Milana Ljubičić

The paper explores the older persons? vulnerability to various forms of violence, employing a positive deviance approach. This paper aims to elucidate a novel methodological framework in social research through an empirical case study, particularly beneficial for action research. The positive deviance approach is rooted in methodological individualism and presents a fluid, eclectic framework that avoids the pitfalls of in-depth profiling. Epistemologically, it does not presume the cognitive superiority of the researcher over the respondents, and the boundaries of its theoretical potential are clearly delineated by the desired outcome of the interventions conducted within the realm of social relations. From a practical perspective, it serves as a tool for identifying, enhancing, and expanding specific behaviours that can be utilised to address particular challenges. The results of a two-and-a-half-year study conducted in Serbia (Plandiste, Uzice, and Valjevo, January 2020 ? July 2022) revealed that the development of support networks and increased spatial mobility significantly contribute to better integrating the older adults into their local communities. Financial and property independence emerged as crucial elements of resilience among the older adults. Ba employing the positive deviance approach, successful strategies used by some older individuals as effective mechanisms for preventing or mitigating the risk of violence were identified.

У раду се бавимо темом која је у истраживачком смислу занемарена. Ријеч је о сјећањима на колективне и породичне трауме током Другом свјетског и ратова деведесетих на нашим просторима. Како бисмо указали на значај који меморијализација колективних и породичних траума има на друштвену, породичну и личну будућност потомака оних који (ни)су преживјели масовна страдања, разговарали смо са три генерације миграната са подручја бивше СФРЈ. То су: они који су непосредно прошли кроз трауму присилног прогона, потом они који су о овим страдањима сазнавали „из друге руке”, а посебан увид у рад сјећања добили смо од потомака колониста у Војводину. Полазне претпоставке: да наши саговорници нису упознати са страдањима својих породица и колектива којима поријеклом припадају, као и да овакве приче нерадо отварају са старијим члановима породица, показале су се оправданима. Осим тога, уочили смо да је тема дома и припадања заступљена у њиховим наративима, као и да нејасноће у том погледу наше саговорнике ометају у креирају идентитета односно давања одговора на питање: Ко сам ја? Закључак нашег истраживања би се могао сажети овако: да бисмо могли гледати у будућности, сва је прилика да морамо знати нашу прошлост.

This paper deals with research into organisational difficulty and ethical dilemmas, as well as the efficiency of group therapy of men who were sent to group therapy treatments due to intimate partner relationship violence. This type of intervention has recently been recognised in Serbia as an important factor in the protection against domestic violence. Nevertheless, its use has remained sporadic and in order to be able to understand reasons for this, we have found helpful an analysis of the social context, but also the views of experts and the general public regarding domestic violence in our country. The public and experts alike have a firm position in terms of treating domestic violence perpetrators: batterers are almost as a rule male. The research question as the focal point of further analysis was the following: Whether or in which way such a discourse affects the work of practitioners and personal development of the clients - participants in group therapy? To obtain the answer, we have conducted an in-depth interview with one of practitioners in the Belgrade Marriage and Family Counselling Centre, who has been in charge of this programme since it was first launched (2012). As it turns out, both the practitioners and the clients are faced with multiple challenges. The practitioners are faced with their efforts being ignored by experts (by fellow practitioners and prosecutors and judges alike), the absence of systemic support and institutional networking, as well as with professional burnout. The clients often see themselves as victims of the system; they are the subject of a socially imposed ideological reshaping and, therefore, not infrequently they demonstrate resistance to efforts aimed at achieving their personal change and so they leave the programme before it is actually completed. Bearing in mind such outcomes, we believe that it is necessary to work on a change of the prevalent discourse relative to violence and possible ways of preventing violence, on recognising the significance of group therapy of batterers as a potentially important alternative route in working with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence and, finally, on initiating an interdisciplinary discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of sociotherapy treatment.

Violence in the family has been a frequently discussed topic in the scientific discourse in the last two decades. Thanks to this, today, we have at our disposal a significant body of scientific knowledge, legislative solutions, and practical policies that focus on preventing and protecting victims of violence. However, we do not notice some among the victims of domestic violence. Hereof, our knowledge about the etiology and phenomenology of violence against men is insufficient. Our study represents a small step forward in researching the phenomenology of this phenomenon. We aimed to describe characteristics of violence against men through personal stories and from the perspective of both partners. We used documentary material in the analysis - official records of centers for social work in the territory of the city of Belgrade. Analysis showed that violence against men in a partner relationship is most often recognized by the center's professional workers as mutual. The prosecution of the abuser, except in the case of her partner's life being threatened, is rarely the outcome of the assessment process. The impression is that partner violence against men is seen as an exception rather than the rule. However, the victimization of men in a partner relationship is not such a rare phenomenon, so it is necessary to undertake a research effort to shed light on this dark field and to design prevention strategies and practices aimed at protecting men - victims and helping women - bullies.

In the article, we analyse discourse on drug abuse in contemporary Serbia. The ruling official discourse on drugs can be subsumed under the definition of moral panic, in creation of which, as well in dissemination, the media play an important role. Media uses specific vocabulary to send message warning of an impending social catastrophe. This tactic is effective: recipients of media content become anxious and frightened by the downfall of the society that awaits them in the near future. So logically they are converting into supporters of official discourses on the topic. In the end, this process has the power to briefly connect a shredded tissue of social cohesion, but also to produce a lack of freedom of citizens. In order to investigate whether drug-related moral panics in our country can have such implications, in this paper we analyzed the official discourse embodied in anti-drug policies, and the public discourse offered by media. Findings suggest that policymakers are calling on war against drugs, and name prevention and criminalization as the most successful strategies to fight it. The recipients of media content are agreeing with them. Furthermore, there is no doubt that such o discourse encourages the spread of moral panic about drugs, as well as social cohesion. Although abstractly defined, the enemy - drug, has the power to unite. However, it also causes a lack of freedom. Because of the narrative of the impending catastrophe, the citizens feel powerless and therefore demand from the higher state authorities to act in the name of the social future.

The paper deals with resources available to young parents and the strategies they deploy as a response to various domain-related demands (housing, finance, work, family). First, the structural and cultural features of the social context in Serbia are discussed as the framework for the study. Secondly, the paper analyses young parents’ differences, by socioeconomic status (SES) and gender, regarding their resources, such as housing, finances, and employment, as well as their strategies. The analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach, which brings together the survey results of a sub-sample of 435 parents from a nationally representative survey of young adults aged 18 to 35, and a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 24 young mothers and fathers. The analyses indicate significant SES and gender differences in young parents’ resources and strategies, which are shaped by the structures and cultures of parenthood specific to the contemporary social context in Serbia.

In this paper we deal with the research of the relation between risk behaviour forms among young people in Serbia and the assumed risk factors. This paper is aimed at using the criminology theory in order to test the effect of environmental factors on more broadly understood risk behaviour of young people. The conceptual framework of the study is founded on the general criminology theory of R. Agnew, while the hypothesis directing our research is: Features of the social environment as well as individual and family characteristics constitute the strain factors pushing a young person into risk behaviour. For the data of the representative study on young people (N=1186) aged between 15 and 29, conducted in 2015, we applied the statistical technique of multilevel modelling which ensures the establishment of relations with risk behaviour forms at individual and contextual levels. The findings of the multilevel analysis indicate that individual and contextual factors are equally important in the understanding of risk behaviour forms. In other words, gender and age, as well as social disorganization and culture of violence constitute a fertile soil for risk occurrence.

The paper deals with the analysis of the connection between politics and the research process in the field of marginalized groups. We approached this question from the perspective of a recently established scientific discipline, the Sociology of Marginalized Groups, which faces numerous methodological challenges, arising from its subject of study. These are highly vulnerable groups and individuals whose study requires tailored research techniques and the same type of approach. Being marginalized, as a rule, people who belong to this population do not have a voice. Therefore, the researcher has the additional responsibility to consider the methodological and ethical pitfalls that he/she may encounter during the research process in the reflexive and self-reflective manner. In particular, consideration must be given to whether, and in what way, political discourse influences the research design, collection, analysis and interpretation of results, since marginalized groups are oft en the subject of various abuses. To highlight the fact that politics has an important impact on scientific research, as well as having long-term consequences for the population studied, we have critically analyzed two studies by authors Milan Mesić and Dragan Bagić, which address Serb returnees in the Area of Special State Concern (care) in Croatia. Critical analysis confirmed that the political factor undoubtedly influenced the way in which the results were interpreted, the promotion of certain ideas and values (close to political discourse), and finally, to the detriment of the research group. In summary, we can conclude that the contamination of scientific studies with politics, especially those of the applied type, is to the detriment of both researchers and the population that is the focus of research.