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Matea Bodrožić Selak, mag. psych., has been employed at the University Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of Croatia since 2021. She obtained her master’s degree in Psychology in 2020 from the University of Zadar with a thesis titled “Some Predictors of Nomophobia.” During her studies, she served as a teaching assistant at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. She has worked with children with special needs and behavioral issues at the Juraj Bonači Center for Education and Training in Split. She volunteered on the project “Pandemic and Me – Psychological Aspects of the Crisis Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Currently, she is a doctoral student in the postgraduate doctoral program in Prevention Science and Disability Studies at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, specializing in the Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders and Promotion of Mental Health. Additionally, she is a trainee in behavioral-cognitive therapies at the Croatian Association for Behavioral-Cognitive Therapies (HUBIKOT). She has been involved in the implementation of five projects: “Digital technology in the family: patterns of behaviour and effects on child development” (where she is currently employed), “Family and Individual Plan for the Use of Digital Media – Interactive Advisory Website,” “Happiness is Not in Things: The Role of Media, Parents, and Peers in Shaping Materialism in Children,” “Pandemic and Me – Psychological Aspects of the Crisis Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and “Mental Health for All.” She has enhanced her skills by attending summer schools and methodological workshops. She has received two training scholarships (The European Family Support Network – How do we generate evidence in family/parenting support? and Family support and research for social impact). She received a scholarship from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for her doctoral studies. She has presented over 25 abstracts at domestic and international scientific conferences, including the Annual Conference of Psychologists in Croatia, the 4th International Scientific Conference of the University Department of Psychology at the Croatian Catholic University, the 10th International Scientific Conference Research in Education and Rehabilitation Sciences (ERFCON), the European Conference on Developmental Psychology (ECDP), and the European Association for Research on Adolescence Conference (EARA).

She is a co-author of the analysis of the current situation of children and youth in the Republic of Croatia for the period from 2021 to 2023 for the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, which serves as an informed guideline for the development of a national plan for children and youth in the digital environment in Croatia, as well as the monograph of the research-educational project “Pandemic and Me – Psychological Aspects of the Crisis Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and six original scientific papers. She is a member of the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) and The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect (ISPCAN). Currently, she is working on her doctoral dissertation, investigating the parent-child relationship in the context of digital technology.