerous methodological and statistical pitfalls. The aim of this article is to summarize some of those pitfalls, particularly the problem of measurement non-invariance, which stems from the different understandings of questionnaire items or even different character of constructs between countries. This potential bias is reduced by latent mean comparisons performed with Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis and the Measurement Invariance procedure within a Structural Equation Modeling framework. These procedures have been neglected by many researchers in the field of cross-cultural psychology, however. In this article, we compare ‘traditional’ (comparison of arithmetic means) and ‘invariant’ (latent mean comparison) approaches and provide necessary R source codes for replications of measurement invariance and latent mean comparisons within other scales. Both approaches are demonstrated with real data gathered on an Independent and Interdependent Self-Scale from 1386 participants across six countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Albania). Our results revealed considerable differences between the ‘invariant’ and ‘traditional’ approaches, especially in post-hoc analyses. Since ‘invariant’ results can be considered less biased, this finding suggests that the currently prevalent method of comparing the arithmetic means of cross-cultural scales of individualism and collectivism can potentially cause biased results.

The research presented in this paper is a part of the project "Condition, Factors and Development of European Identity in Serbia and Montenegro" which is financed by the Ministry for Science and Protection of Environment of the Republic of Serbia. The goal of this research is to determine the relation between the achievement motive and locus of control on the one hand, and European identity on the other. These motivational factors were selected as the indicators of the active orientation of persons, which is a psychological prerequisite for the development of consciousness of the people and the society as a whole. The research was carried out during 2003 with the sample of 2635 subjects from four regions of Serbia and Montenegro, of both sexes, different levels of education, 18 to 43 years old. The scale EUROID2002 was applied to measure the European and national identity. The achievement motive was measured with the MOP2002 scale, and locus of control with LOKKON2002. All these instruments were created at the Department of Psychology in Novi Sad. The canonical correlation analysis was used to process the data. The results point to the existence of two statistically significant regularities in the relation between the achievement motive and European identity. The achievement of the goal, which is experienced as a source of pleasure and followed by the need to compete with others, was related to two factors of social identity, namely with the need to preserve national identity and with the exclusive national attachment. Thus, the results indicate that the persons for whom competition with others is a significant goal also express a higher degree of nationalism. Furthermore, the results indicate that the degree of nationalism is higher with the higher degree of persistence in the competition with others. In the relation between the locus of control and European identity, three statistically significant regularities were obtained. If the faith in the power of destiny is more pronounced, the need to preserve national identity and exclusive national attachment is also more pronounced. Stronger internal locus of control is related to greater openness for technological progress. Furthermore, the results indicate that those who in achievement situations attach great importance to the activities of other people also have a more pronounced pro-European orientation

Brojna istraživanja, iz drugih zemalja, ukazuju da prelaz iz bračnog razdoblja bez dece u bračno razdoblje kada supružnici dobijaju decu, nužno menja i otežava bračne odnose. Takođe je utvrđeno da majčinstvo znatno više deluje na život žene, nego što očinstvo deluje na život muškarca. Istraživanja pokazuju da dolazi do promena i u narednim fazama braka, ali su nalazi za celokupni bračni tok nekonzistentni – od ustanovljenih promena u kvalitetu bračnog odnosa u obliku slova U, do nalaza da kvalitet bračnog odnosa ima stalnu tendenciju pada. Imajući u vidu kulturno-istorijske specifičnosti našeg podneblja, cilj istraživanja prikazanog ovim radom je bio da utvrdi postoje li značajne razlike u kvalitetu i stabilnosti bračnog odnosa između grupa žena koje se nalaze u različitim fazama braka, i, ukoliko postoje, kakve su strukture tih razlika u odnosu na bračna razdoblja. Utvrđeno je da se grupe žena koje pripadaju različitim bračnim razdobljima međusobno značajno razlikuju, i to tako da žene u svakoj narednoj bračnoj fazi percipiraju svoj bračni odnos manje kvalitetnim, a istovremeno stabilnijim. Rezultati ovog transferzalnog istraživanja govore u prilog pretpostavkama da prelazak na roditeljstvo značajno povećava stabilnost braka, a da kvalitet, i posebno zadovoljstvo brakom, konstantno opada kako se prelazi iz jednog bračnog razdoblja u drugo, od početka do kraja bračnog kontinuuma. Ove pretpostavke svakako treba proveriti longitudinalnim istraživanjem u našoj sredini. Međutim, ne sme se gubiti iz vida da, bez obzira što postoje statistički značajne međugrupne razlike, između žena koje se nalaze u istom bračnom razdoblju postoje i velika individualna odstupanja, te samo na osnovu bračnih razdoblja nije moguće vršiti pouzdane individualne predikcije.

U cilju utvrđivanja u kojoj meri percepcija različitih aspekata kvaliteta bračnog odnosa i bračna nestabilnost, odnosno, potencijal za razvod braka, doprinose nameri žena da traže profesionalnu psihološku pomoć, ispitano je 777 žena koje žive u formalnom ili neformalnom braku. Kvalitet bračnog odnosa je meren Skalom prilagođenosti u bračnom odnosu (Dyadic Adjustment Scale – DAS: Spanier, 1976, 1989), a bračna nestabilnost je merena pokazateljima potencijala za razvod braka (Booth, Johnson & Edwards, 1983). Namera da se traži profesionalna psihološka pomoć je ispitana instrumentom (Šakotić-Kurbalija, 2011) koji obuhvata iskustva iz prošlosti, sadašnjosti i nameru da se profesionalna psihološka pomoć traži u budućnosti, kao i razloge zbog kojih ispitanik ima ili nema nameru da traži profesionalnu psihološku pomoć. Primenom višestruke regresione analize, utvrđeno je da skup analiziranih prediktorskih varijabli statistički jeste značajno povezan sa namerom da se traži profesionalna psihološka pomoć, ali je ta povezanost vrlo niska R=0,23 (F(5,771)=8,28; p<0,000), dok je korigovani R2=0,045; te se značajnijim čini nalaz da na spremnost žena da potraže profesionalnu psihološku pomoć u znatno većoj meri deluju neki drugi faktori. Na osnovu prikupljenih kvalitativnih podataka (pitanjem o razlozima zbog kojih ispitanica ima ili nema nameru da traži profesionalnu psihološku pomoć), pretpostavlja se da značajnu ulogu u nameri žena da traže profesionalnu psihološku pomoć imaju njihovi stavovi prema traženju profesionalne psihološke pomoći, odnosno njihove predrasude po ovom pitanju. Pošto su rana i adekvatna profesionalna psihološka pomoć osnovni protektivni faktori mentalnog zdravlja, kao implikacija za rad na prevenciji razvoja težih oblika bračne disfunkcionalnosti sledi da je od velikog značaja promovisanje rada institiucija i stručnjaka iz oblasti mentalnog zdravlja.

U cilju utvrđivanja u kojoj meri prisustvo stresnih životnih događaja, traženje psihološke podrške iz neformalnih socijalnih izvora i izbor strategija za suočavanje sa stresom, uz kontrolu uticaja različitih sociodemografskih varijabli, doprinose spremnosti žena u Srbiji da traže profesionalnu psihološku pomoć, prikupljeni su podaci na uzorku od 2206 žena, različitog  socio-ekonomskog statusa, starosti od 19 do 76 godina. Namera žena da traže profesionalnu psihološku pomoć operacionalizovana je pitanjem o dosadašnjem iskustvu i planovima za traženje pomoći u budućnosti (Šakotić-Kurbalija, 2011); za procenu stresnih životnih događaja primenjena je modifikovana SLE skala (Survey of Life Events, Bradbury, 1990; modifikacija: Šakotić-Kurbalija, 2011). Brief COPE skalom (Carver, 1997) su ispitane strategije suočavanja sa stresom; dok su od sociodemografskih varijabli prikupljeni podaci o starosti ispitanice, radnom statusu, subjektivnoj proceni visine mesečnih prihoda domaćinstva, stepenu obrazovanja, redosledu rođenja, broju dece i broju članova domaćinstva. Rezultati hijerarhijske višestruke regresione analize pokazuju da je skup analiziranih prediktorskih varijabli statistički značajno povezan sa namerom da se traži profesionalna psihološka pomoć, ali je količina objašnjene varijanse relativno niska. Kao značajni prediktori namere traženja profesionalne psihološke pomoći izdvojeni su: ukupan broj negativnih stresnih događaja koji su se desili u proteklih godinu dana, sklonost ka korišćenju psihoaktivnih supstanci i traženju instrumentalne podrške od drugih, stepen obrazovanja, nekorišćenje poricanja u stresnim situacijama i religioznost. U manjoj meri, ovoj nameri doprinose i nemogućnost oslanjanja na neformalne izvore psihološke podrške, količina pozitivnog stresa, mesečni prihodi domaćinstva i starost ispitanice.

U cilju utvđivanja efekata koje na percepciju bračnog kvaliteta, kod žena, ima bračni lokus kontrole, uz praćenje efekata bračne nestabilnosti i dužine braka, ispitana je 1821 žena, starosti od 19 do 75 godina. Bračni lokus kontrole je meren Skalom doživljaja lične efikasnosti u rešavanju bračnih konflikata (Perceived efficacy in solving intimate conflict scale: Fincham & Bradbury, 1987), bračna nestabilnost je izražena Indeksom bračne nestabilnosti (Martial Instability Index: Booth, Johnson, & Edwards, 1983), a percipirani kvalitet braka je meren Skalom prilagođenosti u bračnom odnosu (Dyadic Adjustment Scale – DAS: Spanier, 1976). U obradi prikupljenih podataka, primenjene su četiri hijerarhijske regresione analize, u kojima su kriterijske varijable bile subdimenzije kvaliteta bračnog odnosa: konsenzus, dijadno zadovoljstvo, afektivno-seksualna usaglašenost i kohezivnost. U cilju kontrole uticaja prediktorskih varijabli, u analizu je u prvom koraku uključena dužina braka, u drugom bračana nestabilnost, a u trećem koraku je ispitan odnos bračnog lokusa kontrole i pojedinačnih dimenzija kvaliteta braka. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata možemo zaključiti da je doživljaj lične efikasnosti u rešavanju bračnih konflikata, kod žena, dobar pokazatelj prvenstveno stepena njihovog zadovoljstva brakom, ali i njihove procene stepena slaganja sa bračnim partnerom po pitanjima koja su od značaja za svakodnevno funkcionisanje. S druge strane, na osnovu procene bračnog lokusa kontrole u manjoj meri možemo zaključivati o bračnoj kohezivnosti i stepenu afektivno-seksualne usaglašenosti supružnika. Procena bračne nestabilnosti povećava stepen razumevanja različitih aspekata kvaliteta braka, dok je doprinos samog vremena koje su supružnici proveli u braku, iako statistički značajan, praktično zanemariv.

The problem of this study was to explore the relationship between Facebook-related behaviors and characteristics of romantic relationships. Based on the results of previous research, we assumed that there would be significant gender differences in the frequency and manner of using Facebook, that there would be a significant relationship between the attachment style and Facebook monitoring and Facebook-related conflicts, and that Facebook monitoring and Facebook-related conflicts would significantly predict relationship quality. The sample consisted of 201 respondents from Serbia, 42.5% of which were male. Using the Dyadic adjustment scale - DAS (Spanier, 1976, 1989), Interpersonal electronic surveillance - IES (Tokunaga, 2011; modification Tucker, 2014), The Facebook-related Conflict Scale (Clayton, Nagurney, & Smith, 2013) and Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory - ECR (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; modification Kamenov & Jelic, 2003), results showed that women use Facebook and post the relationship status and pictures with a partner more often than men and that people with an insecure attachment style more often engage in Facebook monitoring. Also, results showed that Facebook-related conflicts are a significant predictor of relationship quality. The present study contributes to the understanding of romantic relationship dynamics in the age of social networking sites, by pointing to the relational factors that are potentially at risk because of Facebook use.

The main goal of this study is to find answers to the following question: can the EPI results be interpreted at the level of personality traits, without their conversion to the dimensions of primary emotions? The paper introduces a new, efficient and easy-to-use method of scoring and interpreting the EPI results. The norms were calculated on the sample of 807 high school students, and presented as distributions of 12 EPI personality traits. We have presented the z-value distributions for male and female respondents that can serve as preliminary norms based on which raw scores can be transformed to standardized scores. This method of scoring allows the interpretation of a larger number of different mutual combinations of personality traits beyond the limitations of the scoring protocol. The paper also analyzes the structure of the BIAS scale, and provides guidance for identifying and interpreting the dissimulative profiles. The basic guidelines for the analysis and interpretation of the results at the level of the profile are also presented.