Traditionally, a romantic relationship starts with two people going on dates and developing emotional and then physical closeness. However, social developments and social media have begun to change that. Therefore, the main aim of our qualitative study was to outline modern dating scripts and forms of casual sexual relationships among Croatian emerging adults, and to identify the needs they fulfill. We conducted four focus groups with young people aged 18 to 25, of whom some were unemployed, some employed and some were university students. The results suggest that emerging adults in Croatia equally choose the traditional dating script and modern casual relationships, such as open relationship, friendship with benefits, fuck buddy, booty call, and one-night stand. Long-term relationships are seen as a step before marriage or cohabitation, and some young people try to avoid them until their career and other life circumstances are stable enough. In that sense, casual relationships can be satisfying, at least temporarily. However, they can also be confusing because different people seem to define them in different ways and, accordingly, have different expectations. The present study broadens our understanding of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood, and as one of the first Croatian studies on this topic, makes an important contribution to the field of personal relationships. It can serve not only as a reference for future studies but also as a base for developing prevention programmes that strengthen romantic competence and develop communication skills for emerging adults.

Introduction: Sleep habits are related to mood stability and mental health, and adolescence may be an appropriate time to address disturbed sleep patterns because it is a critical period for the onset of psychological problems. Aims: This study had two aims, namely: to explore associations between objectively measured sleep duration and positive and negative affect, as well as specific positive and negative emotions at the within-person and between-person levels in Croatian adolescents. Methods: In the present eight-day study, 102 Croatian adolescents with an average age of 15 years reported how they felt once a day, while sleep duration was objectively measured by collecting data from an accelerometer on participants’ smartphones. Results: Multilevel analyses showed that adolescents express more positive affect (Est. = 0.10, p < .050) and feel less distracted (Est. = -0.12, p < .050) and happier (Est. = 0.11, p < .050) on days when they sleep longer, with a multiverse analysis suggesting that these results are moderately robust. In addition, they express higher levels of negative affect, stress and distraction on school days, and boys seem to experience more positive and fewer negative emotions. Conclusions: A better understanding of daily variations in sleep duration, sleep quality, and affect would promote the development of individualized, particularly smartphone-based, sleep interventions. Such interventions could be a valuable tool for preventing mental health problems in adolescence.

Daily life methods are a novel approach that grasps dynamics when studying various research topics. Although several international systematic reviews and meta-analyses demonstrate their popularity in studies of adolescence, it remains unclear whether daily life methods are also used to study development in different cultures. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to examine the frequency of use of daily life methods in studies of adolescence and emerging adulthood published in Croatian, Serbian, and Slovenian journals. Based on two inclusion criteria, with one being that a study should implement an experience sampling method or an ecological momentary assessment, and the other being that participants should be younger than 30 years, a search of five regional databases yielded only six research papers. The included studies implemented an experience sampling method, following recommendations from the literature. Thus, daily life methods do not yet seem to be recognized in Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia, and efforts should be made to promote them to both researchers and practitioners. These methods can not only help us understand the differences between people, as well as the changes within a person, but they can also be the basis for tailored interventions, such as changing eating and sleeping habits.

Model 5C nastoji objasniti kako interakcije adolescenata s okolinom pridonose pozitivnom razvoju mladih, pri čemu su indikatori pozitivnog razvoja kompetencije, samosvijest, karakter, brižnost i povezanost. Dosadašnja presječna istraživanja poka- zuju da pozitivna školska klima znatno predviđa snažniji razvoj ovih indikatora, ali i da ovi indikatori predviđaju pozitivniju školsku klimu. Ovim je longitudinalnim istraživanjem ispitana povezanost modela 5C i školske klime te njihov međusobni utjecaj kroz vrijeme. Rezultati pokazuju da pozitivna školska klima pridonosi razvoju svih 5C indikatora, dok učenici s razvije- nom odgovornosti i socijalnom svijesti te dobrim odnosima s vršnjacima i nastavnicima pridonose boljoj školskoj klimi. Ovi nalazi naglašavaju važnost poticanja suradnje i individualizira- noga pristupa učenicima s različitim kompetencijama i akadem- skim dostignućima.