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Aim of the research The literature on emotion recognition from facial expressions shows significant differences in recognition ability depending on the proposed stimulus. Indeed, affective information is not distributed uniformly in the face and recent studies showed the importance of the mouth and the eye regions for a correct recognition. However, previous studies used mainly facial expressions presented frontally and studies which used facial expressions in profile view used a between-subjects design or children faces as stimuli. The present research aims to investigate differences in emotion recognition between faces presented in frontal and in profile views by using a within subjects experimental design. Method The sample comprised 132 Italian university students (88 female, Mage = 24.27 years, SD = 5.89). Face stimuli displayed both frontally and in profile were selected from the KDEF set. Two emotion-specific recognition accuracy scores, viz., frontal and in profile, were computed from the average of correct responses for each emotional expression. In addition, viewing times and response times (RT) were registered. Results Frontally presented facial expressions of fear, anger, and sadness were significantly better recognized than facial expressions of the same emotions in profile while no differences were found in the recognition of the other emotions. Longer viewing times were also found when faces expressing fear and anger were presented in profile. In the present study, an impairment in recognition accuracy was observed only for those emotions which rely mostly on the eye regions.

Emotional competence (EC) is a key component of children’s psychological, cognitive, and social development, and it is a central element of learning. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a psycho-educational group intervention aimed at improving children’s emotional competence (EC), quality of integration and scholastic skills. A total of 229 children (123 females; M Age = 7.22 years; SD = 0.97 years) completed the Pictures of Facial Affect (POFA), the Drawn Stories Technique, the Classroom Drawing, and the Colored Progressive Matrices. The total sample was randomly divided into an intervention group (N = 116) who took part in psycho-educational activities and a control (no-intervention) group (N = 84). Both groups were tested at baseline, before the intervention started, and at the end of the intervention (4 months from baseline). Results from mixed-model ANOVA revealed a significant main effect for POFA score over time (F = 6.24, p = 0.01) and an interaction effect between POFA and group (F = 4.82, p = 0.03). No significant main effect was found for classroom drawing over time (F = 0.81, p > 0.05) or for quality of integration and group intervention. These findings support the importance of developing psycho-educational programmes in school for promotion of emotional health for preventing not only the onset of problematic behaviours at school such as bullying but also the development of clinical conditions linked to difficulties in emotional recognition, expression, and regulation such as alexithymia.

The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the world in the year 2020 has put a strain on our ability to cope with events and revolutionized our daily habits. On 9 March, Italy was forced to lockdown to prevent the spread of the infection, with measures including the mandatory closure of schools and nonessential activities, travel restrictions, and the obligation to spend entire weeks in the same physical space. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on quality of life (QoL) in a large Italian sample, in order to investigate possible differences in QoL levels related to both demographic and pandemic-specific variables. A total of 2251 Italian adults (1665 women, mainly young and middle adults) were recruited via a snowball sampling strategy. Participants were requested to answer to an online survey, which included demographic and COVID-related information items, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). The results showed statistically significant differences in QoL depending on a number of variables, including sex, area of residence in Italy, and being diagnosed with a medical/psychiatric condition. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess QoL during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, therefore the present findings can offer guidelines regarding which social groups are more vulnerable of a decline in QoL and would benefit of psychological interventions.

This study contributes to the knowledge on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining a moderated mediation model in which the impact of job loss over quality of life (QoL) is mediated by hopelessness and moderated by trait emotional intelligence (trait EI). Data were collected from a large nationally representative Italian sample of adult workers (N = 1610), who completed a series of anonymous online questionnaires. Total, direct and indirect effects were estimated through bootstrapped mediated moderation analyses providing 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. After controlling for the effects of gender and age range, job loss was found to be negatively associated with QoL, and hopelessness partially mediated such relationship. These relationships were in turn moderated by trait EI. Our study suggests that trait EI levels act as protective factor for a good QoL, mitigating the impact of both job loss and hopelessness over QoL levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying psychological protective and/or risk factors for a better QoL is crucial for the development of interventions aimed at reducing the emotional impact of the pandemic and of its negative real-life consequences.

Study question May specific psychological variables related to the experience of infertility have a predicting effect over the decision of accepting counselling? Summary answer Specific infertility related sources of sufferance including low levels of infertility self-efficacy and poor quality of life significantly predict the request for professional help. What is known already Available data on the access to infertility counselling services suggest that only 10–34% of patients who are offered such opportunity actually pursue it. Qualitative studies pointed out that this might be due to a lack of information about available support and to negative attitudes toward counselling. It seems also that women and men who accept counselling have worse levels of psychological distress. However, there is a lack of quantitative studies on the topic and among those available none used measures that are specific to the experience of infertility itself Study design, size, duration The data presented herein are part of a larger data collection promoted by the Italian Ministry of Health on the psychological impact of assisted reproduction. The present study is a cross-sectional research and involves a sample of 184 patients, composed by 92 women waiting for infertility treatment and their partners, enrolled between October 2019 and October 2020 at the Infertility and IVF Unit of the S. Orsola University Hospital in Bologna, Italy. Participants/materials, setting, methods Participants were voluntarily enrolled in the study at their first medical consult. They were informed about the possibility to attend free couples infertility counselling sessions and asked to fill in the following questionnaires: Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale (ISE); Fertility Quality of Life (FERTIQoL); Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). To attend infertility counselling a shared agreement between partners was requested. Couples who agreed to the study but not to counselling sessions were provided only with questionnaires. Main results and the role of chance The 34.8% (n = 32 couples) of the sample accepted to receive counselling sessions. The two groups (counselling vs no-counselling) were comparable in all socio-demographic variables, aside for education, with higher education levels in the counselling group. Overall, the counselling group reported greater psychological sufferance than the no-counselling group, with lower scores at the ISE, FERTIQoL, and DAS questionnaires. Regarding which factors predicted the decision to attend counselling sessions, logistic regression analysis showed that: for the female partner’s dimensions low scores at the ISE and at the Emotional subscale of the FertiQoL were predictive of accepting counselling (when scores increased the odds of being in the counselling group would decrease by 46% and 8% respectively); for the male’s partner dimensions, predictive factors were low scores on the Social subscale and high scores on the Relational subscale of the FertiQoL (when scores increased the odds of being in the counselling group would decrease by 8% and increase by 10% respectively). In conclusion, impairments in self-efficacy, emotional well-being and social life may drive a greater need for help, but a close relationship with the partner may be also necessary to predispose men to accept couples infertility counselling. Limitations, reasons for caution Data were collected from a well enough homogeneous sample which may have helped in better enhancing the specificity of infertile couples’ needs. However, the small sample size and the fact that data were collected from a sole Italian clinic may impact the representativity of our results. Wider implications of the findings: Findings provide important information for clinical interventions with infertile couples. Patients accepting counselling might be having a worse adjustment to the experience of infertility. Besides, women and men may be affected in different ways. Men’s closeness to the partner might be a favourable factor and should be further studied. Trial registration number The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the S. Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna (CE: 273/2018/Sper/AOUBO) and funded by the Italian Ministry of Health (J33C17000560001)

This study investigates on the relationship between affect-related psychological variables and Body Mass Index (BMI). We have utilized a novel method based on machine learning (ML) algorithms that forecast unobserved BMI values based on psychological variables, like depression, as predictors. We have employed various machine learning algorithms, including gradient boosting and random forest, with psychological variables relative to 221 subjects to predict both the BMI values and the BMI status (normal, overweight, and obese) of those subjects. We have found that the psychological variables in use allow one to predict both the BMI values (with a mean absolute error of 5.27–5.50) and the BMI status with an accuracy of over 80% (metric: F1-score). Further, our study has also confirmed the particular efficacy of psychological variables of negative type, such as depression for example, compared to positive ones, to achieve excellent predictive BMI values.

Aim of this study was to investigate whether parental mental representations during pregnancy and after delivery differed between parents who conceived after Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART) and spontaneous conceiving (SC) parents. Effects of specific ART variables (previous ART attempts, treatment type and cause of infertility) were also taken into account. Seventeen ART couples and 25 SC couples were recruited at Santa Maria Nuova Hospital (Reggio Emilia, Italy). At both 32 weeks of gestation (T1) and 3 months postpartum (T2) participants completed the Semantic Differential of the IRMAG, a self-report tool which measures specific domains of mental representations pertaining either individual (Child, Self-as-woman/man, and Partner) or parental (Self-as-parent, Own parent) characteristics. Results showed that ART parents had significantly more positive representations of the child compared to SC parents, while the scores at Partner dimension improved from T1 to T2 for SC parents only. With regards to ART history, scores at the Self-as-woman/man dimension were significantly less positive for ICSI than IVF parents and improved substantially from T1 to T2 only in case of mothers with previous ART attempts and of fathers at the first ART cycle. The representation of own parents increased from T1 to T2 in case of infertility diagnosis due to male factors, while a decrease emerged when infertility was due to female factors. Findings suggest the need to investigate parental mental representations after ART, in order to improve the understanding on the transition to parenthood of infertile couples and to target more specific intervention for parenting support.

Objective To examine the magnitude and the predictors of emotional reactions to an infertility diagnosis, comparing women and men who were clinically diagnosed with an anatomical cause of infertility or non-anatomical cause of infertility. Study design Cross-sectional study involving a total of 133 adults waiting for infertility treatment at the IVF and Infertility Unit of the S. Orsola University Hospital in Bologna (Italy). Of these, 107 patients (55 with anatomical causes of infertility and 52 with non-anatomical causes of infertility; response rate: 80%) took part to the study. After providing informed written consent, each participant was asked to complete the Infertility Self-efficacy Scale, the Fertility Quality of Life, and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced, which they returned at their second access to the Unit. Differences between the groups were analyzed through a series of univariate ANOVA, whereas a multiple regression analysis was used to jointly examine the predictors of fertility quality of life. Results Results showed both gender related and diagnosis related differences. Women had statistically significant lower scores than men on the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale and on the global, emotional, and mind–body subscales of the Fertility Quality of Life, while they scored significantly higher on the emotion focused and socially supported subscales of the Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced. Independently of gender, patients with non-anatomical causes of infertility scored poorly than patients with anatomical causes of infertility on the relational subscale of the Fertility Quality of Life and on the Avoidant scale of the Brief Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that higher levels of self-efficacy and a lower use of avoidant coping strategies predicted a more positive quality of life over and above gender and cause of infertility. Conclusion This study partly confirms data on gender differences in experiencing the psychological burden of infertility and adds some new information, particularly with respect to the prediction of quality of life indicators over and above infertility cause.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the life of individuals in several realms such as work, education, and interpersonal interactions. No research has so far investigated the possible influence of the emergency on the quality of mother-childexchanges during feeding. The present study aimed to do so in asample of mothers and children (N=359) recruited in the general population. The SVIA was used to evaluate the quality of the dyadic feeding interactions; the SCL-90/R and the BSFC were employed to assess mothers’ psychopathological risk and caregiving distress. The CBCL 1,5–5 was used to tap mothers’ perception of offspring’s emotional/behavioral functioning. All measures were administered at 18 (T1) and 36months (T2) of the children (respectively pre-pandemicand during the pandemic periods). Results showed that the quality of the feeding interactions worsened from T1 to T2. Mothers’ psychopathological risk, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsionscores and caregiving distress significantly increased. Children’s emotional/behavioral functioning worsened during the pandemic, with significantly higher Internalizing and Externalizing scores. This is the first study to focus on the quality of mother-childfeeding interactions during the pandemic. This exploratory study can expand the knowledge on the possible negative outcomes of COVID-19 on family life and caregiving.

The present study aims to investigate the outcomes of the Focal Play Therapy with Children and Parents (FPT-CP) in terms of parent&ndash, therapist alliance, parent&ndash, child interactions, and parenting stress. Thirty parental couples (N = 60, 30 mothers and 30 fathers) and their children presenting behavioral, evacuation and eating disorders took part to the study. Through a multi-method longitudinal approach, data were collected at two time points (first and seventh sessions) marking the first phase of the intervention specifically aimed to build the alliance with parents, a crucial variable for the remission of the child&rsquo, s symptoms (and to the assessment of the child&rsquo, s symptoms within family dynamics.) Therapeutic alliance was assessed by the Working Alliance Inventory by therapists and parents. Parent&ndash, child interactions and parenting stress were evaluated using the Emotional Availability Scales and the Parenting Stress Index, respectively. Results showed that a positive parent&ndash, therapist alliance was developed and maintained during the first seven sessions. Furthermore, parent&ndash, child interactions significantly improved on both parents&rsquo, and child&rsquo, s dimensions. However, parenting stress levels remained unchanged between the two time points. The findings should enrich scientific knowledge about the role of parental engagement in preschool child-focused treatments as to better inform practice and improve the quality of care for children and their families.

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between impulsiveness, sensation seeking, social desirability, trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and self-reported dangerous driving behaviors, as measured by both the Dula Dangerous Driver Index (DDDI) and the number of tickets for dangerous driving. A sample of 285 Italian university students (aged between 20 and 46 years) completed an online survey. Results showed that trait EI did not contribute significantly to the prediction of the DDDI dimensions over and above gender, personality traits and social desirability, while it was the sole incremental predictor of a lower the number of tickets for dangerous driving. The role of trait EI on dangerous driving behavior and intervention programs aimed to reduce dangerous driving is discussed, and implications for future research are presented.

This study aims to describe parents&rsquo, and infant&rsquo, s interactive styles after assisted reproduction treatments (ART), to compare them with parent&ndash, infant interactions after spontaneous conception (SC), and to assess the effect of specific ART variables (cause of infertility, treatment type, and previous ART attempts) on interaction quality. The sample included 25 ART conceiving couples and 31 SC couples with their 3-months-old babies. Free parent&ndash, infant interactions (3&ndash, 5 min) were coded using the CARE-Index, a video-based assessment scale that gives both dimensional (e.g., sensitivity, control, passivity) and categorical scores (sensitive, inept, at-risk) for parents and infants. Results showed a global similarity between groups in CARE-Index dimensions. Nevertheless, differences emerged in categorical scores, as the interactive patterns of ART parents were more frequently classified as &ldquo, inept&rdquo, and &ldquo, at-risk&rdquo, compared to SC parents. With regards to ART dyads only, infants conceived through intracytoplasmic sperm injection scored significantly lower to the dimension compulsivity and higher to passivity, compared to infants conceived through in vitro fertilization. Yet, infants conceived at the first ART cycle had significantly lower levels of difficulty than infants conceived after one ART attempt. These results speak about the existence of important parent&ndash, infant interactive differences related to conception modality and ART technique and suggest the need to implement support programs to promote more sensitive parenting styles.

Purpose: Quality of life (QoL) may represent a comprehensive indicator for the assessment of the psychological impact of complex clinical conditions, such as infertility. Infertile women have a worse QoL compared to both infertile men and non-infertile controls. However, the initial phases of infertility treatments have been frequently investigated using cross-sectional study designs. This prospective longitudinal study aimed at assessing the health-related QoL change across different phases of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments in subfertile women and men. Methods: Eighty-five subfertile women and men undergoing ART cycles were assessed at the beginning of the ovarian stimulation, during oocyte retrieval before discharging, and around 14 days after the embryo transfer. QoL was assessed through the Short Form 36. Results: Irrespective of the cause of infertility, work status, and age, QoL levels decreased from the first to the third assessment, and women scored significantly lower than men to each QoL indicator. Additionally, a higher number of previous ART failures had a negative impact on QoL, irrespective of gender and the phase of treatment. ART outcome marginally affected women’s QoL across time. Conclusion: Infertile women have a worse QoL throughout all phases of ARTs compared to men, and this difference increases in infertile patients with more than one previous ART failure.

Current research on trait EI in adolescents suggests that the construct impacts on several important domains of youths' psychological functioning, including school adjustment and achievement. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of trait EI and of its subcomponents, on adolescent's academic achievement. Data were collected from 321 Italian adolescents (162 female; Mage = 15.5, SD = 1.86; aged 13–18 years) recruited from secondary schools. The effects of perceived and actual peer nominations, gender, personality dimensions, and non-verbal cognitive abilities were also controlled. Results highlight that trait EI as assessed by means of the TEIQue impacts Italian but not math's grades, while trait EI's factors predicted both academic subjects, with significant contributions of Self-Control and Sociability. Limitations and implications are discussed.

This study investigated whether: (a) personality dimensions and trait emotional intelligence relate to actual and perceived social status, (b) social status influence scholastic achievement, and (c) if such associations are moderated by gender. A sample of 595 Italian children and early adolescents completed measures for personality variables, non-verbal cognitive ability, while end of year grades were obtained from school offices. In a sociometric approach, participants rated the degree of each other acceptance and rejection, as well as their own perception of acceptance and rejection within the classroom context. Results indicate that gender moderates the association of personality traits and trait EI with actual social status for early adolescents, and with perceived social status for children. Overall, personality impacts social status for female only. Gender also moderates the effects of actual social status on scholastic achievement, with adolescent females being more affected by poor acceptance. Implications are discussed.

General consensus among psychologists supports the beneficial effects of mindfulness in the treatment of a wide range of clinical conditions such as personality, mood, and anxiety disorders. Several scales used to assess this psychological construct, mainly rooted in Eastern traditions, are currently available to researchers and clinicians. However, the conceptualization and measurement of mindfulness has been considerably diverse. The present study examines the concurrent and incremental validity of four scales: the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS), the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS), the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS). Two independent samples of 176 adults and 397 students, respectively, were recruited. With few exceptions, results were consistent across the two samples and indicated that measures based on an Eastern conceptualization of mindfulness (TMS, PHLMS, and FFMQ) show a different pattern of association with the chosen outcomes compared to the LMS, which is based on a Western conceptualization. Overall, the PHLMS showed the strongest predictive effects and the LMS the weakest in terms of both number of predicted criteria and average effect size. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

This study investigated the structure and validity of the Italian translation of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. Data were self-reported from 227 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure of the scale. Hierarchical regressions also demonstrated its incremental validity beyond demographics, the Big Five, emotion regulation strategies, and self-enhancement.

Despite the extensive literature, the gender differences in eating disorders (ED) have been poorly investigated. Most of the studies, in fact, have been conducted so far on female samples, emphasizing the misleading belief that such disorders are of exclusive relevance of women.The review aim at highlighting as this preconception is still widespread among the male patients and the clinicians and as it represents an impediment to a correct diagnosis and a proper treatment planning.Included studies were selected in the scientific literature published between January 2007 and December 2017 through the main databases, combining the words: “males”, “eating disorder”, “anorexia nervosa”, “bulimia nervosa”, “binge eating disorder”.Fifty-four studies have been selected in accordance with the followed methodological criteria.Only recently, the attention of researchers have been also focused on male population: many differences between genders have emerged in prevalence, onset, phenomenology, diagnosis, comorbidity and outcomes of ED. The studies on risk factors have also pointed out significant differences between males and females, especially in relation to the different weight exerted by psychological variables involved in the aetiology of eating disorders.Compared with a little knowledge of ED in the male population, it is important to widespread the comprehension taking into account the gender perspective. The attention must be paid particularly to critical developmental periods, such as puberty and adolescence, where early detection and prevention of these disorders is of greatest importance, inside a conceptual framework which considers the mutual influence between biological and psychological vulnerability, and sociocultural factors.

The recognition of emotional facial expressions is a central aspect for an effective interpersonal communication. This study aims to investigate whether changes occur in emotion recognition ability and in the affective reactions (self-assessed by participants through valence and arousal ratings) associated with the viewing of basic facial expressions during preadolescence (n = 396, 206 girls, aged 11–14 years, Mage = 12.73, DS = 0.91). Our results confirmed that happiness is the best recognized emotion during preadolescence. However, a significant decrease in recognition accuracy across age emerged for fear expressions. Moreover, participants' affective reactions elicited by the vision of happy facial expressions resulted to be the most pleasant and arousing compared to the other emotional expressions. On the contrary, the viewing of sadness was associated with the most negative affective reactions. Our results also revealed a developmental change in participants' affective reactions to the stimuli. Implications are discussed by taking into account the role of emotion recognition as one of the main factors involved in emotional development.

Introduction: The present study aims to investigate the effects of previous reproductive outcomes on the levels of depression, anxiety and perceived social support in subfertile women who conceived after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment. Methods: A prospective cohort study was developed. Data were collected on subfertile patients who conceived after IVF/ICSI treatment. All demographic and clinical data were recorded. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support at 22 and 32 weeks of gestation and 15 days after delivery were completed. Data were analyzed comparing patients who conceived at their first IVF/ICSI cycle, after one unsuccessful ARTs cycle, and after multiple unsuccessful IVF/ICSI cycles. Results: A significant increase in state anxiety and depression scores from 22 gestational weeks of gestation to 15 days after delivery was observed in patients who received multiple unsuccessful IVF/ICSI cycles compared with other groups. No significant difference in perceived social support was detected among groups. The differences in depression and anxiety scores remained consistent after controlling for perceived social support. Discussion: A history of unsuccessful IVF/ICSI treatments seems to leave women more vulnerable in facing the duties of the new parental role. Such possibility underlies the importance of the availability of a psychological support for these women, even after a successful medical treatment for infertility.

Obesity has become an increasingly widespread endemic with social implications; however, the relationship between higher body mass index (BMI) and psychological functioning is still not fully understood. This study examined the differences in affect-related psychological variables among BMI classes. A total of 134 adults seeking treatment for obesity and 124 controls completed a set of questionnaires to assess: trait emotional intelligence, emotion regulation strategies, anxiety, depression, binge eating behaviors and happiness. Correlations and multivariate analysis of variance were run per each study variable controlling for BMI class (normal weight, overweight, or obesity class I, II, III). Individuals with obesity class III were characterized by reduced trait emotional intelligence and happiness, and a higher tendency to use emotion suppression compared to normal weight individuals. All individuals with obesity also showed higher levels of depression and binge eating behaviors compared to both normal weight and overweight adults. Depression and emotion suppression were the most relevant discriminant factors across BMI classes, while trait emotional intelligence resulted as an important psychological factor clustering individual differences between obese and non-obese individuals. These results suggest that more attention to the affective domain of psychological functioning is needed for proper and comprehensive treatment of obesity.

The present study was aimed at validating the Italian version of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Adolescent Full Form (TEIQue–AFF), as well as at exploring its incremental validity over emotional maladjustment. To this end, a sample of 351 (163 males) Italian adolescents was collected. Overall, the Italian TEIQue–AFF both replicated the original-English four-factor structure (Well-Being, Self-Control, Emotionality, Sociability), and its construct validity was confirmed. However, reliability coefficients for eight facets and two factors were low. In addition, at all levels of analysis (i.e., global, factor, facet) the TEIQue–AFF was found to be a significant incremental predictor of adolescent’s emotional maladjustment, over and above gender, IQ, and the Big Five personality dimensions. At the factor level, significant effects were related to the contribution of the factor Well-Being thus supporting perspectives arguing for a further refinement of trait EI content domain. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Introduction: Although preterm birth represents a risk factor for early mother-infant interactions, few studies have focused on toddlerhood, an important time for the development of symbolic play, autonomous skills, and child's socialization competences. Moreover, no study has looked at the effect of birth weight on mother-child interactions during this period. Expanding on the available literature on prematurity, the main objective of this study was to explore the quality of mother-toddler interactions during play, using a longitudinal research design, as well as taking into account the effect of birth weight. Method: 16 Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW), 24 Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW), 25 full-term children, and their mothers were recruited for the present study. Mother-child dyads were evaluated at 18, 24, and 30 months of child age. Ten minutes of mother-child play interaction were recorded and later coded according to the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). Furthermore, the child's level of development was assessed through the Griffiths Scale, and its contribution controlled for. Results: ELBW dyads showed an overall lower level of emotional availability, compared to VLBW and full-term dyads, but no main effect of birth weight was found on specific EA dimensions. Moreover, a significant effect of child age emerged. Overall scores, and Child Responsiveness and Involvement scores improved over time, independently of birth weight. Lastly, a significant effect of the interaction between birth weight and child age was found. Between 18 and 30 months, the overall quality of the interaction significantly increased in ELBW and VLBW dyads. Additionally, between 18 and 30 months, VLBW children significantly improved their responsiveness, while their mothers' sensitivity, structuring, and non-intrusive behaviors improved. In contrast, no change emerged in full-term dyads, although scores were consistently higher than those of the other groups. Discussion: Birth weight affects the quality of mother-toddler interactions. Monitoring the relational patterns of preterm dyads during toddlerhood is important, especially in the case of ELBW children.

A criticism leveled against the conceptualization of emotional intelligence (EI) as a personality trait is that it overlaps considerably with the higher order personality dimensions and, therefore, has weak utility. To investigate this criticism, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to synthesize the literature examining the incremental validity of the 2 adult self-report forms of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Twenty-four articles reporting 114 incremental validity analyses of the TEIQue were reviewed according to the studies' methodological features. Additionally, data from 18 studies (providing 105 effect sizes) were pooled in a meta-analysis. Results suggest that the TEIQue consistently explains incremental variance in criteria pertaining to different areas of functioning, beyond higher order personality dimensions and other emotion-related variables. The pooled effect size was relatively small, but statistically and practically significant (ΔR(2) = .06, SE = .0116; 95% CI [.03, .08]). The number of covariates controlled for, the form of the TEIQue, and the focus on higher order personality dimensions versus other individual-difference constructs as baseline predictors did not affect the effect size. Analyses conducted at the factor level indicated that the incremental contribution is mainly due to the well-being and self-control factors of trait EI. Methodological issues and directions for future research are discussed. A criticism leveled against the conceptualization of emotional intelligence (EI) as a personality trait is that it overlaps considerably with the higher order personality dimensions and, therefore, has weak utility. To investigate this criticism, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to synthesize the literature examining the incremental validity of the 2 adult self-report forms of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Twenty-four articles reporting 114 incremental validity analyses of the TEIQue were reviewed according to the studies' methodological features. Additionally, data from 18 studies (providing 105 effect sizes) were pooled in a meta-analysis. Results suggest that the TEIQue consistently explains incremental variance in criteria pertaining to different areas of functioning, beyond higher order personality dimensions and other emotion-related variables. The pooled effect size was relatively small, but statistically and practically significant (ΔR2 =.06, SE =.0116; 95% CI [.03,.08]). The number of covariates controlled for, the form of the TEIQue, and the focus on higher order personality dimensions versus other individual-difference constructs as baseline predictors did not affect the effect size. Analyses conducted at the factor level indicated that the incremental contribution is mainly due to the well-being and self-control factors of trait EI. Methodological issues and directions for future research are discussed.

Literature on mother-child feeding interactions during the transition to self-feeding in preterm populations is lacking, particularly through observational methods. The present research study aims to look at the longitudinal patterns of mother-toddler feeding interactions, comparing preterm and full term dyads. To this end, a multi-method approach was used to collect data from 27 preterm to 20 full-term toddlers and their mothers. For each dyad, mother-child interactions were observed during the snack time at 18 and 24 months of age and then assessed through the Italian version of the Feeding Scale. Higher scores on the scale indicate a less healthy pattern of interaction. Additionally, at both points in time, mothers completed the BDI-II questionnaire as a screen for maternal depression and the child's developmental stage was assessed using the Griffiths Scales. A series of repeated measures Analysis of Variances were run to detect differences in feeding interactions between the two groups at the time of assessment. Our results show that preterm dyads report overall higher levels of maternal negative affection, interactional conflicts, and less dyadic reciprocity during the meal compared to full-term dyads. Additionally, longitudinal data show that dyadic conflict decreases in both groups, whereas the child's food refusal behaviors increase in the preterm group from 18 to 24 months. No differences were reported for both the BDI-II and the child's development for the two groups. The results reveal that regardless of maternal depression and the child's developmental stage, the two groups show different trajectories in the pattern of feeding interactions during the transition to self -feeding, at 18 and 24 months, with overall less positive interactions in preterm mother-child dyads.

This study explored the influence of both assisted reproductive technology (ART) and reduced quality of life (QoL) during pregnancy on postpartum blues (PPB). Sixty-three sub-fertile patients who conceived through ART and 72 women who naturally conceived were enrolled in this prospective study. At 22nd and 32nd gestational weeks, women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Short-Form 36 (SF-36), to investigate depressive symptoms and QoL, respectively; EPDS was again used at 15 days after birth to assess PPB. At both time points, higher EPDS scores and lower mental well-being scores (SF-36) significantly predicted PPB. The number of previous ART cycles emerged as the strongest predictor, whereas no significant effect was observed for the conceiving method. The results suggest the usefulness of assessing QoL during pregnancy and considering previous ART failures in preventing PPB.

This study examined the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and somatic complaints after controlling for positive and negative affect (PA and NA). 362 volunteers (222 males) completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), the Somatic Complaint List (SCL), and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS). Results showed that high trait EI is positively correlated to PA and negatively correlated to NA and somatic complaints, but that it can predict somatic complaints over and above PA and NA. These findings highlight the protective role of trait EI in mental and physical health.

The construct of trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) takes into account the subjective aspects of human’s emotional experience, as it conceptualizes EI as a set of self-perceived emotional abilities. Although several studies have shown the importance of trait EI over individual’s health and wellbeing, there’s currently no literature studying its role in the context of eating disorders. Given the well-known association between obesity and emotional difficulties, this study attempts to provide new insights into the potential application of trait EI. A sample of 164 obese patients was recruited between May 2014 and June 2016. Each patient completed a set of self-report questionnaires including the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Binge Eating Scale. Independent assessments were performed at three time points (baseline, after three months, and after six months) at the S. Orsola Malpighi Hospital (Bologna). At each time point body weight and other medical were measured. A sample of normally-weighted adults was also recruited through an online software. Correlations, ANOVAs and mediation analysis were used as analytic strategies. Our results show differences in trait EI between case and control. Additionally, data show that trait EI has different functions over BMI depending on the predictor being considered. More detailed results will be presented at the conference. These results suggest once more the importance of emotional difficulties in obese patients and underline that trait EI may play an important role both as risk and as protective factor in the development of overweight and obesity.