Background : A pandemic from a bio-psycho-social perspective represents for many people both a traumatic event and a risk factor for the onset of traumatic responses. These light up in the present but in reality, they represent the activation of peritraumatic networks dating back to the past to which the person can react both by the appearance of symptomatic pictures and the disintegration of the self into dissociated parts. Starting from this reading of trauma, Integrative Psychotherapy sets itself the challenge of accompanying people in an integrative work of the parts of the self by combining the emotional, somatic, and cognitive levels. Methods: The subjects were 31 patients, 15 of the control group and 16 of the experimental group. An online survey collected information on demographic data. Furthermore, anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms were assessed in pre and post-tests. The experimental group continued Integrative Psychotherapy during the health emergency. To analyze data, descriptive statistics, paired and independent two-sample t-tests were used. Results: The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the experimental group (patients that continued Integrative Psychotherapy sessions during the health emergency) and control group (patients that stopped therapy). Conclusions: The best performance of the experimental group shows the impact that Integrative Psychotherapy sessions have had in dealing with, managing, and overcoming the crises that patients were experiencing during the health emergency.
Background : Children with learning or attention problems are often more isolated and they more frequently experience low self-esteem, anxiety and depression compared to other children. Some recent studies suggest that they also experience more online risks and that they more frequently receive online sexual requests compared to typically development peers. Method : The present study aims to analyze the risky use of the internet in a small group of children with special educational needs: Learning Disabilities (LD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) compared to that of a small group of typically developing peers. Also, the study shows the perception of parents of both groups about their children internet use. Results : Children with special educational needs who participated in this study were found to be more at risk of perpetration or suffering cyber-bullying, being contacted online by strangers and receive requests for intimate pictures. Small differences also emerged in the parental mediation of these children which is more restrictive compared to that of parents of typically developing children. Conclusion : Results, although they cannot be generalized due to the small number of participants, suggest that it may be important to further study and deeply analyze the use of the web of children with special educational needs.
Background : The objectives of the study were to verify the presence of exercise addiction and orthorexia in the population identified, as well as the relationship between these two variables, and to investigate whether alexithymia and impulsivity are personality traits associated with sport addiction or orthorexia. Methods : The sample, consisting of 140 subjects (between 17 and 52 years old), who practiced bodybuilding, crossfit, calisthenics, powerlifting, or who attended fitness courses, were given: a personal data sheet, the Barrat Impulsiveness Scale-11, the exercise Dependence Scale-Revised, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the Bratman Test. Results : The percentage of subjects with sports addiction is 13% and part of the sample reports symptoms of orthorexia. There is a relationship between exercise addiction and orthorexia, and there are traits of impulsivity and alexithymia in dependent subjects or at risk of addiction. An association was found between alexithymia and impulsivity. Conclusions : Reading the results, it is clear that the obsession with a healthy lifestyle can manifest itself not only in the food area, but also in the sports field, and that impulsiveness and alexithymia are associated with addiction to sports, probably because this represents a strategy to stem dysregulated emotional states.
Background : Several studies have focused on the differences between families of children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and children with typical development by analyzing psychological correlates of families of children with disabilities. Outcome literature emphasizes those parents of children with autism report high levels of stress and other complexities in adjusting to life. Methods : The authors conducted a systematic literature review designed to explore the most widely used normative and qualitative tests and related reference constructs in the scientific literature during the period between 2009 and 2019. Results : The literature found is very large and the authors decided to identify some categories within which to differentiate the studies collected and the relative tests that emerged that are stress, emotional states, family functioning, personal characteristics and social support. Conclusions : A thorough review of the literature combined with clinical experience showed that in clinical studies the focus on individual constructs is very strong and the subject, in this case the parent, is not viewed as a larger part of a social context, which can be a resource in stress management.
Background : The evidence shows that activism in adolescents is positively correlated with mental health and well- being, but there is a lack of in-depth research about this correlation. There are just a few studies, however, that refer to adolescent activism as a specific shape of social engagement, positively correlated to a multitude of well-being outcomes. Methods : The present study aim to analyze correlation between activism and well-being during the adolescence by reviewing studies from the past 10 years to better analyze the impact of these topics on nowadays situation and to hypothesize the direction of it in the near future. Results : Analyzing these studies, it emerged that activism during adolescence has been researched as a phenomenon that acts on various shades of well-being, both at a personal and a collective level. Among the selected studies, only one shows that activism is linked to more health-risk behaviors, rather than mental health. Conclusions : Creating a group environment that enables adolescents to build up their knowledge and personal craving, work jointly on issues of bilateral interest, build skills, and increase social connections not only may lead to tangible social change but could also have significant psychological benefits for the young people involved.
Background: The pandemic period due to the spread of the covid virus has had a tremendous impact on daily life. The psychological aspect is one of the interesting topics to discuss the impact of covid 19. The elderly are one of the most vulnerable to experiencing its effects, especially on their mental health. Methods : This study aims to describe the mental health condition of the elderly and how it correlates with death anxiety. A total of 64 elderly consisting of 60-82 years participated in this study. Data collection data using MHI-5 and Death anxiety scale. Data analysis using Pearson's correlation. Conclusions : The results showed that death anxiety with psychological distress has a significant positive correlation of 0.335 with p-value 0.001. It is also known that the results of the correlation of the two aspects of mental health, namely psychological distress and psychological well-being, have a positive Pearson's correlation value that is not significant, namely 0.198 with p-value > 0.001. The implications and limitations of these findings are also discussed.
Background : The drastic socio-political unrest in Hong Kong (HK) due to the different political issues in 2019 and the novel coronavirus epidemic has drawn rising negative emotions in the society, which the demand for psychological support is soaring. As the epidemic has greatly limited the flexibility of rendering conventional face-to-face counselling, alternative therapeutic approaches are vital to combat the accelerating demand of social and psychological support. Methods : This study reports the qualitative research results of investigating the treatment efficacy and the mechanism of art therapy with clay (CAT), on the emotional problems of youth in the context of HK. The intervention composes of six 2-hour sessions led by an art therapist who is also an experienced school social worker. Results : The phenomenographic approach of analysing the post-intervention focus groups triangulated by the in-sessions art-based inquiry worksheet responses have depicted the therapeutic effects of CAT in three different themes as(1) releasing physical tension, soothing and regulating emotion; (2) building persistence in face of adversities and failures, and; (3) art products as representations of new meanings of life and positive self-image. Conclusions :The CAT process and the created ceramic artworks show powerful therapeutic effects in reorganizing and incorporating challenging experiences and failures, regulating feelings, and instilling new meanings to existential struggles and life issues. Traumatic experience and challenging situation have an existential implication that help one to recapture the core values of life and promote psychological positivity. The creation of animal symbols in the youngsters’ ceramic artworks embrace a sophisticated process of charging emotion, revitalize ideas, and connect personal experience to the collective experience.
Background : Coronavirus seems to be affecting mental health of many people, especially among healthcare workers. Recent studies show an increase in discomfort, anxiety and depression. Preventive action turns to be necessary as to reduce the risk of suicide during COVID-19 crisis, to decrease stress, fear, anxiety and loneliness and this should be favoured by social media campaigns aimed at promoting mental health and reduce discomfort. Methods: This study used the following method as inclusion and exclusion criteria: 1) searched for published articles relevant to the treated topic; 2) used the most recent studies in the literature; 3) used articles in both Italian and English languages; 4) articles which were not reviewed by scientific journals or official government sites were excluded; 5) the main search engines used were Google Scholar, PubMed; 6) the keywords used are COVID-19, Suicide, Psychology. Results: As a result of COVID-19 and subsequent global pandemic, various psychological problems and important mental health consequences have emerged including stress, anxiety, depression, frustration, suicidal behaviors and economic uncertainty. Conclusions: Basic mental health services, integrated with primary outpatient care, can help to reduce risk and minimize the harmful psychological effects caused by the COVID-19 crisis; screening for anxiety, depression and suicidal feelings could be done in this way.
Background : COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading worldwide causing considerable psychological stress to all people. The general lockdown, one of the most drastic provision adopted by the Government for containing the spread of contagion, could represent a very stressful event for people, especially if prolonged over time. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experience and points of view related to COVID-19 pandemic of three groups of university students during the first lockdown and 1 year later, by using the focus group technique. Methods : A qualitative study comprising two focus groups carried out online during the first lockdown period in Italy, in May 2020, and one focus group carried out in January 2021, at the end of the second lockdown. Online videoconferencing using Microsoft Teams platform. Sixteen Italian university students aged between 21 and 25 years. Results : COVID-19 pandemic has created a sense of threat and stress that has surged globally at an alarming pace. Most governments have temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread of COVID-19, for this reason university students were confronted with new challenges. Conclusions : This unprecedented experience of ‘home quarantine’ during the lockdown, with the uncertainty of academic and professional careers, has multifaceted impacts on the life of students.
The promotion of citizen’s democratic and intercultural competence is one of the main actions that European societies may take against some of the most significant challenges they are facing nowadays. The paper is aimed at briefly describing the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, some actions that can be taken to promote democratic and intercultural competences and a case of implementation of this framework in the context of primary school, that is the Erasmus+ Project “Children’s Voices for a new Human Space” (CVS). The paper also aims at illustrating the intellectual outputs produced by CVS project consisting in a training course for teachers, a curriculum for children, an app assisting trainers and teachers during the implementation of the training and the curriculum, and a scientific study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the educational processes in which teachers and children have been involved.
Background : This study evaluates the effectiveness of a Least-to-Most (LTM) prompting system, combined with total task chaining, to teach self-care and domestic living skills during two experiments. The participants were five adolescents with Intellectual Developmental Disorders (IDD). Methods : Treatment effects were evaluated in Experiment 1 with a delayed multiple baseline across behaviors and participants with two follow-ups phases and a delayed multiple baseline across behaviors design with follow-up phase for Experiment 2. Results : The analysis show that all students learned the target behaviors using LTM prompting procedure, but performance levels slightly decreased during follow-up for both experiments. Conclusions : The LTM prompting procedure proved helpful in teaching the target skills in a semi-residential context. Implications for practice are discussed.
Self-determination theory is a recently developed theoretical framework (Ryan & Deci, 2017) which considers organisms as active and intrinsically growth-oriented. It suggests that engaging in interesting activities, increasing one's skills, and being part of social groups are all elements that characterize the adaptive evolution of human organism. To realize these natural inclinations, a supportive environment is required, where three universal psychological needs can be satisfied: need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Social environments, such as family, school, and work, can encourage self-determination and intrinsic motivation through needs satisfaction, or on the contrary, harm self-determination and foster forms of extrinsic motivation through needs frustration. Through the examination of the most significant contexts, this paper identifies antecedents and outcomes that anticipate and follow satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs, to promote psychosocial well-being and prevent psychopathologies.
Background : his paper contains four research contributions made by psychology students within the theoretical framework of Self-Determination Theory. Method : The aim was to investigate the relation between dysfunctional eating behaviors and some related variables, such as basic psychological needs, psychological control, alcohol abuse, body self-esteem, relation anxiety, emotional dysregulation, restrained and emotional eating in 322 adolescents. For each of the variables to be investigated, specific self-report scales were administered. Results : The studies show how satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs and emotional dysregulation affect the eating behavior of adolescents. Relationship anxiety, lower satisfaction of basic needs, along with changes in body image, lead to alcohol abuse and emotional eating, especially in females who report higher scores in emotional eating than male adolescents. Conclusions : Further implications of these results for understanding the dysfunctional eating behaviors in adolescents are discussed in the conclusions section of this paper.
Background : This paper contains four research contributions made by psychology students within the theoretical framework of Self-Determination Theory. Methods : The aim was to investigate the relation between work-family conflict and some related variables, such as job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, basic psychological needs, and parenting educational practices in 126 pairs of parents, both workers. For each of the variables to be investigated, specific self-report scales were administered. Results : Results suggest that there is a negative correlation between family-to-work conflict and job satisfaction in both women and men, that parenting educational practices are affected by quality of work-to-family conflict, that an intrinsic motivation to work could lead to a great job satisfaction, and that it exists a negative correlation between basic psychological needs satisfaction and work-family conflict. Conclusions :Further implications of these results for understanding the impact of work-family dynamics on parental well-being are discussed in the conclusions section of this paper.
Background : The influence of parenting strategies and family functioning was extensively analysed in the study of the healthy development of adolescents. Self-determination theory expands this study by suggesting that at the basis of an optimal development there is the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between family functioning and some related variables, such as intrinsic motivation, basic psychological needs, well-being and parental educational practices. Methods : 140 parents with their 70 teenagers took part to this research. For each of the variables to be investigated, specific self-reports were administered. Results : Results found that adolescent self-perceived well-being was related to supportive parental practices and to a better family functioning. Furthermore, basic psychological needs have been found fundamental for the well-being both in parents than in adolescents. Conclusions : The strength of this study lies in having considered family units, investigating the same variables in both parents and children, and finding satisfaction of basic psychological needs to be related to positive well-being outcomes across generations. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Psychotherapy endows a sense of control in patients gripped with emotional conflicts which allow them to handle their reflexes and regain composure through conscious and behavioral alterations. These transformational changes can be brought about by improving their listening skills, observational capacities, creating awareness, making them more attentive and intervening. Specialised tools and techniques are employed through the course of therapy which not only alters but also accentuates their cognitive and effective understanding. The idea of amalgamating these two broad ambits: the complexities of psychology and dynamism of artificial intelligence has gained momentum in recent times. This review focuses on how machine intelligence through computer-implemented psychotherapeutic tools can enhance self-awareness through computer-implemented psychotherapeutic tools can enhance self-awareness.
Background: Following a careful revision of the literature, this study wants to analyse the clinical relationship between early feeding patterns (especially breastfeeding), and a subsequent development of an eating disorder (especially binge eating disorder). This peculiar clinical picture arouses attention because it is considered as a widespread psychopathological modality in our current time, a time in which psychopathology is increasingly impressed on the body. Aim of this study is to highlight the relational dynamics that are considered to be of fundamental importance to the early ways of feeding to determine the concept of the limit of the body. These relational dynamics refer to the notion of attachment with all that implies. Methods: For this purpose, 40 articles were selected in which the topics discussed refer to maternal attitudes towards breastfeeding and their influence on infant development, the impact of attachment patterns on the development of eating disorders. The research and electronic literature databases searched include PubMed, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES. Results: Now, on the one hand there are the ways of relating, the attachment process, and their concrete expression in the first feeding patterns, on the other hand there is the persistent emergence of a particular clinical picture and the binge eating disorder, in which the above-mentioned dynamics are altered. Conclusions: This work shows that the relation of the attachment is the main element of connection between premature eating dysfunction practices and the willingness to develop a binge eating disorder.
Background: In this research, we evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention, carried out through two studies, on the increase of on-task time in the context of a small group during the execution of arithmetic facts. Methods: Four adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders took part in the research. For the first study, we used an ABAB single-subject experimental design, and for the second one, a pre- and post-probe design. As dependent variables, in both studies, we measured the percentage of on-task behavior intervals, the number of correct arithmetic facts, and the total number of completed arithmetic facts during 10-minute sessions. In the first study, the implemented intervention was the use of a progressive variable interval reinforcement scheme. In the second study, the independent variable was an intervention package consisting of a self-monitoring procedure combined with an interdependent group contingency and public posting. Results: The intervention was effective in increasing the emission of on-task behavior and the number of corrected and completed arithmetic facts by each participant. Conclusions: the strategies described can provide learning and independence opportunities to students with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Background: Chronic kidney failure (CKF) and consequent haemodialytical treatment envolve a particular viewpoint that has to include not only the purely physical and medical range, but also the psychological one. The complexity of sensations and feelings caused by this chronic condition are loss, wear, commitment, fear, resignation, rage, compulsion for a totally machine depending life. These factors create a considerable psychological damage that cannot be underrated because they express the whole body–mind involvement so much to affect, heavily, all lifestyle. Methods: The autogenic training (AT) is a method to reduce psychological sensations such as anxiety, depression and distress. Introducing it in the two haemodialysis units belonging to the same private hospital has been an innovation. Results: The great number of the treated persons has given us widely convincing results and a proved efficacy. As a matter of fact, the psychological symptoms of anxiety, depression and distress have significantly decreased in the experimental group [p<0,001], on the contrary they have increased in the control group [p<0,050]. The comparison between the groups has also pointed out this statistically meaningful data [p<0,001]. The present research project includes the psychological therapies into the nephrological context, and it verifies and analyses the previous projects which developed Psycho-nephrology. Conclusions: The psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology (PNEI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) support these knowledges and invite health workers to do this experience (with the convinced evolvement of multidisciplinary team) preferring the holistic approach to the person considering his/her remarkable psychic pain. The use of the AT method reduces a lot not only the psychological pain but also the physical one. This is a kind of pain therapy for the patient well-being.
Background: Social comparison is a basic human process, which may change dependent of one’s age. The purpose of this study was to examine how Social Comparison Orientation (SCO), i.e., the tendency to engage in social comparisons, varied across the lifespan. Method: A representative sample of 1613 adults from the Netherlands filled out the widely used 11-item scale for Social Comparison Orientation (SCO). Age was categorized in terms of decades, including both 19 years or younger and 80 years or older as categories. Results: The results showed a strong curvilinear effect of age: SCO was highest among people 19 years or younger, decreased substantially with increasing age until the age of 60, after which it increased moderately. Women were somewhat higher in SCO than men. Conclusion: The tendency to engage in social comparisons changes considerably over the life span, which may be due to the different challenges and insecurities that people may face in different stages of the life span.
