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While psychopathy has been a topic of interest in the psychological field for a long time, it is still unclear which developmental factors are related to its onset. Theories have suggested that experiencing trauma in childhood may contribute to the development of psychopathic traits. Experiencing trauma may also contribute to the development of an insecure attachment style, which in turn might cause the emergence of psychopathic traits. The current study investigated links between experiencing childhood trauma and the three psychopathy domains of the Extended Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (E-LSRP; Egocentricity, Callousness, and Antisocial), and whether these links were mediated by the four insecure attachment dimensions of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Need for Approval, Preoccupation with Relationships, Relationships as Secondary, and Discomfort with Closeness), in a large sample of non-clinical participants (N = 2023, Mage = 32.7, 70.0% female). The results suggested that Relationships as Secondary, but not Discomfort with Closeness, positively mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and the three domains of psychopathy, while Need for Approval negatively mediated this relationship. Preoccupation with Relationships was a significant mediator in the links between childhood trauma and both the Egocentricity and Antisocial domains, but not the Callousness domain. The current findings suggested that there might be both shared and differential mechanisms linking childhood trauma and psychopathic traits through insecure attachment styles. These findings can guide further investigations in longitudinal research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of individual and contextual factors as potential concurrent predictors of bullying and victimization in male and female high school students. The sample included 517 adolescents and their teachers. With a multi‐informant approach, measures of bullying and victimization, personality traits, psychopathological symptoms, peer ratings of popularity, loneliness, bothersomeness, as well as school climate, were collected. A series of regression analyses showed gender differences in the dysfunctional personality traits resulted as predictors of bullying (e.g., impulsivity for males and deceitfulness for females). As for victimization, also the role of contextual predictors (i.e., negative relations with peers and safety problems) was significant, with some differences between males and females. These results highlight the importance of a multi‐informant and multifactor (i.e., individual, contextual) approach when investigating the dynamics of bullying and victimization. Practitioner points: Different patterns of concurrent predictors are related to bullying and victimization in males and females.Both individual and contextual factors predict victimization; only individual factors predict bullying.A school climate with negative school relations (males and females) and safety problems (females) concurrently predicts victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mentalization represents the ability to interpret one’s own and others’ behaviours in terms of intentional mental states. Previous studies have suggested that impairments in mentalization are associated with personality pathology. The aim of our study was to examine the relationships between mentalization and DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorder Criterion A in a sample of community dwelling adults. Furthermore, since mentalization and personality dysfunction are associated with emotion dysregulation, we aimed to explore the interconnections among these three constructs. Methodology: In a sample of 1225 Italian community dwelling adults and in a sub-sample of 97 participants we evaluated mentalizing ability and personality dysfunction. We relied on two methods that map different mentalization aspects: (a) in the whole sample, we used a self-report questionnaire (Reflective Functioning Questionnaire), and (b) in a sub-sample, we administered a performance test (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). Moreover, in the whole sample, we explored the mediating role of emotion dysregulation on the association between mentalization and personality dysfunction. Results: The results suggested that uncertainty about mental states was a significant predictor of self and interpersonal personality impairment. Considering the sub-sample, interpersonal dysfunction was associated with a mentalization deficit characterized by hypermentalization, hypomentalization and lack of mentalistic abilities. In the whole sample we found that mentalization deficits might affect personality dysfunction via their effect on emotion regulation. Conclusion: Our findings showed that failures in mentalizing can leave an individual vulnerable to personality impairment and support Zettl et al. (2020) work showing that all the dimensions of personality impairment are associated with mentalistic abilities. Moreover, in line with both theoretical and empirical literature, the mediation analyses results could promote the comprehension of the interplay among mentalization, emotion dysregulation and interpersonal dysfunction supporting the psychotherapeutic model that considered these constructs as targets of psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) is a neuropsychiatric construct including lethargy, behavioral sluggishness, and confusion. A growing number of studies in the literature suggest that this set of symptoms refers to neuropsychological constructs such as sustained attention. However, studies focusing on SCT and its neuropsychological correlates in developmental age are scarce. The present study aims to fill this gap. The Child and Adolescent Behavior Inventory (CABI – Teacher and Parent versions, also including the school functioning scale, and the Child Concentration Inventory (CCI-2) were administered to a sample of 128 Italian primary-school children (57.6% F, mean age 8.81, SD 1.07); the neuropsychological constructs involved in the study were sustained attention and reaction times to two computerized tasks. Bivariate non-parametric correlation analyses yielded significant negative associations between teacher-referred SCT and measures of sustained attention (e.g., the Attentional Network Test and the Hearts and Flowers task) as well as CABI-T school-functioning scale; a small-to-moderate positive correlation was found between CABI-T SCT scores and mean reaction times, as a measure of the slowness of behavioral responses on the Attentional Network Test: this result would appear to represent a fine operationalization of the SCT-characteristic of behavioral sluggishness. Implications of these results for operationalizing the SCT construct in developmental age are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyberbullying is a highly relevant phenomenon in adolescence. Making available sound cyberbullying scales in different countries represents an important research issue. The present study aimed at extending previous findings on the Cyberbullying Experience Scale (CES), assessing its psychometric properties in a sample of community-dwelling Italian adolescents (N = 2,112). Results showed that a bifactor model was the best fitting model for both CES Perpetration and Victimisation scale items being provided also with measurement invariance across male and female adolescents. Joint CFA results demonstrated the dissociability of the CES Perpetration and Victimisation scales. Both CES dimensions were provided with adequate internal consistency reliability. Both CES Perpetration and Victimisation scales yielded meaningful relationships with theoretically relevant external variables (e.g. school/behaviour grades, online activities, general aggression measures, and dysfunctional personality dimensions), suggesting also possible gender differences concerning the negative psychological and behavioural outcomes of cyberbullying. This study provides further support for the reliability and validity of CES Perpetration and Victimisation scales, extending its applicability to a different time period (i.e. adolescents) and a different cultural context (i.e. Italy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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While several computational methods have been developed to predict the functional relevance of phosphorylation sites, experimental analysis of the interdependency between protein phosphorylation and Protein–Protein Interactions (PPIs) remains challenging. Here, we describe an experimental strategy to establish interdependencies between protein phosphorylation and complex formation. This strategy is based on three main steps: (i) systematically charting the phosphorylation landscape of a target protein; (ii) assigning distinct proteoforms of the target protein to different protein complexes by native complex separation (AP‐BNPAGE) and protein correlation profiling; and (iii) analyzing proteoforms and complexes in cells lacking regulators of the target protein. We applied this strategy to YAP1, a transcriptional co‐activator for the control of organ size and tissue homeostasis that is highly phosphorylated and among the most connected proteins in human cells. We identified multiple YAP1 phosphosites associated with distinct complexes and inferred how both are controlled by Hippo pathway members. We detected a PTPN14/LATS1/YAP1 complex and suggest a model how PTPN14 inhibits YAP1 via augmenting WW domain‐dependent complex formation and phosphorylation by LATS1/2. Synopsis: A novel approach is proposed to study the functional relationships between two critical mechanisms in cell signaling: PTMs and complex formation. This proteomic workflow is applied to investigate YAP1, a major signal integrator and effector of the Hippo pathway. Modules of YAP1 phospho‐proteoforms and their interactors were identified via AP‐BNPAGE.A causal relationship between site phosphorylation and complex formation was established.The control of YAP1 phosphorylation and complex formation was studied in cells lacking known pathway effectors.A model was developed to demonstrate how PTPN14 could inhibit YAP1 co‐transcriptional activity via augmenting ternary complex formation and phosphorylation by LATS1/2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]