Inclusion, Sustainability, and Equity at the Heart of a 5.0 Society.

Our everyday reality is perceived as more complex, unpredictable, and filled with barriers created by not-so-evident factors that can stifle thought, reflection, and the desire and energy to act. All of this intertwines with the reduction of physical and psychological well-being for many people, encouraging the presence and escalation of situations of vulnerability which are rapidly increasing nowadays. In addition to the more traditional and known ones, such as vulnerabilities connected to the presence of disabilities or diseases, today other forms of vulnerabilities are strongly emerging, such as environmental vulnerabilities or vulnerabilities connected to climate change, ecologic vulnerabilities, financial vulnerabilities, 'health-related' vulnerabilities, digital vulnerabilities, and professional vulnerabilities. Considering this standpoint, in this chapter we will focus to inclusivity, sustainability, social and environmental justice, human rights. Furthermore, we introduce the construct of Society 5.0 that aims to improve the living conditions of everyone and to relatively resolve problems at the micro-, meso-, and macro-social levels.

Colleagues' Work Attitudes towards Employees with Disability.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigates the significance of work inclusion in people with a disability and then aims to examine colleagues' attitudes. Considering Stone and Colella's model, we analyzed the colleagues' attitudes and variables related to the disability, such as type of disability and type of presentation of colleagues with disability, and colleague's characteristics, such as gender, educational level, and experience in work with people with disability. METHOD: We randomly assigned two hundred eighty-six employees to a standard condition (hypothetical colleagues with a disability presented by the impairments labels) or favorable condition (hypothetical colleagues with a disability presented by their past work experiences). RESULTS: The type of disability and its presentation influence colleagues' attitudes. Besides employees' gender, educational level and experience in work with people with a disability influences the attitudes toward them. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for practice were discussed.

Inclusive Socialization? The Relationships between Parents' and Their Child's Attitudes toward Students with Disabilities.

Promoting social and school inclusion of children with disabilities has been associated with their health-related quality of life. This study aimed to analyze the connection between parents and children's attitudes toward disabilities as one factor contributing to the inclusion and well-being of individuals with disabilities. Three types of disabilities-i.e., attitudes toward a child with a sensory disability (hearing), a child with an intellectual disability (Down syndrome), and a child with problems with aggressiveness and angry outbursts (behavioral problems)-were examined. A sample of 598 White Italian elementary school students (303 boys and 295 girls) aged 6 to 11 years 33tudes toward students with disabilities, rather than each parent's attitude, contributed to a better understanding of the child's attitudes toward students with disabilities. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Adverse Conditions, Psychological Aspects, and Teachers' Tendency Toward Sustainability and a Less Conservative Future.

This study aimed to examine the effect of cognitive priming linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, through state anxiety and personal need for structure, on teachers' tendency toward sustainability and teachers' tendency toward a conservative socio-economic vision. We involved a sample of 984 Italian teachers, and by manipulating the saliency of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that the saliency of the COVID-19 pandemic positively impacted state anxiety and that state anxiety impacted teachers' tendency toward sustainability both directly and indirectly through the mediational role of the personal need for structure. Finally, we found that state anxiety only indirectly through the personal need for structure impacted teachers' tendency toward a conservative socio-economic vision.

The Role of Psychological Capital in Human Service Professionals' Work Experiences.

The study was set up as a first exploration of the predictive role of human service professionals' (i.e., teachers and healthcare professionals) psychological capital (PC) in their perception of work experiences and some core aspects of their own work, such as their efficacy to instill positive resources in their clients, the positive representation of their work and of the results that they can obtain, and positive beliefs about their career growth. Three hundred and eight Northern Italian human service professionals were involved, of which 163 were elementary school teachers of inclusive classrooms and 145 were healthcare professionals in day and residential centers. The regression analyses which were carried out-controlling for age, gender, years of work experience and the typology of the human service jobs-confirmed the predictive role of PC in the efficacy to instill positive resources in one's clients, the positive representation of the work and of the results that can be obtained, and positive beliefs about career growth. These results have important implications for practice, and they emphasize that specific interventions aimed at promoting human service professionals' PC may positively impact the effectiveness of their actions for the adaptation and psychosocial development of their clients.

Italian adolescents' understandings of globalization.

INTRODUCTION: Having a clear understanding of the concept of globalization can be particularly relevant for adolescents to comprehend how the world functions and to reflect on the way their personal and professional identity and career future might be affected by globalization. Thus, this mixed design study aimed at examining Northeastern Italian adolescents' thinking about globalization and at exploring the potential role of education (the type of school) in conceptualizing globalization. METHODS: A total of 163 Italian adolescents (42.3% boys and 57.5% girls) aged 16-19 years, attending a scientific lyceum or a commercial, technological, or professional high school participated in the study. Participants were invited to explain the concept of globalization. Their answers were analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. RESULTS: & Conclusions:. The analyses revealed adolescents' limited and inaccurate understandings of globalization, with almost exclusive emphasis on the positive aspects of globalization, and without a critical understanding of its consequences. Moreover, no differences related to their educational experience (the type of school they attended) or socio-economic status emerged when reporting their understanding of globalization. The results suggested the relevance of a training process for the promotion of critical thinking, especially in the field of career guidance.

The Role of Career Adaptability, the Tendency to Consider Systemic Challenges to Attain a Sustainable Development, and Hope to Improve Investments in Higher Education.

Based on the life design paradigm and career construction adaptation model and on recent directions from the perspective of sustainable and inclusive career guidance, the study aimed at examining the relationship between career adaptability, the tendency to consider systemic challenges to attain sustainable development, and state personal and social hope and their role on the tendency to invest in higher education. The analyses carried out involving 416 Italian high school students found that career adaptability and the tendency to consider systemic challenges in order to attain sustainable development were directly and indirectly, through state personal and social hope, related to the tendency to invest in higher education. The results obtained allowed to provide new contributions to extend results previously described by the life design approach in career development issues and provided useful suggestions for preventive career interventions.

The Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 (VA LV VFQ-48): Performance of the Italian version.

PURPOSE: The Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 is among the most validated tools to collect patient-reported outcomes in a low-vision population. We have aimed to conduct a pilot validation of the Italian version of the Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48. METHODS: The Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 was translated using a standardized procedure and then administered to consecutive low-vision patients attending rehabilitation services in three centers. Patients were interviewed by a trained psychologist regarding the individual items of the tool. RESULTS: We included 131 patients with a mean visual acuity of 0.91 logMAR (standard deviation: 0.42 logMAR), mostly affected by age-related macular degeneration. The Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.98) and good item-test and item-rest correlation (median: 0.73 and 0.71, respectively). Both the overall score and the subscale (reading, visual motor, mobility and visual information) scores significantly correlated with visual acuity, reading acuity and speed. Reading speed achieved the best absolute correlation with the Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 scores (Spearman r: 0.39-0.49). CONCLUSION: The Italian version of the Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 is a valid tool to assess patients attending low-vision services. Revising a few items may further improve the tool.

Stories of courage in a group of adults with Substance Use Disorder.

The treatment for drug addiction is considered a difficult path for the most of patients. As matter of fact, individuals with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) experience numerous challenges before, during and after the treatment (e.g. tackling an unpredictable, uncertain and paradoxically negative future, tackling the anxiety and anticipatory fear of physical pain associated with abstinence; decide to go beyond self-justification and self-deception). Courage could be considered a positive and functional resource to help people with SUD to face challenges and difficulties related to treatment. In connection therewith, the aim of this study was to examine, using an embedded mix method analysis, the personal stories of courage of 80 individuals with SUD in order to identify the themes and types of courage used in their life. The analysis carried out showed that individuals with SUD reported more frequently stories of courage related to their SUD condition respect to other life situation. Moreover, the quantitative analysis showed that participants used more frequently psychological courage respect to moral and physical courage when these stories were referred to their SUD condition then other life situations.

The role of career adaptability and courage on life satisfaction in adolescence.

The present study aimed to extend understanding about the relationship between career adaptability, courage, and life satisfaction in a sample of Italian adolescents. It was hypothesized that courage partially mediated the relationship between career adaptability and life satisfaction. Specifically, 1202 Italian high school students with an age from 14 to 20 years (M = 16.87; SD = 1.47), of which 600 (49.9%) boys and 602 (50.1%) girls, were involved. Using a multigroup approach across gender, it was found that courage partially mediated the relationship between career adaptability and life satisfaction in boys and girls. Results suggested the relevance of career interventions to promote career adaptability and courage for strengthening life satisfaction in adolescence.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess future orientation and resilience in adolescence.

The study is aimed at providing the development and initial validation of the Design My Future (DMF), which may be administered in career counseling and research activities to assess adolescents' future orientation and resilience. Two studies with two independent samples of Italian adolescents were conducted to examine psychometric requisites of DMF. Specifically, in the first study, after developing items and examined the content validity, the factorial structure, reliability and discriminant validity of the DMF were tested. In the second study, the measurement invariance across gender, conducing a sequence of nested CFA models, was evaluated. Results showed good psychometric support for the instrument with Italian adolescents.

The differential effects of Autism and Down's syndrome on sexual behavior.

Although sexuality plays a major role in the socialization of people, few studies have examined the sexual behaviors of individuals with developmental disabilities. Because of this, we decided to investigate sexuality in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Down's syndrome (Ds) and to compare them with typically developing adolescents, by surveying their parents. Specifically, it was hypothesized that young people with ASD would display lower levels over five domains: social behavior, privacy, sex education, sexual behavior, and parental concerns, than peers with Ds and typically developing young people. In addition, we sought to verify developmental trends in five domains with age for each group. Overall, 269 parents participated; 94 parents of typically developing adolescents, 93 parents of adolescents diagnosed with Ds, and 82 parents of adolescents diagnosed with ASD. Participants were surveyed with a Sexual Behavior Scale developed by Stokes and Kaur [] that assesses parents' reports of their child's: social behavior, privacy awareness, sex education, sexual behavior and parental concerns about the child's behaviors. It was found that three groups were significantly different on all five domains, adolescents with ASD reportedly displaying lower levels than other groups. Moreover, there was a significant improvement in knowledge of privacy and parental concerns with age for adolescents with ASD and a decline in sex education for adolescents with Ds. The results obtained emphasize the need to train adolescents with developmental disability, and especially for adolescents with ASD through sex education programs.

The concepts of work, study, and leisure of parents and children.

The present work examines how a group of Italian parents and their adolescent children view work, study, and leisure in order to check for possible relations between the ideas of parents and their children's. A total of 160 adolescents and 160 parents were recruited. Semi-structured interviews that assessed the participants' concepts about work, study, and leisure were conducted. The analyses carried out demonstrate that there are connections between the parents' and adolescents' perceptions regarding work, study, and leisure. The results confirm the importance of considering both constructs and the parents' perspectives on them, and of involving parents in their children vocational guidance actions.

Employer attitudes towards the work inclusion of people with disability.

BACKGROUND: This study examines the importance of work in life of people with disability and then focuses on employer attitudes towards these people. In the light of Stone and Colella's model, the study examines the employer attitudes and the role of variables such as type of disability, employer experience in the hiring of persons with disabilities, the description of hypothetical hirees with disabilities, the ways in which employers evaluate work performance and social acceptability, and the work tasks that they consider appropriate for workers with disability. METHOD: Eighty employers were randomly assigned to standard condition (candidates with disability were presented by referring to the disability they presented) or positive condition (candidates were presented with reference to their strengths). RESULTS: It was found that the type of disability and its presentation influence employer attitudes. In addition, realistic and conventional tasks were considered appropriate for hirees with disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: Implications were discussed.

The Career and Work Adaptability Questionnaire (CWAQ): a first contribution to its validation.

Over the last decade, occupational changes have the rapidly changing job market has begun to demand that people more actively construct their professional lives and acquire career adaptability. The aim of the present study was to develop a specific, new instrument, "Career and Work Adaptability", to assess degree of adaptability in adolescents planning their futures. We conducted three studies, the first of which aimed to formulate the instrument's items and to verify its factor structure; the second study confirmed the instrument's multidimensional structure and evaluated its discriminant validity; the third study was conducted to verify the factorial structure's across-gender invariance and to evaluate its stability over time. Our results showed that the instrument is an effective and multidimensional instrument for accurately measuring career adaptability. Specifically, it can serve as a useful vocational guidance tool in analyzing adolescents' career adaptability.

Cross-cultural validity of the scale for interpersonal behavior.

The Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (SIB) is a 50-item multidimensional measure of difficulty and distress in assertiveness. The SIB assesses negative assertion, expression of and dealing with personal limitations, initiating assertiveness and positive assertion. The SIB was originally developed in the Netherlands. The present study attempted to replicate the original factors with an Italian student sample (n = 995). The four distress and four performance factors were replicable across two methods of analysis (the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis and Tucker's coefficient of congruence (phi). The corresponding scales were internally consistent and showed predicted patterns of correlations with a measure of self-efficacy. Sex and age differences in assertiveness were generally negligible. Italian students had higher positive assertion-performance scores than the Dutch and comparable scores on other performance scales; by contrast, the Italian subjects had significantly higher scores on all SIB distress scales than their Dutch equivalents. This was ascribed to the stronger pressure on people in Italian society to behave assertively (Hofstede's National Masculinity score = 70) as opposed to the Dutch society (National Masculinity score = 14).