20.500.12556/DKUM-95226 Life satisfaction and aspects of subjective well-being of youth as indicators of youth mental health pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic perspectives This chapter examines youth well-being in Croatia and Slovenia before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular emphasis on mental health outcomes. Findings reveal a marked decline in life satisfaction across family life, friendships, and body image, with negative changes disproportionately affecting girls and young people of lower socio-economic status. During the pandemic, around one-fifth of respondents reported rarely or never experiencing positive emotions, while one-third frequently encountered negative states such as sadness, fear, or anger. Loneliness emerged as a significant concern, particularly among girls, though age-specific patterns differed between the two countries. Despite this, most young people retained access to supportive social networks, which served as an important protective factor. On the other hand, the post-pandemic period showed improvements in subjective well-being, which included stronger social connectedness and more positive emotional states. However, persistent vulnerabilities remain, particularly among girls, the youngest cohort, and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. life satisfaction subjective well-being youth vulnerabilities mental health COVID-19 pandemic zadovoljstvo z življenjem subjektivno dobro počutje ranljivosti mladih duševno zdravje Slovenija Hrvaška true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Znanstveno delo 2025-09-09 12:51:58 2025-09-09 12:51:58 2025-09-11 03:09:40 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 19-47 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-09-03 316.346.32-053.6 247088643 248097539 10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.2 RAZ_Antulic_Majcen_Sandra_2025.pdf RAZ_Antulic_Majcen_Sandra_2025.pdf 1 8E3DCF0BD5A22E54EE143B62E02FE245 4d28df82a8b31bd37e7464e926996726b22bf585985e851883ead6b33883c609 5384fe9f-8d6b-11f0-9299-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=198008 https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.2 1 0320f689-8d6b-11f0-9299-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=198007 Filozofska fakulteta Univerzitetna založba Univerze v Mariboru 0 0 0