Starting University at the Time of COVID-19: Psychoemotional Adjustment of a Group of Italian Students.

The transition from school to university typically occurs during emerging adulthood; this coming together of multiple challenging development tasks at the same time may be stressful for some students. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and above all the health measures implemented to deal with it, may have been an additional factor contributing to the difficult adaptation of first-year students to academic life. This study evaluated the role played by emotional processing and differentiation of self for psychological well-being in a sample of 218 Italian students (78.4% women) who began their 1st year of college during the pandemic. The results showed that higher levels of differentiation of self, combined with fewer signs of unprocessed emotions, predicted lower psychological distress. The data support the importance of these variables as protective factors in promoting psychological well-being along with the transition to adulthood and adaptation to new life challenges. These findings draw attention to the relevance of support services aimed at university students and of emerging adults in general in considering and promoting the role of self-differentiation and the style of emotional processing for addressing well-being and mental health during the transition to adult life.

Adolescence between biology and culture a perspective on the crisis of symbolization.

One way to conceptualize human life is to describe it as a process through which the biological body is progressively transformed into a psychological one through its mentalization and symbolization. This process occurs through the relational field, which begins with caregiver-infant proto-conversations and develops through adolescence into the ongoing complex interpersonal relational network we call society and culture. The essence and the problems of adolescents are intricately tied to the social and cultural contexts in which they experience life. Therefore, adolescence cannot be understood if all the levels that it expresses (biological, psychological cultural/social) are not taken into consideration. We identify three psycho-historical phases through which adolescence has changed in the past century: (1) Oedipal; (2) Narcissistic; and (3) Post-narcissistic. In this last phase due to the psychological and historical failure of the narcissistic ideals, the ideal is mingling with the real in a wholly new way. This process has overturned Erikson's paradigm: identity, opposed and defined by a dichotomic otherness, must be transformed into a fluid integration of similarities and differences negotiated and developed through empirical interpersonal intersubjective experiences. This, in our perspective, is a possible key to understand the rapid change in the nature of consciousness, selfhood, and gendering in today's western world, together with some important psychopathological disorders which describe the new creative challenges of today's adolescents.

Digital Help for Substance Users (SU): A Systematic Review.

The estimated number of Substance Users (SU) globally has currently reached a very high number and is still increasing. This aspect necessitates appropriate interventions for prevention and specific treatments. The literature shows that digital treatments can be useful in the context of health services and substance abuse. This systematic review focuses mainly on research on the effectiveness of digital treatments for SU. Data sources included studies found on PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS, and WebOfScience (WOS) database searches. The following keywords were used: TITLE (digital OR computer OR software OR tablet OR app OR videogame OR seriousgame OR virtualreality) AND ABSTRACT((mental AND health) AND (addiction OR dependence OR substance OR drug)). We focused on peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 through 2021 using PRISMA guidelines. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria (i.e., type of intervention, efficacy in terms of misuse of substances and scored outcomes from questionnaire or toxicology tests, study methodology). The studies included investigations of specific digital treatments for SU of various kinds of drugs. The interventions were administered using personal computers, smartphones, or, in a few cases, tablets. Most of the interventions focused on the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) model and/or on the use strategies, tips, or feedback. A minority provided information or training programs. The current review shows that digital treatments and interventions are effective in reducing the frequency of use, augmenting abstinence, or reducing the gravity of dependence for most of the studies at post-treatment. However, due to the heterogeneity of the variables (i.e., substance type, digital tool used, and treatment administered), there was a reduced generalizability of the results. This review highlights the need to continue the research in this field, and above all, to create effective digital protocols.

From pregnancy to 3 months after birth:the beginning of mother-infant relationship from a maternal perspective.

BACKGROUND: An early positive mother-child relationship is a central factor in the development of a psychologically balanced personality. The study aims to identify risk and protective factors for the development of a balanced maternal-infant postnatal attachment. We explored the association between maternal-infant attachment and prenatal and postnatal variables potentially implicated in the development of this early bond: maternal-foetal prenatal attachment, social support, memories of parental care, romantic attachment, dyadic adjustment, parity, breastfeeding, planning pregnancy, woman's and infant's age, and difficulty of delivery. METHODS: 123 pregnant women participated in the longitudinal study; they were assessed on the MAAS, PBI, ECR-R, MSPSS (t1: pregnancy), MPAS (t2: 3-months postnatally), DAS , and CES-D (t1, t2). RESULTS: Four significant predictors of maternal-infant postnatal attachment (MPAS) emerged: maternal-foetal prenatal attachment (ß = 0.379, p < .001), anxiety in the romantic relationships (ß=-0.237, p=0.019), prenatal and postnatal dyadic adjustment (t1, ß=-0.323, p=0.025 ;t2, ß=0.329, p=0.014) in the couple's relationship. These variables explained 20.2% of variance in mother-infant attachment (R2adjusted=0.202). DISCUSSION: The study highlights associations of maternal-infant postnatal attachment with prenatal and postnatal relational variables and with other variables related to the woman's reproductive and pregnancy history. Clinical attention to these factors could help protect the well-being of mother and child.

The Use of Distance Learning and E-learning in Students with Learning Disabilities: A Review on the Effects and some Hint of Analysis on the Use during COVID-19 Outbreak.

Even if the use of distance learning and E-learning has a long tradition all over the world and both have been used to keep in contact with students and to provide lessons, support and learning materials, there is an open debate on the balance between advantages and disadvantages in the use of distance learning. This debate is even more central in their use to support students with Learning Disabilities (LDs), an overarching group of neurodevelopmental disorders that affect more than 5% of students. The current COVID-19 outbreak caused school closures and the massive use of E-learning all over the world and it put higher attention on the debate of the effects of E-learning. This paper aims to review papers that investigated the positive and negative effects of the use of Distance Learning and E-learning in students with LDs. We conducted a literature review on the relationship between Distance Learning, E-learning and Learning Disabilities, via Scopus, Eric and Google Scholar electronic database, according to Prisma Guidelines. The findings are summarized using a narrative, but systematic, approach. According to the data resulting from the papers, we also discuss issues to be analyzed in future research and in the use of E-learning during the current pandemic of COVID-19.

Teaching in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study on Teachers' Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in an Italian Sample.

The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, particularly on their self-esteem and self-efficacy, their difficulty in the transition to distance learning, the difficulty of students, and specially of students with learning disabilities (LDs students), as perceived by teachers. 226 teachers were invited to complete an online questionnaire. Our results showed lower self-esteem and lower self-efficacy by the teachers compared with the normative sample. Self-esteem and self-efficacy also decrease in teachers with greater service seniority at work. Teachers perceived a greater difficulty in students than in their own difficulty. The concentration of the school system's efforts on the massive and, for long periods, exclusive organisation of distance learning risks favouring only cognitive aspects to the detriment of affective dynamics. This aspect could make teaching more complex for teachers and learning poorer for students, impoverishing the complex relational process that forms the basis of the learning process.

Psychological Aspects of Students With Learning Disabilities in E-Environments: A Mini Review and Future Research Directions.

What are the main learning difficulties or advantages encountered by students with learning disabilities (LDs) within e-environments? As a result of the Covid-19 emergency, e-learning is being increasingly used to support students' learning processes. A number of countries closed their schools altogether, so face-to-face lessons were and have been replaced by distance lessons. A search of current literature via Scopus, Eric and Google Scholar electronic databases was conducted according to Prisma Guidelines. Other sources of literature were also considered, starting from the references in the full text of the articles consulted. We used the following search keywords: "LDs" combined with the "AND/OR" Boolean operator and "e-learning platforms," "well-being," "psychological factors," "emotional distress," and "self-regulation." One body of literature highlights the lack of inclusive accessibility standards and a lack of attention to specific tools for addressing LDs, which causes students to develop high levels of stress/anxiety and emotional distress, in addition to low levels of well-being, self-esteem and self-efficacy. Another area of literature looks at how students can develop high levels of self-regulation and emotional awareness, as well as high levels of inclusion. Results are discussed in terms of the promotion of e-learning that focuses on the psychological well-being of students and teachers use of technological tools.

A Pilot Study of the Relationship Between Pregnancy and Autoimmune Disease: Exploring the Mother's Psychological Process.

Autoimmune disease mainly affects women in their reproductive years and has a significant impact on childbearing. Pregnancy can induce an improvement of the mother's symptomatology in some diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis while exacerbating or having no effect on other autoimmune diseases as multiple sclerosis (Borchers et al., 2010). This uncertainty can affect the process of psychological reorganization, which leads to the achievement of a maternal identity. The quality of the mother-fetus emotional bond is considered particularly relevant for the subsequent attachment relationship and the psychological development of the infant (Ammaniti et al., 2013). In the last trimester of pregnancy, 15 women with different autoimmune diseases were interviewed using the IRMAG-R (Ammaniti and Tambelli, 2010). They also completed a battery comprising: PAI (Della Vedova et al., 2008); MAAS (Busonera et al., 2016); DAS (Gentili et al., 2002); PBI (Scinto et al., 1999); MSPSS (Prezza and Principato, 2002); DERS, (Giromini et al., 2012); CES-D (Fava, 1983); HCR-TS (Bova et al., 2012). All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by Atlas.ti. The results show that women with autoimmune disease were ambivalent toward pregnancy, had high levels of depression, had difficulties in recognizing physical and psychological changes, and had difficulties in imagining the child. These are considered risk factors that could negatively affect the postnatal mother-infant relationship. These results focus on the importance of early multidisciplinary interventions that can support expectant women when they show signs of relationship difficulties with their infants prior to his/her birth.

Differentiation of Self and Dyadic Adjustment in Couple Relationships: A Dyadic Analysis Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

Bowen's multigenerational theory provides an account of how the internalization of experiences within the family of origin promotes development of the ability to maintain a distinct self whilst also making intimate connections with others. Differentiated people can maintain their I-position in intimate relationships. They can remain calm in conflictual relationships, resolve relational problems effectively, and reach compromises. Fusion with others, emotional cut-off, and emotional reactivity instead are common reactions to relational stress in undifferentiated people. Emotional reactivity is the tendency to react to stressors with irrational and intense emotional arousal. Fusion with others is an excessive emotional involvement in significant relationships, whilst emotional cut-off is the tendency to manage relationship anxiety through physical and emotional distance. This study is based on Bowen's theory, starting from the assumption that dyadic adjustment can be affected both by a member's differentiation of self (actor effect) and by his or her partner's differentiation of self (partner effect). We used the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to study the relationship between differentiation of self and dyadic adjustment in a convenience sample of 137 heterosexual Italian couples (nonindependent, dyadic data). The couples completed the Differentiation of Self Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Men's dyadic adjustment depended only on their personal I-position, whereas women's dyadic adjustment was affected by their personal I-position and emotional cut-off as well as by their partner's I-position and emotional cut-off. The empirical and clinical implications of the results are discussed.

La teoría multigeneracional de Bowen (1978) ofrece una explicación de cómo la internalización de experiencias dentro de la familia de origen promueve el desarrollo de la capacidad para mantener un yo diferenciado y a su vez conectarse de forma íntima con otras personas. Las personas diferenciadas pueden mantener su posición del yo en las relaciones amorosas. Pueden mantener la calma en relaciones conflictivas, resolver problemas relacionales eficazmente y llegar a acuerdos. En cambio, la fusión con los demás, el distanciamiento emocional y la sensibilidad emocional son reacciones comuntes al estrés relacional en las personas indiferenciadas. La sensibilidad emocional es la tendencia a reaccionar a factores desencadentes de estrés con excitación emocional irracional e intensa. La fusión con los demás es una implicación emocional excesiva en las relaciones significativas, mientras que el distanciamiento emocional es la tendencia a controlar la ansiedad relacional mediante la distancia física y emocional. Este estudio se basa en la teoría de Bowen, comenzando desde la suposición de que la adaptación diádica puede verse afectada tanto por la diferenciación del yo de un integrante de la pareja (efecto actor) como por la diferenciación del yo de su pareja (efecto pareja). Utilizamos el modelo de interdependicia actor-pareja (Cook & Kenny, 2005) para estudiar la relación entre la diferenciación del yo y la adaptación diádica en una muestra de conveniencia de 137 parejas italianas heterosexuales (datos diádicos, no independientes). Las parejas contestaron la "Encuesta sobre la diferenciación del yo" (Differentiation of Self Inventory, Skowron & Schmitt, 2003) y la "Escala de adaptación diádica" (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Spanier, 1976). La adaptación diádica de los hombres dependió solo de su posición personal del yo, mientras que la adaptación diádica de las mujeres estuvo afectada por su posición personal del yo y el distanciamiento emocional así como por la posición del yo y el distanciamiento emocional de su pareja. Se debaten las consecuencias empíricas y clínicas de los resultados.

Psychometric properties of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire and correlates of mother-infant bonding impairment in Italian new mothers.

OBJECTIVE: impaired maternal bonding is a risk factor for problems with infant well-being and development. The investigation of perinatal variables related to disorders of the mother-infant relationship as well as the administration of reliable and valid screening tools to new mothers in the postpartum can help identify early signs of a disturbed mother-child relationship. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) has been shown to be a valid screening instrument, but its dimensional structure is still controversial. An analysis of the literature demonstrated the need for research into the perinatal correlates of the quality of mother-newborn bonding as measured by the PBQ, and for information about the reliability and validity of the Italian version of the questionnaire. AIM: to (a) carry out preliminary analysis of the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the PBQ and (b) explore how mother-infant disturbances are related to relevant perinatal psychological variables. DESIGN: the research design consisted of a prenatal and a postnatal phase. SETTING: prenatal education classes delivered in public and private institutions. PARTICIPANTS: 123 pregnant Italian women were recruited from prenatal education classes. MEASUREMENTS: in the prenatal period participants completed a questionnaire measuring maternal-fetal attachment; at the postnatal assessment (3 months postpartum) participants completed the Italian PBQ together with measures of mother-infant attachment, the couple's adjustment and maternal psychological well-being. Exploratory factor analysis was used to investigate the factor structure of the PBQ. Internal consistencies were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Nomological validity was assessed via Pearson correlations. FINDINGS: a three-factor model provided the most meaningful representation of the PBQ data, with one factor reflecting annoyance and anger towards the infant, another reflecting detachment and rejection and the third reflecting anxiety about infant care. Internal consistencies were good. Impaired mother-infant bonding was negatively correlated with prenatal and postnatal mother-infant attachment and couple adjustment, as well as being positively correlated with maternal depressive symptoms. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the Italian PBQ is a reliable, valid screening instrument and can be used for research, including transcultural comparisons in perinatal psychiatry. It can also be used clinically to detect signs of a disordered mother-child relationship. Knowledge of the variables generally associated with mother-infant bonding problems combined with data from postpartum administration of the PBQ could be used in midwifery to develop preventive programmes based on the specific needs of new mothers.

Prenatal Attachment Inventory: expanding the reliability and validity evidence using a sample of Italian women.

BACKGROUND: The Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) is a widely used questionnaire to measure prenatal attachment. However, its internal structure is controversial. None of the previous studies have investigated the dimensions of the Italian version of the scale using both an exploratory and a confirmatory approach. There is also a need to explore extensively the external validity of the Italian PAI. OBJECTIVE: We designed a study aimed at shedding further light on the dimensionality of the questionnaire and expanding the evidence of its reliability and validity. METHOD: Five-hundred and thirty-five Italian expectant mothers participated in the prenatal phase; a subsample of 100 women participated in the postnatal phase of the study. The PAI was administered together with other scales measuring maternal-fetal attachment, psychological wellbeing and relational variables. RESULTS: The hypothesised relationships with external criteria were substantiated overall. The five dimensions described in the Italian study by Barone, Lionetti, and Dellagiulia also emerged from our factor analyses, with the exception of two items. Internal consistency was adequate for the total scale and for four of the five subscales. CONCLUSION: As the Fantasy subscale showed poor internal consistency, we advise against its use as an independent measure. However, when used as a global score, the PAI is a reliable and valid measure of prenatal attachment in Italian women. Thus, it can be used for research purposes. The use of the PAI could also be very helpful in clinical settings, in order to identify expectant mothers who have difficulty in establishing an affective bond with their unborn infants. To this end, further research should study the characteristics of the PAI on high-risk groups and clinical samples in order to obtain clinical cut-offs.

Psychometric properties of a 20-item version of the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale in a sample of Italian expectant women.

OBJECTIVE: the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), a 24-item self-report questionnaire to measure the antenatal maternal feeling towards the unborn baby, was introduced by Mecca Cranley in 1981. Despite the widespread use of the questionnaire in clinical and research contexts, issues exist about its psychometric properties. An analysis of the literature showed the need for studies aimed at reviewing the MFAS by eliminating some items and modifying and "modernising" others. This study started from these suggestions and aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of a modified 20-item Italian version of the scale. DESIGN: the original MFAS was back translated and then administered to a pilot sample of 20 pregnant women in order to identify items hard to understand, inappropriate or ambiguous. On the basis of qualitative information derived from this pilot phase, we developed a 20-item Italian version of the MFAS that was later administered to a large sample of pregnant women. SETTING: antenatal education classes carried out in public and private structures of Italian central and insular regions. PARTICIPANTS: a sample of 482 women in middle and late pregnancy, attending antenatal education classes between February 2013 and October 2014. MEASUREMENTS: the modified MFAS was administered together with other scales measuring maternal-fetal attachment, psychological well-being, relational variables. Internal consistencies were evaluated using Cronbach׳s alpha. Nomological validity was assessed via Pearson correlations. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the factor structure. FINDINGS: the hypothesised relationships with external criteria were partially substantiated. Exploratory factor analyses suggested a three-dimensional structure. Confirmatory factor analyses provided general support for an oblique three-factor model. Internal consistency was adequate for the total scale and for two of the three subscales. KEY CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the 20-item Italian version of the MFAS is a reliable measure of maternal attachment to the fetus in Italian women. Cranley׳s five dimensions were not confirmed; instead, three factors emerged that could be renamed ׳Future parental roletaking׳, ׳Present interaction with the baby׳ and ׳Giving of self and responsibility to the unborn child׳. As maternal-fetal attachment is considered a predictor of the quality of the postnatal mother-child relationship, the MFAS could be a helpful tool in pre- and perinatal research and midwifery care to develop prevention programs based on women specific needs. Moreover, the availability of this questionnaire can assist in expanding research and in facilitating trans cultural comparison in issues related to pregnancy.

Parenting after preterm birth: link between infant medical risk and premature parenthood. A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental emotion regulation, infant medical risks and representation of child's behavior at 3 months corrected age. METHODS: The sample includes 28 couples (parents) and 32 preterm infants (4 set of twins) (AG average: 29 weeks), low birth weight (average weight: 1180.62 g), hospitalized for about two months. At the 3rd month of corrected age of the child all couples were interviewed using the "Clinical Interview for Parents of High Risk Infants" (CLIP), which explores the emotional aspects associated with preterm birth. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using ATLAS.TI. After the interview, only 14 mothers and 14 fathers completed the Behavior Rating Scale (SVC-80; Laicardi, 1998), which explores the observational-representative styles of each parent with respect to the child's behavior in the context of everyday life. We identified three Couples Groups indicating qualitative differences in the emotional functioning of the subjects mainly in the temporal dimension: 1) 12 "future-oriented"; 2) 12 "suspended in the present"; 3) 4 "oriented to the past". RESULTS: The results show that the infant's medical status has a impact on ability of parents to process the experience of preterm birth: increasing the infant's medical risks increases the difficulty of parents ability to process the experience. CONCLUSIONS: The CLIP can be a useful screening tool to identify difficulties of parents, to structure interventions focused on the elaboration of the traumatic experience of birth and on improving the quality of parent-infant relationship.

Investigating validity and reliability evidence for the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale in a sample of Italian women.

This study focused on the development of the emotional tie of the expectant mother towards her unborn child and aimed to achieve structural and external validity evidence for an Italian version of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS; Br J Med Psychol 66: 167-183, 1993). The MAAS was translated into Italian and was administered to a sample of 482 Italian expectant women (age 20-43 years), together with other questionnaires measuring maternal-fetal attachment, psychological well-being, and relational variables. The hypothesised relationships with external concurrent and predictive criteria were substantiated. Internal consistencies were adequate for the total scale and for one of the two subscales. Confirmatory factor analyses provided general support for an oblique two-factor model, with minor model misfit. Therefore, an exploratory factor analysis with oblimin rotation was performed. The findings suggested that some items may represent extraneous constructs. Implications for future research regarding the functioning of the instrument are addressed.