Rudi Klanjšek

A Test of Self‐Control Theory Across Different Socioeconomic Strata

The current investigation examined the relationships between family processes, self‐control, and adolescent deviance in a sample of N = 3,764 Swiss male and female youth pursuing an apprenticeship (lower SES) or attending a Gymnasium/teacher’s college (higher SES). Participants completed a questionnaire that included measures of family processes, self‐control, and deviant behaviors. Results indicated that self‐control predicted adolescent deviance in both groups, and that direct and indirect effects existed in the relationships between family processes, self‐control, and deviance. Findings provided evidence of comparatively few differences in the observed associations by SES, though the magnitude of the positive effect by low self‐control on deviance was more modest in male apprentices as compared to non‐apprentices. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications for Self‐Control Theory.

Religious Orientation, Low Self-Control, and Deviance: Muslims, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox-, and "Bible Belt" Christians.

Using adolescent samples from four cultures, the current study tested whether effects by religiosity on deviance varied by the nature of religiosity (intrinsic versus extrinsic) and by the cultural context (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and the U.S.). Results indicated: a) that not every type of religiosity has a buffering effect on deviance - if ones religiousness is predominately instrumental (i.e. extrinsic), then its inhibiting effect is weak or does not exist; b) that the effect of intrinsic religiosity seemed more pronounced in the two surroundings that expressed the highest mean religiosity (U.S., Bosnia & Herzegovina) although results from follow-up analysis (Z-tests) largely supported a cultural invariance hypothesis. In addition, the intrinsic religiosity-deviance link was moderated by low self-control in each sample, except the Slovenian one. Finally, results indicated that low self-control only partially mediated the religiosity-deviance link.

Cultural Capital and Intellectual Ability as Predictors of Scholastic Achievement: A Study of Slovenian Secondary School Students.

Cultural capital, originally a general sociological concept, has been transformed into a construct that is often applied in predicting scholastic attainment. Intellectual ability (IQ) has also been proven to be a strong, although basically psychological, predictor of educational attainment. However, these strands of research have hardly been contrasted in terms of their predictive power and in terms of their potential interaction. In the current study of Slovenian secondary school students, the results indicated that both constructs had statistically significant predictive power, both as to attainment and as to transition into type of secondary education. Results also indicated that: both constructs were fairly robust, as their predictive power remained statistically significant even after control variables were entered into the model; and they operated independently as results indicated no interaction between these constructs. The ‘return’ on cultural capital was greater for students whose parents had lower educational status.

The psychometric properties of the Slovenian translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity : a study among Roman Catholic undergraduate students

In order to contribute to a growing international research programme concerned with the correlations, antecedents and consequences of individual differences in attitude toward religion, the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity was translated into Slovenian. Data provided by a sample of 808 undergraduate students affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church supported the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of this instrument and commended it for further use in studies conducted in Slovenia.

Religious Orientation in Three Central European Environments: Quest, Intrinsic, and Extrinsic Dimensions

The concepts of intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religiosity, as operationalized by tested instruments (Batson & Schoenrade, 1991a, 1991b, Gorsuch & McPherson, 1989) were analyzed, tested, and validated in three different cultural settings in central Europe (among Bosnian Muslims, the Serbian Orthodox, and Slovenian Catholics). The study was carried out in spring 2005 on undergraduate university students. The study indicated that the intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions functioned in line with expectations (intrinsic being consistent; extrinsic bifurcating into a social and a psychological component) in all samples. Quest religious orientation functioned in line with Edwards, Hall, and Slater (2002) in the two Christian settings, being decomposed into three entities. In the Muslim setting, quest behaved differently both as to decomposition and as to relationship to the other orientations, indicating a clear opposition to the latter, when correlations are considered.

Exit Yugoslavia: longing for mononational states or entrepreneurial manipulation?

The study analyzed whether the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the establishment of succeeding mono-national states was the expression of “longing” of mass proportions on the part of the nationalities within respective federal units. Using the data from two pan-Yugoslav surveys from the period preceding the dissolution, results were obtained that indicated a very limited support for this hypothesis. More specifically, results indicated that support for emancipation was rather weak, among youth in 1986 and even among the adult population in 1990, although some significant mean differences between the federal units and between major nationalities within them were evident. Specifically, opinions favoring independence were detected among Kosovo Albanians and later among Slovenians in Slovenia. In addition, findings also indicated that those with higher socioeconomic status were not more inclined toward independence. Results thus pointed more towards the idea that the dissolution was indeed instigated by a small group of “political entrepreneurs” not captured by the survey data.

Cross-Cultural Insight into the Association Between Religiousness and Authoritarianism

The current study investigated the possible existence of a relationship between authoritarianism and religiousness and the possible strength of this potential relationship. The study involved samples from four cultural environments known to differ substantially in terms of religious salience and content: Slovenia (predominantly Catholic), Serbia (predominantly Eastern Orthodox), Bosnia and Herzegovina (predominantly Muslim), and the United States (predominantly Protestant). Religiousness was assessed by way of religious orientation (including intrinsic and extrinsic orientation) as proposed by Allport (1950), whereas authoritarianism was tapped by a modified Lane scale (1955). Results from zero-order correlations indicated a strong and positive association between authoritarianism and all types of religious orientation, regardless of the sample analyzed. Residualizing the main study constructs by demographic variables did not alter the results. The association changed only when each dimension of religious orientation was controlled for the effect of other dimensions. Results did not lend support to the hypothesis that authoritarianism is more strongly linked to those who are more extrinsically oriented.

SOCIAL STATUS AND RELIGIOSITY IN CHRISTIAN EUROPE

ABSTRACT The relationship between social status and religiosity could be illuminating in the explanation of religiosity. This has been suggested by numerous sociologically minded authors. Although not consistent across all national samples, findings from the current study, based on World Values Survey data (1999–2001), did indicate the predominance of a moderate but positive association between low social status and high religiosity among European countries with a Christian heritage. Consequently, the results lent limited support to the classical deprivation thesis, since in none of the samples analyzed could a positive association between high social status and high religiosity could be found.

Attitude towards Christianity and New Age beliefs among undergraduate students in Slovenia: a study in implicit religion

This study examines two conflicting hypotheses regarding the association between traditional religiosity and new age belief: the “worldview hypothesis” suggesting a positive association between these two sets of beliefs; and the “functional alternative hypothesis” suggesting a negative association between these two sets of beliefs. A sample of 1209 undergraduate students attending the University of Maribor, Slovenia, completed the Francis Scale of Attitude towards Christianity as a measure of traditional religiosity and the Lavrič Scale of New Age Belief, alongside a measure of frequency of church attendance. The data demonstrated a positive correlation between attitude towards Christianity and new age belief, even after taking into account different levels of church attendance. These findings support the worldview hypotheses in favour of the functional alternative hypothesis.

Construction and reification in nation building: The case of Yugoslavia fully explained?

The study of nations and ethnicities has been subject to recent trends, particularly, those denying substance to ethnicity and nation, but focusing on the way ethnicity and nation are socially constructed and ‘reified’ (constructivism–reificationism). In this article, this idea is tested on the Yugoslav case, where cases of reification are said to have been ‘arbitrary’. Such a position suggests that members of the Yugoslav federation went on their own ways because of ‘reification’ in the form of the republics and provinces. Although it is found that the republics and one province did enhance the process of national constitution, and although ‘ethnic entrepreneurs’ were active in the 1980s—a fact that is in line with a constructivist–reificationist theoretical position—there is one distinctive case that directly challenges such a position: Vojvodina did not opt for independence but, because of its Serb majority, it swiftly became integrated into Serbia. Moreover, the current article presents additional information to suggest that, although constructionist–reificationist approaches are relevant, they do not suffice to explain ‘nation’.