Emotional intimacy cuts across contexts as diverse as sexual motivation and satisfaction, psychological and physical health, and relational well-being. Although the experience of intimacy and its effects on sex life may be gender and sexual orientation-specific, the role of intimacy in personal and sexual relationships has been studied mostly among heterosexual individuals and couples. Using the minority stress framework (Meyer, 2003) to address this gap in knowledge, the present study comparatively explored levels and predictors/correlates of emotional intimacy, and its association with sexual satisfaction among coupled heterosexual and gay/bisexual men sampled online in a predominantly homonegative country (Croatia). Heterosexual participants (n = 860; M age = 36.4, SD = 9.09) were recruited in 2011 and gay/bisexual participants (n = 250; M age = 29.4, SD = 7.13) in 2013. Controlling for age and relationship duration, gay/bisexual men reported higher levels of emotional intimacy than heterosexual men. Suggesting that the role of emotional intimacy in sexual satisfaction is not sexual orientation-specific, the strength of the association between these two constructs was similar in both samples. However, internalized homonegativity, which was negatively associated with emotional intimacy in this study, remains a challenge to creating and maintaining intimacy in male same-sex relationships.

Although research has shown a connection between minority stressors and internalizing mental health problems, the role of minority stress has mainly been neglected in the assessment of sexual problems among non-heterosexual men. Using online samples of heterosexual (n = 933) and non-heterosexual participants (n = 561) aged 18 to 50 years, this study aimed to comparatively assess sexual difficulties and problems and explore the role of minority stress in non-heterosexual men's sexual problems. Although the age-adjusted odds of reporting rapid ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, and sex-related anxiousness significantly differed between the two groups, the overall prevalence of sexual difficulties and the associated levels of distress did not significantly differ between the samples. In multivariate assessment, anxiety and depression significantly increased the odds of reporting distressing sexual difficulties among both heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants. In the non-heterosexual sample, positive body image significantly decreased the odds of experiencing sexual problems. Pointing to a role of minority stress, highest levels of victimization related to sexual orientation increased the risk of sexual problems. This association was partially mediated by negative emotions. Our findings offer some support for a recent call to include sexual orientation among the social determinants of health recognized by the World Health Organization.

Informacijsko-komunikacijska tehnologija (IKT) uključena je u sve društvene slojeve, a njezina se uloga u odgoju i obrazovanju intenzivirala. Spremnost učitelja kao odgojno-obrazovnih profesionalaca ključan je element za uporabu i implementaciju IKT-a u odgojno-obrazovni proces. Iznenadnom pandemijom bolesti COVID-19 učitelji su stavljeni pred zadatak osmišljavanja i provedbe nastave na daljinu. S ciljem utvrđivanja stavova roditelja o uporabi IKT-a u takvom obliku nastave, tijekom proljeća 2020. godine provedeno je istraživanje na uzorku od 465 sudionika na području Grada Zagreba. Utvrđeno je da najveći broj sudionika postiže prosječne rezultate koji su iznad srednje vrijednosti, što znači da je njihov stav o uporabi IKT-a u provedenoj nastavi na daljinu generalno pozitivan. Pronađene su statistički značajne razlike u pojedinim varijablama stavova o uporabi IKT-a u nastavi na daljinu s obzirom na spol, dob i stupanj naobrazbe sudionika te s obzirom na razred koji djeca sudionika istraživanja polaze. Kvalitativnom analizom pitanja otvorenoga tipa ustanovljena je potreba standardizacije nastave na daljinu u smislu uporabe istih ili sličnih digitalnih alata kako bi se osigurale jednake šanse za sve učenike.

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