Mental Health

The Mental Health Research Group conducts both fundamental and applied research in the field of mental health, aiming to enhance understanding of key mental health phenomena and support evidence-based practices and policies that contribute to mental health at both individual and societal levels. We are committed to an empirically grounded, multidisciplinary, biopsychosocial approach to mental health, rooted in human rights principles. To achieve this, our work incorporates a multi-method approach, addressing both specific mental health-related phenomena and broader societal factors that are related to mental health and psychological well-being. A central focus of our research is the perspective of mental health service users, whom we actively involve not only in the research process but also in shaping research topics and design, as well as participating in all stages of result dissemination.

Our team primarily consists of researchers, psychotherapists, and clinicians, alongside numerous collaborators from various disciplines, both in Serbia and abroad, spanning the public, private, and civil society sectors.

Our key research areas include assessing mental health needs, with a particular focus on service users and vulnerable groups; evaluating the effectiveness of psychological and psychosocial interventions; exploring social determinants of mental health; trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout; assessing cognitive and personality capacities in clinical settings; developing and validating psychological assessment tools; exploring attitudes toward mental health and related phenomena.

Keywords: mental health, psychosocial interventions, trauma, social determinants of mental health, assessment and measurement

Research Line Lead: Maša Vukčević Marković

  1. Gargano, M. C., Ajduković, D., & Vukčević Marković, M. (2022). Mental health in the transit context: evidence from 10 countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3476. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063476
  2. Grujičić, R., Tošković, O., Lazarević, L.B., Mandić Maravić V., Mitković Vončina, M., Radanović, A., Radosavljev Kirćanski J., Videnović, M., Pekmezović, T., & Pejović Milovančević, M. (2022). How are parental practices and attitudes towards corporal punishment related to child academic, developmental, or psychological-emotional dysfunctioning. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-02061-z.
  3. Kosic, A.; Džamonja Ignjatović, T.& Petrović, N. (2021). A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during COVID-19 Pandemic: Some Protective and Risk Factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7261. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx
  4. Maric, N. P., Lazarevic, L. B., Priebe, S., Mihic, L., Milovancevic, M. P., Supic, Z. T., Tošković, O., Vuković, P., Todorović, J. & Knezevic, G. (2022). Covid-19-related stressors and mental disorders and distress: A cross-sectional, nationally-representative, face-to-face survey in Serbia. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 31, E36. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/j3ac8
  5. Maric, N. P. Mihic, L., Lazarevic, L. B., Knezevic, G. (2022). Probable depression and anxiety in seven European countries during the COVID-19: probable overestimation of the problem due to sampling method. Journal of Affective Disorders, 311, 554-555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.119
  6. Mihić, L., Knežević, G., Lazarević, L. B., & Marić, N. P. (2023). Screening for depression in the general population sample: An alternative to the traditional Patient Health Questionnaire-9 cut-off score. Journal of Public Health, fdad279, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdad279
  7. Vukčević Marković, M., Bjekić, J., & Priebe, S. (2020). Effectiveness of Expressive Writing in the Reduction of Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.587282.
  8. Vukčević Marković, M., Bobić, A., & Živanović, M. (2023). The effects of traumatic experiences during transit and pushback on the mental health of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 14(1), 2163064. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2022.2163064
  9. Vukčević Marković, M., Šapić, D., & Stanković, B. (2022). Common experiences and psychological difficulties during the pandemic: Insights from psychological support sessions. Psihološka istraživanja, 25(2), 83-107. https://doi.org/10.5937/PSISTRA25-39026  
  10. Vukčević Marković, M., & Živanović, M. (2022). Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912881