Jasmina Kodžopeljić

Exposure to two languages in the preschool period: Metalinguistic development and the acquisition of reading

Abstract The hypothesis that access to two languages in the preschool period might promote metalinguistic development was subjected to empirical verification. The method of parallel groups with paired equalisation procedure was used. At first, two experimental groups (both N=22) with Serbo‐Croatian as first language, the members of which were exposed through immersion or a mainstream education programme to a foreign language (French or English), were compared with a Serbo‐Croatian monolingual (N=22) group in metalinguistic development. Also a Hungarian‐Serbo‐Croatian minority bilingual group (N=20), participating in a language maintenance programme, was compared with a Hungarian monolingual group (N=20). The comparisons showed that early bilingual experience could enhance metalinguistic awareness and an analytic approach to linguistic phenomena by a readiness to replace one word with another, to compare words, or to break words into syllables and phonemes, especially by an active use of the second languag...

School Bullying in Adolescence and Personality Traits: A Person-Centered Approach

This study examined the differences in personality traits between the clusters reflecting the roles in violent interactions among high school students. The sample included 397 students (51.1% male) of Serbian nationality from the first to the fourth grades of different high schools. Based on scores of five dimensions related to peer violence (Physical Aggression, Psychological Aggression, Victimization, Adapted Behavior, and Risky Behavior), three clusters were extracted: Adapted Adolescents, Victims, and Bullies. These three clusters were compared with respect to lexical Big Seven personality traits, and the results indicate that the clusters differ significantly on Aggressiveness, Neuroticism, and Negative Valence. The Adapted Adolescents have the lowest scores on all three dimensions, while the Victims score highest on Neuroticism, and the Bullies on Aggressiveness. The potential importance of certain Extraversion facets for the roles in violent interaction was discussed.

Empathy and peer violence among adolescents: Moderation effect of gender:

The study examined the relationships between empathy and peer violence among adolescents, along with gender as a moderator in these associations. Thereby, multidimensionality of empathy (affective and cognitive empathy) and different forms of violence (physical, verbal, and relational) were considered. The participants were 646 high school students (aged 15- to 19-years-old) from Serbia. The findings revealed that only the cognitive dimension of empathy was related to violence, namely to physical and relational violence, while relations between the empathy dimensions and verbal violence were not significant. Gender moderated only the relation between cognitive empathy and physical violence, in a way that there was significant negative relation only among boys. Cognitive empathy was negatively related to relational violence, regardless of gender. The results are discussed in the context of the characteristics of violent interactions among adolescents, and recommendations are given for violence prevention programs in high schools.