This paper presents the first longitudinal examination of stability and change in the 19 values of Schwartz’s refined theory. A total of N = 465 high-school students (75% boys) participated in the study. The Portrait Values Questionnaire-Revised was administered four times over three years in mid-to-late adolescence (ages 15–18). We investigated multiple types of stability. At the mean level, Power-Dominance and Universalism-Nature increased significantly in importance compared to the other values. By contrast, the relative importance of Benevolence, Stimulation, Hedonism, and Face decreased significantly. Correlations between the growth parameters of the 19 values showed that change occurred in a coherent and organized manner, mirroring the circular structure of Schwartz’s theory. A medium-to-high degree of rank-order consistency was observed over 3 years, with coefficients ranging from .30 (Self-Direction-Action) to .56 (Conformity-Rules). On average, overall and distinctive profile stabilities were .66 and .45, respectively. Whereas the hierarchical order of values was consistent over time for most adolescents, there were important interindividual differences in stability patterns. The results from this study are discussed and related to earlier findings on value change during adjacent developmental periods. Taken together, they contribute to drawing a roadmap of value development in late adolescence toward early adulthood.

BACKGROUND:Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), often triggers psychological distress. Resilience, the ability to adapt to stress and trauma, may mitigate the psychological effects of chronic illnesses. AIMS:To determine whether higher psychological resilience is independently associated with reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms and whether it moderates the relationship between disease activity and these symptoms in IBD patients. METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered to IBD outpatients. The disease activity was assessed using the Harvey-Bradshaw Index for CD and the Clinical Mayo Score for UC. RESULTS:A total of 458 patients were included. High resilience was associated with fewer symptoms of depression (β = -0.726,p < .01) and anxiety (β = -0.668,p < .01) in CD patients. Similar results were found among UC patients (depression: β = -0.602,p < .01; anxiety: β = -0.490,p < .01). In CD, higher disease activity was associated with more depressive symptoms (β =0.098,p = .030). Resilience moderated the association between CD activity and anxiety (β = -0.125, p = .011), whereas its moderating effect on depression did not reach statistical significance (β = -0.086, p = .059). Overall, disease severity was more strongly associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms among low resilience patients than among those with high resilience. CONCLUSIONS:Resilience may play a protective role against depression and anxiety symptoms potentially temper disease activity, making it a worthwhile focus in comprehensive IBD management, particularly in Crohn's disease. As a dynamic factor, these findings support integrating resilience-building interventions into personalized IBD care pathways.

According to the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept, the grandiose self-concept is regulated through two primary strategies: self-enhancement (agentic narcissism) and self-protection (antagonistic narcissism). These strategies can be assessed using the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), which showed adequate reliability and construct validity. However, like all self-report measures, the NARQ is vulnerable to self/other deception biases and introspective limits, rendering it not properly suited for capturing the automatic components of narcissistic self-concept. To address these limitations, both associative (Implicit Association Test; IAT) and propositional (Relational Responding Task; RRT) implicit measures were employed to assess agentic narcissism, and their reliability, convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity were tested across two studies. In Study 1 (N = 317), the Grandiosity IAT and RRT demonstrated adequate internal consistency, with the former showing higher α and ω coefficients. While convergent validity was low, the measures exhibited the expected correlation patterns with narcissism and self-esteem scales, supporting their concurrent validity (slightly stronger for the RRT). In study 2 (N = 222), the Implicit Propositional (but not the Associative) Agentic Narcissism showed a significant additive contribution in predicting self-enhancement over and above Explicit Agentic Narcissism, supporting the RRT (but not the IAT) incremental validity.

Abstract Background Crohn's disease (CD) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by transmural granulomatous inflammation, skip lesions, and a relapsing-remitting course, potentially affecting the entire gastrointestinal tract. Patients with chronic illness are at an increased risk for traumatic stress because of the medical trauma. Previous evidence suggests that many patients perceive the chronic nature of the disease and related diagnostics and therapeutic procedures as traumatic events. Initial studies on post-traumatic stress (PTS) in patients with IBD have found that approximately one-third of patients may experience significant PTS symptoms, including flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, disrupted sleep, and low mood, potentially leading to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aims to explore the moderating role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the link between CD activity and PTSD symptoms. Methods In a cross-sectional design, the revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) and the ACEs Questionnaire were administered to consecutive CD outpatients at Policlinico A. Gemelli in Rome. Disease activity was assessed with the Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and moderated regression models in SPSS (version 27). Results A total of 172 CD patients were included in the study, of whom 152 completed the IES and 148 also completed the ACEs questionnaire. Forty-eight patients (31.2%) exhibited a score of 33 or more on the IES-R, suggestive of PTSD. Correlation analyses revealed that ACEs scores correlated significantly with all subscales of the IES-R: intrusion (r=.405, p< .001), avoidance (r=.348, p< .001), and hyperarousal (r= .363, p< .001). Moreover, patients with higher ACEs had significantly more severe disease activity (r= .272, p< .001). Notably, the highest scores of ACEs were observed for the items related to feeling undervalued and ignored by one’s family. Further results from a hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the relationship between CD activity and the overall IES- R score was significantly stronger among patients with high ACEs scores (b= .21, p < .001) compared to those with medium (b= .12, p= .005) or low scores (b=.06, p =.291). Conclusion Our study revealed that ACEs play a moderating role in the relationship between CD disease activity and the development of PTS symptoms. Patients with higher PTS symptoms and more ACEs are less likely to achieve remission and may require increased use of gastroenterology services. These findings underscore the importance of a psychological assessment to enhance the management of these patients. Intervention trials to mitigate PTS symptoms in patients with IBD are warranted.

Two implicit propositional measures designed to detect faking in personality-related scales were tested across four experimental studies. Study 1 (n = 116) included the Deception Relational Responding Task and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire as the faking-detector and target scale, respectively. Respondents were randomly assigned to faking or no-faking conditions. Faking respondents were instructed to appear opposite to their narcissistic profile, while no-faking had to respond honestly. In Study 2 (n = 133), the faking-detector was the Deception Implicit Association Test (Dec-aIAT), while the target scale and faking/no-faking instructions remained the same. In Studies 3 (n = 74) and 4 (n = 111), the faking-detector was again the Dec-aIAT, while the target scale was the Big Five Questionnaire-2. Faking respondents had to adhere to a desirable target profile (Study 3; faking-good) or its opposite (Study 4; faking-bad) while no-faking should respond honestly. Overall, the implicit measures showed adequate-to-excellent reliability, discriminating power, and classification accuracy.

We test the theory that personality incoherence may instigate personality change in the context of personal values. Values' near-universal organization makes value incoherence assessment straightforward. The study included 13 longitudinal samples from seven cultures (Australia, Israel Palestinian citizens, Israel Jewish majority, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland), total N = 7,126, and T1 M age ranging between 6 and 18. Each participant reported values between two- and six-times. Using unfolding analysis, we calculated the fit of the internal value structure of each participant at the first time point to the value structure in their sample (normative structure) and to the theoretical structure of values. We estimated value change using Growth Curve Modeling (when at least three measurement times were available) and the difference between T1 and T2 in each sample. We correlated value incoherence with value change and estimated the effect across samples using a meta-analysis. Incoherence with the structure of values predicted greater value change. The associations were stronger when participant's value structures were compared to the normative value structure at T1 than when they were compared to the theoretical structure. A meta-regression analysis indicated that effects were not moderated by age. We discuss possible underlying processes and implications for personality development.

This study focuses on the association between basic personal values and perfectionism. It explores how the 19 values of Schwartz's refined theory are related to multiple dimensions of perfectionism. A sample of 426 young adults (57.7 % females) with a mean age of 26.03 years completed the Portrait Value Questionnaire-Revised and Hewitt and Flett's and Frost et al.'s multidimensional perfectionism scales. Results showed that values and perfectionism are meaningfully related. Self-Oriented Perfectionism and Personal Standards, two forms of perfectionism that have adaptive aspects, exhibited the highest positive correlation with Achievement. Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Concern over mistakes, two predominantly maladaptive dimensions, correlated most positively with Conformity-Interpersonal and Face. Other-oriented Perfectionism, a form of maladaptive perfectionism directed to others, correlated most positively with Power-Dominance and most negatively with Universalism-Tolerance. Organization correlated most positively with Conformity-Rules and most negatively with Stimulation. Although the observed associations were small to moderate, results from the present study add to our understanding of the compound nature of perfectionism, by providing a thorough coverage of the motivational goals underlying different forms and manifestations of perfectionism.

The present article provides a practical guide for modelling and interpreting several basic applications of the latent change scores (LCS) model, a useful and flexible approach for the analysis of change. The article is addressed to students, researchers and practitioners who are familiar with structural equation modelling but new to LCS. We first provided a gentle introduction to the LCS model using non-technical language and minimal mathematical formalism. We illustrated the basic ideas behind this approach, introducing LCS in its simplest form. We show how this model can be straightforwardly extended to more complex applications, including the dual change score (DCS) model and some of its variants (i.e., the proportional change and the constant change models). We illustrated how the univariate LCS model can be used to determine the growth trajectory of a variable across multiple waves of assessment. Next, we focused on the bivariate case, which allows for the modelling of the dynamic relations between two variables. For each model, we provided easy-to-follow examples of applications based on Schwartz's theory of basic personal values. The examples are accompanied by annotated syntax and output showing how they can be implemented with the Mplus software and how results can be interpreted.

We examined patterns of mean-level change in striving for perfection, self-critical perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism over two years in late childhood. The study involved five waves of data and a total of 377 children (43% girls) with a mean age of 10.66 years (SD = 0.56) at time 1. Growth curve models were used to investigate the development trajectories of perfectionism and how they differ by gender. We also examined whether initial levels and rates of change in children’s perfectionism predict subsequent self-esteem and school engagement levels. Results indicated a small but significant decline in striving for perfection and socially prescribed perfectionism for both genders. Self-critical perfectionism also decreased significantly, but only among boys. The three development trajectories were positively interrelated, suggesting that children who increased over time in one aspect of perfectionism tended to increase also in the others. Nonetheless, different prospective associations with self-esteem and school engagement were found for the three dimensions. Initial levels of striving for perfection displayed positive effects on both variables at time 5, while initial levels of socially prescribed perfectionism had negative effects. Additionally, increasing levels of striving for perfection were related to higher school engagement, above and beyond initial levels of perfectionism. Increasing levels of socially prescribed perfectionism were related to lower self-esteem. Results are discussed and linked to earlier findings on patterns of change in perfectionism during childhood and adolescence.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Alcohol-related hepatitis (AH) is the most severe form of acute alcohol-related liver disease. Maddrey's discriminant function ≥32 defines the severe form of AH, which is associated with a high mortality. Steroid therapy represents the main medical treatment that may reduce short-term mortality. Lille score at day 7 assesses the therapeutic response to steroid therapy. At present, no parameters able to predict the response to steroid therapy have been highlighted. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if baseline prothrombin time (BPT) could predict the response to steroid in severe AH (sAH). METHODS:Patients consecutively admitted in two Italian Liver Units, from 2017 to 2022, suffering from sAH were included. Data were collected prospectively. In order to evaluate if BPT could predict steroid response, we assessed the correlation between BPT using the Lille score at day 7. RESULTS:A total of 52 patients received steroid treatment were enrolled in the study. The response to therapy was assessed by Lille score at day 7. Responders were 34 patients (65%), non-responders 18 patients (34%). BPT significantly predicted the steroid response (p < .001). The likelihood of not responding to the steroid therapy was significantly higher in patients with higher BPT (OR = 2.954). CONCLUSIONS:BPT value predicted steroid response in patients with sAH. BPT could quickly identify non-responder patients to steroid therapy, reducing the risk of infections and it could allow the early evaluation for liver transplantation.

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

In line with the seminal ideas on the "prejudice-prone personality" provided by Allport (1954) in the book The Nature of Prejudice, various studies have highlighted the association between in-dividuals' high need for cognitive closure (NCC) and prejudice towards various outgroups. Nonetheless, evidence on the invariance of individuals' prejudice towards different outgroups is still missing. Study 1 and Study 2 aimed to provide evidence that individuals with high NCC display similar levels of prejudice towards different outgroups (i.e., people of a different race; people of a different religion; immigrants; people who speak a different language; people with a different sexual orientation), expressed in terms of desired social distance. Besides this, and based on the "group-centrism hypothesis" positing the role of groups as sources of epistemic certainty and stability of knowledge, Study 2 tackled the process underlying the relation between NCC and invariance of prejudice towards different outgroups by testing the mediational role of binding moral foundations. Evidence from both studies supported the hypothesis that individuals with high NCC display prejudice towards different outgroups to the same extent and that binding moral foundations mediate this relationship. Implications of these findings with reference to interventions aimed to hinder prejudice towards outgroups will be discussed.

A large body of research focused on the relationship between the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits and Schwartz's basic values. Existing studies, however, have considered Schwartz's theory in its classical form, which identifies 10 broad values. This is the first study to examine this relationship by using the recent refinement of the value theory, which adopts a finer partitioning of the motivational continuum. It examined the associations between the FFM, as measured by the NEO PI-R, and the 19 values in the refined theory (n = 296, 49 % male, 51 % female). Results appear to suggest that a more precise insight into how the five factors relate to the whole system of values can be attained by considering a narrower conceptualization of values. For example, Conscientiousness exhibited the strongest association with Conformity-Rules (i.e., compliance with rules and formal obligations) but was unrelated with Conformity-Interpersonal (i.e., avoidance of upsetting others). This latter correlated highly with Agreeableness. Failing to differentiate between the two Conformity subtypes may have weakened the correlation with traits in earlier studies. Findings were discussed regarding subtypes of the original 10 and newly defined values in the refined theory that showed distinct patterns of correlation with personality traits.

SEM model reported in the manuscript

Affect is involved in many psychological phenomena, but a descriptive structure, long sought, has been elusive. Valence and arousal are fundamental, and a key question-the focus of the present study-is the relationship between them. Valence is sometimes thought to be independent of arousal, but, in some studies (representing too few societies in the world) arousal was found to vary with valence. One common finding is that arousal is lowest at neutral valence and increases with both positive and negative valence: a symmetric V-shaped relationship. In the study reported here of self-reported affect during a remembered moment (N = 8,590), we tested the valence-arousal relationship in 33 societies with 25 different languages. The two most common hypotheses in the literature-independence and a symmetric V-shaped relationship-were not supported. With data of all samples pooled, arousal increased with positive but not negative valence. Valence accounted for between 5% (Finland) and 43% (China Beijing) of the variance in arousal. Although there is evidence for a structural relationship between the two, there is also a large amount of variability in this relation.

A long tradition of research has focused on the association between narcissism and perfectionism. The current research investigates this association by differentiating between assertive and antagonistic aspects of grandiose narcissism, as described in the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept. Participants (n = 402) completed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire as well as two widely used measures of perfectionism. Results showed that the pattern of correlations that Admiration and Rivalry exhibited with several aspects and di-mensions of perfectionism can be efficiently summarized by embracing the distinction between the overarching factors of Perfectionistic Strivings and Concerns. Admiration correlated primarily with Perfectionistic Strivings, an individual's tendency to set high standards of performance that may encompass adaptive features. Rivalry, by contrast, was mostly related to Perfectionistic Concerns, which predominantly reflects maladaptive aspects (e.g., concern over others' expectations, self-doubts, and negative reactions to perceived failure). This pattern holds even after controlling for outwardly directed forms of perfectionism, such as the tendency to set unrealistically high standards for others and harshly devaluate their imperfections. Findings from this study provide novel insight into how different manifestations of grandiose narcissism (i.e., aggrandizing oneself and devaluating others) are related to distinct aspects of perfectionism.

The current study investigates the longitudinal association between grandiose narcissism and multidimensional perfectionism over 2 years in adolescence. We adopted the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept, which differentiates between two aspects of grandiose narcissism. We also considered multiple dimensions of perfectionism, including Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (SPP) and two forms of Self-Oriented Perfectionism (SOP), namely the tendencies to set high standards of performance (SOP-Striving) and to engage in overly critical self-evaluations (SOP-Critical). The study was conducted in a sample of Italian high school students (n = 331). Concurrent correlations indicated that Admiration was positively related to SOP-Striving and, to a lesser extent, to SOP-Critical and SPP. Rivalry was also positively related to the three perfectionistic dimensions, although correlations were smaller in size than those found for Admiration. Prospective associations between narcissism and perfectionism were analysed using a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model. Results showed that the predominant direction of effects was from narcissism to perfectionism, particularly from Admiration to SOP-Striving and SPP. Findings were discussed in terms of their implications for the understanding of the narcissism-perfectionism link.

Using data from two studies, we investigate the role of basic values in predicting academic achievement. We focus on self-direction and conformity, two-value domains that have been neglected or understudied in earlier research on academic success. In line with the refined value theory, we split self-direction into independence of thought and of action, and conformity into compliance with rules and formal obligations (Rules), and avoidance of upsetting others (Interpersonal). We obtained grades as measures of academic achievement in two samples of Italian high-school students. In Study 1 (n = 234), we measured values with the PVQ-40 and academic motivation. In Study 2 (n = 215), we measured values with the PVQ-RR and both attendance rates and classroom conduct. Results: Both self-direction-thought and conformity-rules correlated with higher grades. These two values related to grades through a different path. Self-direction thought promoted grades through autonomous forms of academic motivation. Conformity rules promoted grades through better teachers' evaluations of students' classroom behaviour. Self-direction-action and conformity-interpersonal were unrelated to grades. Regarding the other values, hedonism and stimulation related negatively to grades. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.

This study investigated value change during two phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, one of the most affected countries in the world. The first wave of data was collected in summer 2020, when the virus was on the retreat. The second wave was collected in autumn, at the peak of the second pandemic wave (November 2020). We investigated how Schwartz's higher-order values changed over the two waves of the study, using economic condition as a predictor of change. We also examined whether value change predicted subsequent value-expressive behavior. Results showed no mean-level change for self-enhancement, self-transcendence, conservation, and openness to change values, but significant interindividual differences in the amount of change for each of the four values. Economic condition emerged as a significant predictor of change in conservation values: Individuals with a decreasing income since the beginning of the pandemic were more likely to increase the importance assigned to these values with respect to individuals whose economic well-being has remained unchanged. Moreover, an increase in conservation and openness to change values predicted behaviors that are mostly expressive of these values, above and beyond value importance at Time 1. Results and their implications for the study of values are discussed.