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SUMMARYThe basic goal of this research was to evaluate sociocultural influence of parents on general body dissatisfaction among their adolescent children. The sample comprised (N = 228) of both male and female adolescents aged between 16-19 years. In this study, two measuring instruments were applied: Body image and body change inventory and the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire. These instruments show internal consistency of high reliability, which makes them applicable to the Serbian population. According to results of the correlational analysis, there is a mild correlation between predictor variables (influence of mother and influence of father) and the criteria general body dissatisfaction. The applied hierarchical regression analysis showed that predictor variables explain 22% of the total variance of general body dissatisfaction. It was also established that variables (female gender, sociocultural influence of parents on body image and change in physical appearance) present significant predictors of overall body dissatisfaction in late adolescence. The majority of the obtained findings is in accordance with results from previous studies, and should provide directions for predicting body image and perceptive sociocultural contributions on body image, as well as designing programs of prevention regarding body dissatisfaction in adolescents of both genders.

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The aim of this research was to examine the contribution of body mass index (BMI), motor skills and physical self-concept in explaining the physical activity (PA) of adolescent karatekas (N=148). The average age of participants was 16,56 years (± 1,14). The following measuring instruments were used: Body Mass Index (BMI), Eurofit Physical Fitness Test Battery, Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ), and Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaires. The results of the hierarchical analysis showed that the predictor variables explained 18,5% of the total variance of the criterion PA of junior karatekas. With their positive direction, the independent variables of the physical self-concept strength (β = 0.049; p < 0.01), flexibility (β = 0.037; p < 0.01) and self-respect (β = 0.019; p< 0.05) showed the maximum statistically significant contribution to predicting the variability of the participants' PA, which means that junior karatekas who manifest the higher level of perception on those variables exhibit the higher level of PA. This study confirmed that the applied instruments are valid and suitable to predict PA among adolescent athletes in Serbia.

The aim of this research was to examine to which extent the predictor socio-demographic variables (gender, child’s age, parents’ education), personal traits (adaptive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism) and psychological adjustment (exam anxiety and somatization) contribute to school success among cadet and junior volleyball players of both genders. The sample included (N=122) participants of both genders, age 18 to 20, from Valjevo. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Exam Anxiety Scale and Youth Self-Report were used. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient showed high internal consistency of the applied measuring instruments, which means that they can be recommended for studying sports population in Serbia. Data were processed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and hierarchical regression analysis. The results of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient reveal low statistical significance of the interaction between the majority of the measuring variables. The findings of the regression model, with 29% variance, indicate to statistically relevant and independent contribution of gender and maladaptive perfectionism in explaining school success, which leads to the suggestion that future studies include some other variables such as family as potential predictor. The results of this research are in accordance with earlier studies on relations between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, somatization, and school success (as criterion) among athletes during adolescence.

SummaryIntroduction. The aim of the study was to examine the contribution of personal traits and social variables to the prediction of the frequency of cigarette and alcohol use in adolescents.

The aim of this study was to examine the latent structural relations between the main personality traits and dimensions of motivation among junior karatekas. Empirical research was conducted on a pertinent sample (N = 148) of karatekas from Valjevo, aged 15.18 on average (SD = 1.9). Three measuring instruments were used: the Big Five Inventory - BFI, the Sport Attitudes Inventory - SAI, and the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire - TEOSQ. The results of the Pearson's correlation coefficient have shown the significance level of p ≤ .05, and a significant number of bivariate linear correlations (of low or moderate intensity) between the manifested variables. Using the canonical correlation analysis, two significant canonical functions were extracted. The first unipolar pair of canonical factors in the personality traits section, with 44% of the explained variance, was maximally defined by Conscientiousness and Extraversion, and was defined to a lesser degree by the Openness/Intellect variable, as well as dimensions of motivation (motives to achieve power, motives to achieve success and orientation aimed towards the task). The second isolated bipolar pair of canonical factors in the personality traits domain, with 21% of the explained variance, was determined by the Neuroticism variable, and to a lesser degree by Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, as well as the motive to avoid failure and orientation aimed towards the goal. The obtained results have shown that the measuring instruments used in this research have satisfactory construct and convergent validities, as well as satisfactory reliability of internal consistency, and can therefore be used in personality assessment of Serbian adolescents. The results of this transversal research offer relevant empirical contribution and important implications to everyday sports practice and better understanding of the complex constructs mentioned in this research. In addition, this research contributes to sports psychology, which enables higher level of understanding of the functioning of an athlete's personality during adolescence.