Science

SCIENCE AND STATISTICS

During my studies, my interest in statistics courses, which are important for science (and which genuinely interested and delighted me), as well as in psychotherapy courses and my accomplishments in them led to my engagement as a teaching assistant in several courses with those topics. A year after graduation, I was hired as an assistant at the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Croatian Studies for the following courses: Inferential Statistics, Psychology of Organisational Behaviours, Descriptive Statistics, Research Methods Practicum, and Organisational Psychology.

Cultivating my interest in research as a student, in 2015 I participated in the PROM-PRO research project, a collaboration between the Faculty of Croatian Studies and the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences. Then in 2019/2020, I participated in the science project ‘Study of perceptual speed and selective attention’ at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, while in 2020 I was involved in the science project ‘Interaction of constitutional and occupational risk factors on the incidence of occupational contact dermatitis in hairdressing apprentices during vocational training (SkinWork)’ led by the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health. Both of those projects resulted in the publication of scientific research abstracts that were presented at conferences. I was the first author of the abstract entitled ‘Dynamic performance indicators in a pen-and-aper test of perceptual speed and their correlation to fluid intelligence: An analysis of their contribution compared to classic indicators of perceptual speed and its implications’ (presented at the 22nd Psychology Days of Psychology in Zadar and published in the accompanying Book of Abstracts), as well as the third author of the paper ‘Changes in sleep patterns in relation to hand eczema and atopy symptoms during the first year of hairdressing apprentices’ education’ (exhibited as a poster at the 25th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society and published in the Journal of Sleep Research, 29 (S1)). Finally, my current scientific research work, conducted in collaboration with my wonderful colleagues, assistant professor Zrinka Greblo Jurić, PhD, and Marija Neralić, Master’s in Psychology, focuses on gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2023 at the 30th Annual Conference of Croatian Psychologists (GKHP 2023), we exhibited a poster entitled ‘Psychological needs, life satisfaction and problematic online gaming during the coronavirus pandemic’. Moreover, we are processing data for other research and papers on the same topic in order to verify the correlation between online gaming and other aspects of psychosocial well‑being.

CONFERENCES

I actively participated at a domestic scientific conference and three international conferences, where I presented my papers in English. I attended numerous other scientific conferences and professional training courses. During my studies, in 2016 I received the Head of the Croatian Studies’ Award for my numerous extracurricular activities, including presenting my paper at an international conference. In 2018, I received the Principal’s Award for Extracurricular Activities. During my studies, as the first of three co-authors, in 2017 I wrote a scientific paper entitled ‘Relationship among self-esteem, shyness, susceptibility to peer pressure and self-evaluated body image in students of the University of Zagreb ’, which was published in English in the Book of selected proceedings of the 20th Psychology Days in Zadar.

In 2018, an abstract of my research conducted for my master thesis ‘The importance of stigma of help-seeking and social support in predicting the quality of therapeutic alliance among psychotherapy clients’ was published in the Book of Abstracts of the 24th Ramiro and Zoran Bujas Day, where I also presented my research and exhibited it on a poster.

In 2017, as a representative at the international World Youth Forum: ‘Right to Dialogue’, I participated in numerous discussions on current psychosocial topics and practised my interpersonal and presentation skills. My involvement was recognised by the organiser, who appointed me Chair of the intercultural dialogue panel held as part of the main theme of the forum ‘The dialogic condition’.

Because of my participation in these activities, I received the Head of the Croatian Studies’ Award for participating in activities that promote Croatian Studies and contribute to the quality of their studies.

The specific topics that I covered at conferences were mental health, the stigma of mental illness, and psychotherapy:

1) Indirect consequences of economic stress in families (2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eaiVeZ75N0, 37:00-38:19))

2) Stigma of mental illness: employment discrimination, consequences and ways of diminishing it (2016)

3) The healing power of the „I-Thou“ contact as the key of Gestalt therapy dialogue (2017).

Finally, in 2018 I held a workshop in English entitled ‘Stigma of mental illness and help-seeking’ for students of the Affiliated Foreign Language School of SCNU in Guangzhou, China.