Janja Vuga Beršnak
Biographic Data
| ID | 247813 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Janja Vuga Beršnak |
| GIVEN NAMES | Janja Vuga |
| FAMILY NAME | Beršnak |
| SIGNATURE | BERŠNAK J V |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Ljubljana |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7819-6520 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 15 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
‘If the Father Says So, That’s How It Is’
This paper builds on findings from the first systematic study of military families in Slovenia (2019–2022) to critically examine how military families are perceived and constructed within broader sociocultural and institutional frameworks. Using perspectives from family studies, military sociology, defense studies, and critical military theory, the study investigates whether these perceptions continue to reproduce the traditional binary logic tha…
When structural factors that cause interethnic violence work in favour of peace
Coping with the absence of parents
Growing up in a military family with long-term and frequently absent parents presents unique psychosocial challenges to children and families. The purpose of this paper is to examine what growing up in a military family with absent parents looks like from a child's perspective, what the biggest challenges are, and how children cope with them. We took a life course approach and conducted retrospective, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 a…
Socioecological Model of a Military Family’s Health and Well-Being
The purpose of this article is to analyze the ecosystem of a military family, focusing on the risk factors that influence their health and well-being on various socioecological levels (individual, micro, meso, and macro). We develop a theoretical model of health outcomes and risk factors and test it empirically using quota sampling of 460 respondents from military families in Slovenia. Thirty-three regression models were calculated to measure the…
Military Families' Health and Well-Being
Characteristics of pandemic work-life balance in Slovenian military families during the lockdown
In April 2020, a survey was conducted among Slovenian military families, being one of the first surveys to be carried out in the country after the outbreak of the pandemic. The military was labeled a crucial institution in the efforts to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus and was appointed to various activities, leading to a considerable increase in its workload. The burden of care and unpaid work at that time also intensified, becoming shifted onto the…
Military Families from Within
This article analyzes the results of a survey among deployed Slovenian service members and their spouses. The purpose of the study was to observe the correlation between the adjustment of children, family dynamics, and military demands during a deployment. Qualitative and quantitative methods were triangulated with an aim to (1) observe how military children adjust and (2) test whether parents’ ability to achieve a work–family balance, the level …
Ethnic distancing through aesthetics in Bosnia-Herzegovina
In this paper, we test a widely accepted assumption in literature, namely, that due to its universal(istic) and humanistic character aiming to transcend ethnic boundaries, art is an effective tool for overcoming inter-ethnic divisions, and further, that people consider art effective to this specific purpose. To test this assumption, we ran a socio-psychological experiment at different universities in Bosnia–Herzegovina. Students were asked to ass…
Recognizing youth radicalization in schools
International research shows that youth is one of the groups that are the most vulnerable and most susceptible to radicalization. Some of the research findings show school workers' lack of academic knowledge and practical experience with radicalized youth. As a result, they correlate general criminality with radicalization. The purpose of this study was to identify school workers' readiness for detecting radicalization and taking preventive measu…
Safety Bubble versus Risk Awareness
The acceptance of risk in a certain society is tested when de facto or merely potential military death casualties are raised. Several dimensions influencing the acceptability of risk have already been analyzed, although only three are examined in this article—namely, the historicopolitical, sociodemographic, and cultural. The Slovenian public opinion survey persistently shows strong risk aversion among Slovenians and the article’s purpose is ther…
Work-family conflict between two greedy institutions - the family and the military
The importance of getting the job done is taking over our personal lives and causing a potential work-family conflict. There are some institutions that have traditionally placed high demands on their members and have been termed 'greedy institutions'. This article analyses the relationship between two greedy institutions - the family and the military - considering the demands they both place on their members. The article strives to establish whic…
What Motivates Slovenian ‘Peacekeepers’
This article is based on the results of longitudinal research on the motivations and expectations of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces participating in peace operations from 2003 to 2009. The analysis is based on three main approaches. The first is to distinguish between two groups of soldiers: those deployed to missions abroad on a voluntary basis, and those deployed to missions by order. The second approach is to distinguish between those d…
Cultural Differences in Multinational Peace Operations
The article is based on research conducted at the Defence Research Centre, emphasizing the qualitative data gathering conducted among members of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL II) mission in 2007–09. Complex peace operations, as opposed to traditional ones, require a multinational structure and cooperation with several non-military actors/subjects. Trying to be effective, doing the job as well as possi…
Work-family conflict between two greedy institutions - the family and the military
The importance of getting the job done is taking over our personal lives and causing a potential work-family conflict. There are some institutions that have traditionally placed high demands on their members and have been termed 'greedy institutions'. This article analyses the relationship between two greedy institutions - the family and the military - considering the demands they both place on their members. The article strives to establish whic…
When structural factors that cause interethnic violence work in favour of peace
Characteristics of pandemic work-life balance in Slovenian military families during the lockdown
In April 2020, a survey was conducted among Slovenian military families, being one of the first surveys to be carried out in the country after the outbreak of the pandemic. The military was labeled a crucial institution in the efforts to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus and was appointed to various activities, leading to a considerable increase in its workload. The burden of care and unpaid work at that time also intensified, becoming shifted onto the…
Recognizing youth radicalization in schools
International research shows that youth is one of the groups that are the most vulnerable and most susceptible to radicalization. Some of the research findings show school workers' lack of academic knowledge and practical experience with radicalized youth. As a result, they correlate general criminality with radicalization. The purpose of this study was to identify school workers' readiness for detecting radicalization and taking preventive measu…
What Motivates Slovenian ‘Peacekeepers’
This article is based on the results of longitudinal research on the motivations and expectations of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces participating in peace operations from 2003 to 2009. The analysis is based on three main approaches. The first is to distinguish between two groups of soldiers: those deployed to missions abroad on a voluntary basis, and those deployed to missions by order. The second approach is to distinguish between those d…
Cultural Differences in Multinational Peace Operations
The article is based on research conducted at the Defence Research Centre, emphasizing the qualitative data gathering conducted among members of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL II) mission in 2007–09. Complex peace operations, as opposed to traditional ones, require a multinational structure and cooperation with several non-military actors/subjects. Trying to be effective, doing the job as well as possi…
What Motivates Slovenian ‘Peacekeepers’
This article is based on the results of longitudinal research on the motivations and expectations of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces participating in peace operations from 2003 to 2009. The analysis is based on three main approaches. The first is to distinguish between two groups of soldiers: those deployed to missions abroad on a voluntary basis, and those deployed to missions by order. The second approach is to distinguish between those d…
Work-family conflict between two greedy institutions - the family and the military
The importance of getting the job done is taking over our personal lives and causing a potential work-family conflict. There are some institutions that have traditionally placed high demands on their members and have been termed 'greedy institutions'. This article analyses the relationship between two greedy institutions - the family and the military - considering the demands they both place on their members. The article strives to establish whic…
Safety Bubble versus Risk Awareness
The acceptance of risk in a certain society is tested when de facto or merely potential military death casualties are raised. Several dimensions influencing the acceptability of risk have already been analyzed, although only three are examined in this article—namely, the historicopolitical, sociodemographic, and cultural. The Slovenian public opinion survey persistently shows strong risk aversion among Slovenians and the article’s purpose is ther…
Ethnic distancing through aesthetics in Bosnia-Herzegovina
In this paper, we test a widely accepted assumption in literature, namely, that due to its universal(istic) and humanistic character aiming to transcend ethnic boundaries, art is an effective tool for overcoming inter-ethnic divisions, and further, that people consider art effective to this specific purpose. To test this assumption, we ran a socio-psychological experiment at different universities in Bosnia–Herzegovina. Students were asked to ass…
Recognizing youth radicalization in schools
International research shows that youth is one of the groups that are the most vulnerable and most susceptible to radicalization. Some of the research findings show school workers' lack of academic knowledge and practical experience with radicalized youth. As a result, they correlate general criminality with radicalization. The purpose of this study was to identify school workers' readiness for detecting radicalization and taking preventive measu…
Military Families from Within
This article analyzes the results of a survey among deployed Slovenian service members and their spouses. The purpose of the study was to observe the correlation between the adjustment of children, family dynamics, and military demands during a deployment. Qualitative and quantitative methods were triangulated with an aim to (1) observe how military children adjust and (2) test whether parents’ ability to achieve a work–family balance, the level …
Military Families' Health and Well-Being
Characteristics of pandemic work-life balance in Slovenian military families during the lockdown
In April 2020, a survey was conducted among Slovenian military families, being one of the first surveys to be carried out in the country after the outbreak of the pandemic. The military was labeled a crucial institution in the efforts to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus and was appointed to various activities, leading to a considerable increase in its workload. The burden of care and unpaid work at that time also intensified, becoming shifted onto the…
When structural factors that cause interethnic violence work in favour of peace
Coping with the absence of parents
Growing up in a military family with long-term and frequently absent parents presents unique psychosocial challenges to children and families. The purpose of this paper is to examine what growing up in a military family with absent parents looks like from a child's perspective, what the biggest challenges are, and how children cope with them. We took a life course approach and conducted retrospective, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 a…
Socioecological Model of a Military Family’s Health and Well-Being
The purpose of this article is to analyze the ecosystem of a military family, focusing on the risk factors that influence their health and well-being on various socioecological levels (individual, micro, meso, and macro). We develop a theoretical model of health outcomes and risk factors and test it empirically using quota sampling of 460 respondents from military families in Slovenia. Thirty-three regression models were calculated to measure the…
‘If the Father Says So, That’s How It Is’
This paper builds on findings from the first systematic study of military families in Slovenia (2019–2022) to critically examine how military families are perceived and constructed within broader sociocultural and institutional frameworks. Using perspectives from family studies, military sociology, defense studies, and critical military theory, the study investigates whether these perceptions continue to reproduce the traditional binary logic tha…
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Law (5 works) · Military personnel (5 works) · Public relations (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · Computer Science (3 works)