Psychometric Properties of the Detachment and Compartmentalization Inventory (DCI) in an Italian Community Sample.

The Detachment and Compartmentalization Inventory (DCI) is a valid and reliable self-report instrument that assesses these two distinct forms of dissociative symptoms. However, there is limited research on the cross-cultural validation of the DCI. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an Italian translation of the DCI and examine its internal structure and psychometric properties (including internal consistency, convergent validity, and test-retest reliability) within an Italian-speaking community sample. The sample consisted of 1276 adults (887 females; mean age: 29.57 ± 10.96 years), who completed the DCI and other self-report measures evaluating dissociative experiences and childhood trauma. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original two-factor model (χ2169 = 1312.80, RMSEA = 0.073, 95%CI 0.069-0.077; CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.94; SRMR = 0.04). Additionally, the DCI exhibited good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity with another measure of dissociation. The study also confirmed the association between DCI scores and the severity of childhood trauma. Finally, a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that the DCI effectively distinguishes individuals who screened positively for dissociative disorders. Overall, these findings indicate that the Italian translation of the DCI possesses satisfactory psychometric properties, suggesting its utility as a screening tool for assessing detachment and compartmentalization experiences.

Insecure Minds through the Looking Glass: The Mediating Role of Mentalization in the Relationships between Adult Attachment Styles and Problematic Social Media Use.

Research shows that insecure attachment styles and failures in mentalizing are associated with increased problematic social media use (PSMU). This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of failures in mentalizing in the relationships between attachment styles and PSMU within a large sample of individuals from the community. The study involved the participation of 3600 adult volunteers (2312 females, 64.2%) aged between 18 and 60 years old (M = 29.92; SD = 10.68). Participants completed measures to assess socio-demographics, adult attachment styles, mentalization, and PSMU. Findings showed that secure and dismissing attachment styles predicted reduced levels of PSMU, and that preoccupied and fearful attachment styles predicted increased levels of PSMU. The relationships between adult attachment styles and PSMU were mediated by failures in mentalizing. Thus, individuals with preoccupied and fearful attachment styles may excessively resort to social media as a means of coping with unprocessed mental states. Clinical interventions that focus on improving mentalizing abilities and promoting the adoption of appropriate self-regulation strategies might reduce maladaptive engagement in social media.

Press Play to Feel: The Role of Attachment Styles and Alexithymic Features in Problematic Gaming.

Problematic gaming has been consistently associated with insecure attachment styles and alexithymia. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of specific alexithymic features and insecure attachment styles on problematic gaming. The study included a sample of 358 online game players (242 males, 67.6%) between the ages of 18 and 59 (M = 28.46; SD = 8.76) who were recruited from online gaming communities. The participants completed a sociodemographic schedule and measures on attachment styles, alexithymia, and problematic gaming. The results provide evidence for a positive prediction of problematic gaming by dismissing attachment style and the alexithymic factors concerning the difficulty identifying feelings and externally oriented thinking, even when controlling for potentially confounding factors, such as age, sex, education, marital status, and self-reported time devoted to online games. Additionally, the analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between externally oriented thinking and dismissing attachment style in the prediction of problematic gaming. The interaction implies that the alexithymia factors pertaining to externally oriented thinking hold significant relevance in predicting problematic gaming behaviors, especially in cases where dismissive attachment levels are moderately to highly present. These findings emphasize the significance of considering specific insecure attachment styles and alexithymic features when studying problematic gaming behaviors.

Traumatic Experiences and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Dissociation.

ABSTRACT: Accumulating evidence suggests that obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCSs) are positively associated with exposure to traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms in both clinical and community samples. The current study was aimed at investigating the relationships between traumatic experiences, dissociation, and OCSs. A sample of 333 community adults (56.8% females) aged from 18 to 56 years (mean [SD], 25.64 [6.70] years) completed measures on traumatic experiences, dissociative symptoms, and OCSs. A structural equation modeling (SEM) framework was used to test if dissociative symptoms mediated the relationship between traumatic experiences and OCSs. SEM analyses showed that dissociation fully mediated the predictive association between traumatic experiences of emotional neglect and abuse and OCSs in the sample. Accordingly, some individuals suffering from OCSs might benefit from clinical interventions aimed at processing and integrating traumatic experiences.

Fake News and the Sleeper Effect in Social Media Posts: the Case of Perception of Safety in the Workplace.

Fake news and misinformation on social media platforms are two of the biggest problems of the last few years. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of memory is of fundamental importance to develop specific intervention programs. In this study, 324 white-collar workers viewed Facebook posts focused on coronavirus disease-2019 prevention norms in the workplace. In a within-participants design, we manipulated the message and the source to expose each participant to real news, real news presented by a discounting cue (sleeper effect condition), and fake news. The results show that participants were more susceptible to fake news during a 1-week delayed posttest following a memory recall process. Furthermore, they remembered the message easily, but not the source, which did not differ in the real-news conditions. We discuss the results, mentioning the sleeper effect and fake news theories.

TRAUMA AND THE DISRUPTION OF TEMPORAL EXPERIENCE: A PSYCHOANALYTICAL AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.

A deep understanding of the subjective experience of time in traumatized individuals may require a comprehensive framework that takes into account both psychoanalytic and phenomenological contributions. Referring to the retroactive interpretation of past experiences, the concept of Nachträglichkeit is critical to analyze how trauma can be signified in the form of the après-coup, in which the original traces of traumatic experiences are signified only at a later time. Trauma alters the temporal sequence of past, present, and future, thus leaving the psyche in a time-shifted dimension, where the shadow of the past extends over the present, and the unbearable present hinders growth and development. A clinical vignette is presented to illustrate how trauma can disrupt the temporal nature of subjective experience by reshaping the meaning of psychic events. Ultimately, trauma treatment aims at inscribing the person's experience into a unified and coherent self-narrative.

The Relationship Between Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Dissociation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between dissociation and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and disorder (OCD). Specifically, the study aimed to (a) estimate the pooled prevalence of dissociative disorders among individuals with OCD; (b) systematically review the prevalence of OCD among individuals with dissociative disorders; (c) compare the severity of dissociative symptoms between individuals with OCD and non-clinical controls; (d) estimate the association between OCS and dissociative symptoms in the clinical and non-clinical populations. A systematic search was carried out in biomedical databases from inception to January 2022 according to PRISMA guidelines. A total of 41 studies met inclusion criteria (n = 9,438, 34.3% males). The pooled prevalence of dissociative disorders in adult samples with OCD was 8% (95% CI [3, 15], k = 5). Studies on adolescent and adult patients with dissociative disorders found that 17-32% reported comorbid OCD, while a prospective study of patients with early-onset dissociative disorders found no evidence of association with OCD. Individuals affected by OCD reported more dissociative symptoms than non-clinical controls (g = .67, 95% CI [.18, 1.16], k = 9). A moderate correlation between dissociative symptoms and OCS was detected (r = .43, 95% CI [.36, .51], k = 18). Sensitivity analyses showed small/moderate correlations between dissociative experiences and specific types of obsessions and compulsions. Findings suggest that dissociative symptoms are moderately related to OCS in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Interventions aimed to reduce dissociation might improve treatment response of patients suffering from OCD.

Interpersonal Guilt and Problematic Online Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation.

Objective: The positive association between problematic Internet use (PIU) and emotion dysregulation (ED) is well documented. Research has also found that interpersonal guilt is positively associated with ED. Nevertheless, the influence of interpersonal guilt on PIU has been scarcely examined. In the current study, we investigated the relationships among the three constructs, and tested if emotion dysregulation mediates the association between interpersonal guilt and different types of PIU, namely problematic online gaming, problematic social media use, and problematic online pornography use. Method: A sample of 434 adult participants (210 males, 48.4%) aged between 18 and 69 years old completed self-reported measures on interpersonal guilt, ED, and PIU. A structural equation modeling (SEM) framework was used to test the mediation models. Results: SEM analyses showed that ED mediates the relationship between interpersonal guilt as antecedent, and problematic online gaming, problematic social media use, and problematic online pornography use as outcomes. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that emotion dysregulation deriving from experiences of interpersonal guilt can amplify the risk of using gaming, social media, and online pornography in a problematic way. Implications for prevention and treatment of PIU are discussed.

The Doctor Is In(ternet): The Mediating Role of Health Anxiety in the Relationship between Somatic Symptoms and Cyberchondria.

Cyberchondria is a dysfunctional behavioral pattern characterized by an excessive and anxiety-amplifying engagement in searching for reassuring health information on the Internet. Research demonstrated that somatic symptoms and health anxiety might foster maladaptive health-related behaviors, such as cyberchondria. However, the relationships between somatic symptoms, health anxiety, and cyberchondria have been scarcely examined. Accordingly, this study aimed to test the mediating effect of health anxiety on the association between somatic symptoms and cyberchondria. Four hundred and thirty-one adults from the community (158 males, 36.66%), aged between 18 and 74, were recruited via an online survey. Participants completed self-report measures of somatic symptoms, health anxiety, and cyberchondria. A mediation analysis demonstrated that the severity of somatic symptoms predicted increased levels of cyberchondria and that health anxiety partially mediated this association. Therefore, interventions aimed at decreasing health anxiety may also play a role in decreasing the risk of developing cyberchondria.

A trauma model of substance use: Elaboration and preliminary validation.

The current study expands on and integrates previous theoretical models concerning the pathways that link child maltreatment to substance use disorder. The proposed model, based on the self-medication hypothesis, suggests that experiences of neglect and abuse during childhood can lead to substance use and abuse both directly and indirectly, via dissociation resulting from failed attempts to integrate experiences of maltreatment in childhood. The model was tested on ten substances (painkillers, stimulants, sedatives, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants, and methamphetamine) via structural equation modeling (SEM) in a sample comprising 1040 community-dwelling adults (67 % women) aged between 18 and 78 (M = 29.55, SD = 11.37). Fit indexes of the SEM were good, thus supporting the hypothesized model. Specific forms of child maltreatment were related to increased use of specific substances; however, experience of childhood neglect (both physical and emotional) was found to have a central role in predicting use of most substances. Although no single pathway can fully explain the origins of substance abuse, the current study provides evidence of a critical developmental pathway to it, with implications for theory and clinical practice.

The vulnerability of insecure minds: The mediating role of mentalization in the relationship between attachment styles and psychopathology.

Insecure attachment is linked to mentalizing difficulties and psychopathology. The current study aimed to examine if failures in mentalization, as observed in the form of uncertainty about mental states, mediated the relationship between attachment styles and global psychopathology in a group of 812 adults (66.5% females) from the community. Participants completed measures on attachment styles, uncertainty about mental states, and clinical symptoms. The authors found that uncertainty about mental states was a partial mediator of the associations between attachment styles and psychopathology. Furthermore, the findings supported the role of secure attachment in protecting from mentalization failures and psychopathology; on the contrary, increased scores on attachment styles involving a negative view of the self (preoccupied and fearful attachment styles) predicted high levels of uncertainty about mental states and psychopathology. Accordingly, clinicians may wish to promote mentalizing abilities in individuals who display a negative view of the self embedded in their attachment styles.

Non-intimate Relationships and Psychopathic Interpersonal and Affective Deficits as Risk Factors for Criminal Career: A Comparison Between Sex Offenders and Other Offenders.

Sex-offenders are at risk of criminal recidivism. For the treatment to be truly effective, it must be individualized. For this purpose, an accurate assessment should focus on criminological, psychological, and psychopathological features. The present study compared sex offenders with other offenders on historical experiences (i.e., problems with violence, anti-social behaviors, problems with personal relationships, problems with substance use, traumatic experiences, and parenting style). In addition, given the association between life events and psychopathy, we explored whether the relation between life events and crime type (sexual crime vs. other types of crime) might be moderated by psychopathy traits (interpersonal and affective deficits and antisocial behavior). Eighty-eight sex offenders (76% of whom child molesters) and 102 other offenders were included. The Historical, Clinical and Risk Management - 20 item Version 3 (HCR-20V3) and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) were administered. The scores of the HCR-20V3 Historical scale items were computed to assess life events. The scores of the PCL-R factors, F1 Interpersonal affective deficits and F2 Antisocial behavior, were recorded. The presence of a history of problems with non-intimate relationships was the only significant risk factor for sexual crime compared with other crimes. Interpersonal and affective deficits provided an increased likelihood of being sex offenders as compared with other offenders when problems with non-intimate relationships were possibly/partially or certainly present.

Attached to Virtual Dreams: The Mediating Role of Maladaptive Daydreaming in the Relationship Between Attachment Styles and Problematic Social Media Use.

ABSTRACT: Maladaptive daydreaming describes excessive fantasy activity that interferes with an individual's life. Surprisingly, the precursors of maladaptive daydreaming and its role in excessive involvement in virtual worlds have been scarcely investigated. In the current study, we examined the relationships among attachment styles, maladaptive daydreaming, and problematic social media use (PSMU) in a sample of community-dwelling adults. Eight hundred seventy-seven participants between 18 and 68 years old were recruited via an online survey and asked to fill out self-reported measures on attachment styles, maladaptive daydreaming, and PSMU. Mediation analyses showed that maladaptive daydreaming is a significant mediator in the relationships between preoccupied and fearful attachment styles and PSMU, suggesting that maladaptive daydreaming partly explains the established link between insecure attachment styles and excessive use of social media. Individuals with PSMU fostered by maladaptive daydreaming may benefit from clinical interventions that promote the use of adaptive regulatory strategies to develop feelings of security and self-confidence that may serve to reduce the excessive involvement in social media.

Psychological Distress after a Diagnosis of Malignant Mesothelioma in a Group of Patients and Caregivers at the National Priority Contaminated Site of Casale Monferrato.

BACKGROUND: Patients of malignant mesothelioma (MM) and their caregivers face significant physical and psychological challenges. The purpose of the present study is to examine the emotional impact after the diagnosis of MM in a group of patients and familial caregivers in a National Priority Contaminated Site (NPCS). METHODS: A sample of 108 patients and 94 caregivers received a sociodemographic/clinical questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Davidson Trauma Scale, the Coping Orientation to the Problems Experienced-New Italian Version, and the Defense style questionnaire. The risk of depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in relation to the strategies of coping and defense mechanisms was estimated in patients and caregivers separately by logistic regression models. RESULTS: For patients, a high risk of depression was associated with high usage of Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) Isolation (OR: 53.33; 95% CI: 3.22-882.30; p = 0.01) and DSQ Somatization (OR: 16.97; 95% CI: 1.04-275.90; p = 0.05). Other significant risks emerged for some coping strategies and some defenses regarding both depression and trauma in patients and caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that for both patients and caregivers unconscious adaptive processes have a central role in dealing with overwhelming feelings related to the disease.

Problematic Facebook use and anxiety concerning use of social media in mothers and their offspring: An actor-partner interdependence model.

Previous research has shown significant and positive associations between social anxiety of parents and their adolescent offspring. The main aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in the social media (SM) context. We tested one hundred and fifty-two couples comprising mothers and their adolescent offspring (12-14 years old) on their levels of problematic Facebook use (PFU) and social anxiety concerning SM use. An actor-partner interdependence model highlighted the positive relationship between the PFU scores of mothers and their offspring on the levels of SM social anxiety in the offspring. We discuss the results in the context of intergenerational transfer of problematic technology use and social anxiety.

Maladaptive Personality Functioning and Psychopathological Symptoms in Problematic Video Game Players: A Person-Centered Approach.

BACKGROUND: A need exists to increase our understanding of the association between maladaptive personality traits, psychopathological symptoms, game preference, and different types of video game use. In the present study, we used a person-centered approach to identify different subtypes of video game players and we explored how they differ in personality profiles, clinical symptoms, and video game usage. METHODS: We assessed problematic gaming via the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale and self-reported screen time playing video games in a sample of 366 adolescents and young adult gamers. Participants also completed measures on maladaptive personality domains (Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Brief Form), alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 items), and psychopathological symptoms (DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure) and reported which genre of video games they preferred. RESULTS: Using a person-centered, cluster-analytic approach, we identified four clusters of video game players (Occasional, Passionate, Preoccupied, and Disordered) presenting peculiar combinations of problematic gaming scores and time spent online playing video games. Non-problematic gamers (Occasional and Passionate) represented the majority of the sample (62.3% of the participants). Highly involved gamers who exhibited excessive screen time playing video games (Disordered gamers) presented the highest level of maladaptive personality traits and psychopathological symptoms, and were characterized by the greatest use of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games. CONCLUSION: These results have clinical implications on suggesting the importance to determining whether or not problematic gaming activities reflect a dysfunctional emotion-focused coping strategy to avoid inner unpleasant emotional or a more generally compromised emotional and social functioning.

Impulsivity and Alexithymia in Virtual Worlds: A Study on Players of World of Warcraft.

OBJECTIVE: Symptoms of problematic Internet use (PIU) may be increased in people who display an excessive involvement in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). Notably, impulsivity and alexithymia have not been investigated together in the literature addressing the predictors of PIU among gamers, despite evidence that these personality traits may play a pivotal role in the development of problematic gaming patterns. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between facets of alexithymia and impulsivity and PIU scores among MMORPG players. METHOD: In the current study, 364 World of Warcraft (WoW) players (272 males, 74.7%) aged 18 to 48 years old provided socio-demographic information and completed questionnaires on PIU, time spent online playing WoW, alexithymia, and impulsivity. RESULTS: PIU scores were negatively associated with age and positively associated with alexithymia scores, impulsivity scores, and time spent online playing WoW. A linear regression analysis showed that PIU scores were predicted by time spent online playing WoW, the alexithymic features concerning difficulties identifying and describing feelings, and attentional impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that MMORPG players with difficulties concerning affect awareness and a tendency to be distracted by novel stimuli may spend an excessive amount of time playing video games and may also show prominent symptoms of PIU.