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Personality dysfunctions and deficits in the capacity to cope with negative emotional states have been related to internet addictions. However, in relation to Facebook addiction, this issue remains poorly investigated. Specifically, few studies explored the role played by grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in Facebook addiction. Furthermore, the relationship between alexithymia and pathological narcissism has not yet been explored in relation to problematic Facebook use. The main objective of this study was to examine the association among Facebook addiction, pathological narcissism and alexithymia.A cross sectional study was designed to this aim. A sample of adult participants (N=270; MResults showed that pathological narcissism, and especially grandiose narcissism, appears to be an important factor associated to problematic Facebook usage among adults. Moreover, difficulties in the capacity to identify their own emotional states may be a risk factor for such condition.In conclusion, these results are in line with other data found in the field of behavioral addictions and add further reflection for planning more specific clinical intervention programs for individuals addicted to Facebook with narcissistic traits. These may benefit from a greater focus on the impairments in self-monitoring capacities such as emotional awareness. Personality psychopathologies should be targeted by clinical interventions, but also broader functional impairments (as such as alexithymia) should be addressed as more strategic therapeutic objectives in the field of Facebook Addiction.

Adolescents’ depressive social withdrawal is a relevant concern for mental health professionals, and it is widespread among community teenagers in form of subclinical symptoms. Different studies suggest that insecure attachment representations increase the adolescents’ likelihood to show symptoms of withdrawal (e.g., loneliness). This study explored the effect of the general attachment internal working model (IWM) and the independent and cumulative effects of the specific attachment representations of parents—in terms of secure base/safe haven—and peers on adolescents’ withdrawal. Additionally, the mediation of peer attachment on the effect of parental attachment on symptoms was explored. All analyses were conducted controlling for the difference between teenagers living with parents together or divorced/separated, as children of divorcees are considered more exposed to stressors. Ninety-one adolescents aged 12–17 years old were assessed online during the COVID pandemic period, employing the Youth Self-Report to assess withdrawal and the Friends and Family Interview to assess attachment-general IWM and attachment-specific representations. Results show no influence of parents together/separated or of the general IWM on withdrawal, but higher parent secure base/safe haven and peer attachment cumulatively predicted 10–21% less withdrawal. Moreover, more positive peer attachment mediated 61% of the effect of the parental secure attachment on withdrawal, revealing an indirect effect of parental attachment on withdrawal through peer attachment. In conclusion, both parents and peers are influential on adolescent mental health, and fostering positive peer relationships can buffer the effect of dysfunctional family relationships on teenagers’ withdrawal.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) collects additional data (e.g., witness community violence/terrorism) than the previous version. Despite ACE-IQ is widely used and validated in several languages, no reviews focus on this measure.The main goals are to: 1) synthesize the ACE-IQ prevalence rates and average means among community samples, both for total ACE and single dimensions (e.g., intrafamily abuse, bullying); 2) discuss these data in light of the characteristics of studies and samples; 3) identify main research lines of the field.The search for studies using the ACE-IQ with community participants was conducted on seven academic databases, including retrieval of grey literature. The screening process led to include 63 documents.A systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines was performed.1) On average, 75% of community respondents experienced ACEs, with a mean of three, primarily emotional abuse and bullying. 2) Males experienced more ACEs, but they were underrepresented, as well as children and adolescents. Most studies were conducted in Asia or Africa, and different geographical areas showed different pathways of prevalence in subdimensions. 3) Most research focused on prevalence and relationships between ACE-IQ scores and respondents' mental and physical health, suicide and parenting, focusing on intrafamily ACEs more than on those outside the household.Several issues emerged in terms of lack of reporting prevalence or means, lack of studies in Europe, America and Oceania, and no attention to collective/community/peer violence, plus a lack of consensus toward the dimensions of the ACE-IQ.

Studies documented the negative consequences on adolescents' mental health of the stay-at-home measures adopted in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, few contributions focused on the psychopathological trajectories after the end of these stressful measures or investigated the moderating role of this context in the relationship linking psychological symptoms with emotion regulation. This brief longitudinal study was performed with two measurement times: during the severe lockdown (T1), and when the restrictive measures were relaxed (T2). Ninety-three community adolescents (45% boys; M

Gambling addiction (GA) is now considered a worldwide health issue. Although the topic of disorder awareness is a central issue in clinical practice, there are few studies examining this dimension in relation to GA. To bridge this gap, we conducted a qualitative study, administering interviews focused on awareness of GA and eliciting narratives of both the disorder and the whole life of participants. We adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods of research, using computer-aided content analysis. We administered to a sample of 15 treatment-seeking gamblers the Psychiatric Interview for Gambling Addiction and performed a qualitative analysis of the text using the T-Lab software. Five main thematic domains and four factors emerged, shedding light on specific aspects underlying the development of and recovery from GA. Specifically, the results suggested that dissociation processes, materialistic thinking and difficulties in social achievement underlie the subjective experience of GA. Moreover, closeness in interpersonal relationships and awareness of the disorder emerged as core features in the process of change. As a whole, the results highlight the specificities of disorder awareness in addicted gamblers. We discuss these results within the context of previous research and suggest clinical implications for the treatment of GA.

OBJECTIVE Multilevel consequences related to gambling disorder (GD) are glaring enough to make gambling a worldwide public health issue. Dissociation has been pointed out in clinical, empirical, and theoretical contributions as a key variable accounting for the development and maintenance of GD. However, we still lack a systematization of available empirical data that may facilitate further accurate conclusions. METHOD A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed with the goal to answer to open questions. We followed the PRISMA guidelines conducting a systematic search of 5 scientific databases (PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed) including grey literature. RESULTS A total of 843 records were screened, and 20 studies were included in the qualitative and quantitative analyses. A systematic review of selected studies outlines the high heterogeneity in the operationalization of the dissociation construct as well as the absence of studies examining the role played by the specific dimensions of the pathological dissociative feature in GD. A significant, positive, and moderate effect size (r = .37) was found linking GD to dissociation. Moreover, this effect appears to not be moderated by the quality of studies, age, and gender of participants nor measures used to evaluate dissociation. CONCLUSIONS Despite empirical evidences supporting the theoretical assertions toward the relationship between GD and dissociation, few studies have reached an articulated understanding of this topic, mostly failing to identify specific dissociative features involved in GD. Furthermore, the existence of the current gap in the literature are discussed to delineate future lines of research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Background and aims Gambling Disorder (GD) entails maladaptive patterns of decision-making. Neurophysiological research points out the effect of parasympathetic arousal, including phasic changes in heart rate variability (HRV), and interoceptive accuracy (IA, i.e., the ability to track changes in bodily signals), on decision-making. Nevertheless, scarce evidence is available on their role in GD. This is the first study exploring the impact in GD of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of HRV, and IA on decision-making, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Methods Twenty-two patients experiencing problems with slot-machines or video lottery terminals gambling and 22 gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited. A resting ECG was performed before and after the completion of the IGT. IA was assessed throughout the heartbeat detection task. We conducted a MANCOVA to detect the presence of significant differences between groups in RSA reactivity and IA. A linear regression model was adopted to test the effect of factors of interest on IGT scores. Results Patients with GD displayed significantly decreased RSA reactivity (P = 0.002) and IA (P = 0.024) compared to HCs, even after controlling for affective symptoms, age, smoking status, and BMI. According to the linear regression model, cardiac vagal reactivity and IA significantly predict decision-making impairments on the IGT (P = 0.008; P = 0.019). Discussion and conclusions Although the exact pathways linking HRV and IA to impaired decision-making in GD remain to be identified, a broader exploration relying upon an embodiment-informed framework may contribute to shed further light on the clinical phenomenology of the disorder.

BackgroundSpitefulness is the inclination to inflict harm to someone else even at one's own expenses. The development of a self‐report measure (the Spitefulness Scale [SS]) has fostered the investigation of the relationships between spitefulness and aggression‐related variables.ObjectiveThe present study aims to investigate the construct of spitefulness in violent offenders. Through a translation/back‐translation procedure, the SS was translated into Italian, and its psychometric properties were examined.MethodA sample of 249 male violent offenders and 172 male community participants filled out the SS, the Self‐Report Psychopathy Scale‐IV, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Dirty Dozen Scale.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis results supported the unidimensional factor structure of the SS. Further results indicated that the scale had good internal consistency and met criteria for configural invariance, partial weak invariance and partial strong invariance across samples. Correlational analyses evidenced positive and significant associations between the SS scores and measures of the dark triad and emotion dysregulation. The offender sample scored significantly higher than the community sample on the SS.ConclusionResults support the internal structure and construct validity of the SS, suggesting its potential utility for the study of the construct of spitefulness in violent offenders

Suicide behaviors are peculiar aspects of several cluster B disorders, including Narcissistic Personality Disorder. To date, it is still unclear which facet of narcissism is more related to the desire to die and which other factors are involved in this relationship. This study aims to offer preliminary empirical evidences concerning the relationship between narcissism, emotion dysregulation and suicide ideation. We administered the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), PID-5-BF (Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Short Form) and Beck Scale for Suicide ideation (BSI) to a sample of individuals with suicide ideation (n = 70) and a sample of community participants (n = 154). Controlling for age, gender and Negative Affectivity, we found that BSI scores correlated significantly with the vulnerable dimension of narcissism, but not with the grandiose one, and with all DERS dimension, apart from Awareness. Nevertheless, emotion dysregulation moderates the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and suicide ideation. Suicide ideation seems to be deeply connected with the vulnerable dimension of pathological narcissism and the relationship between the constructs is totally mediated by emotion dysregulation. Future directions and clinical implications are discussed.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the role of emotion (dys)regulation in gambling disorder (GD). PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed were systematically searched for articles published until November 3, 2020. Forty-nine studies were considered for the systematic review; of these, 38 comprising 5242 participants met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Associations were found between GD and specific emotion regulation (ER) deficits, namely (1) nonacceptance of negative emotional states, (2) difficulties in maintaining goal-directed behaviors when faced with intense emotional contexts, (3) lack of clarity about emotional states (poor emotional awareness), (4) low impulse control in reaction to negative emotional states, and (5) difficulties in accessing adaptive ER strategies. We furthermore found that GD is associated with a tendency for emotional suppression, which is known as a maladaptive ER strategy and linked with reduced mindfulness abilities. Additional moderator analyses were conducted regarding age, gender, type of instrument used to measure GD, clinical status of the samples, and quality of the studies. Overall, the data demonstrated consistent and significant associations between GD and ER. This systematic review and meta-analysis mostly supports the conceptualization of GD as an addictive disorder characterized by ER deficits and stresses the need to develop interventions in ER deficits that are tailored to the specificities of GD.

Objective: The attachment theory is a useful framework for interpreting the phenomenon of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Although several studies have examined the relationship between attachment and IPV perpetration, a meta-analysis of these results has yet to be conducted. Method: After a search on five databases (PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed) and a screening of 3,852 records recruited, 52 studies comprising 13,653 individuals met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. Results: Results showed a significant effect size for both the anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment. However, while the effect sizes for anxiety were consistent ( r = .19–.35) for all types of violence considered, the effect size for avoidance was not significant for generic violence ( r = .07), low for physical ( r = .12) and psychological violence ( r = .14), and medium for sexual violence ( r = .20). Only a few of the examined moderators were significant. Conclusions: The findings highlight some differences in the roles of the two attachment dimensions in IPV. The results underscore the need for additional research to explore the role of other potential moderating and mediating variables in the relationship between attachment and IPV perpetration in order to better support the development of prevention and treatment interventions.

A number of studies have suggested that depressive mood might lead to the development and/or maintenance of a gambling disorder (GD). The pathways by which such relationships are fostered may involve deficits in emotional regulation capacity and dysfunctional coping styles. This study aims to explore the role played by depressive symptomatology and the regulation of positive emotion in GD. We administered the South Oaks Gambling Inventory (SOGS, Lesieur and Blume in Am J Psychiatry 144(9):1184-1188, 1987), the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21, Lovibond and Lovibond in Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales. Psychology Foundation, Sydney, 1995) and the Kill-joy Thinking subscale of the Ways of Savouring Checklist (WOSC, Bryant and Veroff in Savoring: a new model of positive experience. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, 2007) to a sample of pathological gamblers (n = 91) and a sample of community participants (n = 105). The pathological gamblers scored higher on the DASS-21 subscales and obtained higher scores on the Kill-joy Thinking subscale of the WOSC compared to the controls. Moreover, the SOGS scores positively correlate with the DASS-21 subscales, and with the Kill-Joy Thinking measure. Finally, it is evident that Kill-joy Thinking fully mediates the relationship between depressive symptomatology and GD severity. Our results further confirm the roles of depression, anxiety and stress in GD. Moreover, this is the first study to explore the mediating role of dampening processes in the relationship between depression and GD. Future lines of research are also discussed.

Introduction Nowadays, gambling disorder (GD) is a worldwide health issue and there is a growing need to both improve our understanding of this disorder and to tailor specific interventions for its treatment. Moreover, theoretical models and preliminary empirical results suggest that difficulty in regulating emotional states might be involved in GD. However, literature describing clinical and theoretical aspects of emotional dysregulation among pathological gamblers (PGs) shows a lack of systematic description. Objectives We aimed to provide, within an exhaustive theoretical framework of emotion regulation (ER) processing, empirical evidence supporting a conceptual model of GD as an ER affliction. Methods We commented on empirical evidence on the relationship between ER and GD in the light of two main conceptual models of emotion (dys)regulation. Results The results suggest there are actual deficits of ER processing among PGs, manifesting themselves through different ways and in different steps of the ER timeline. In addition, dysregulation of positive emotions may play a central role in GD. From a clinical point of view, we pointed out that deficits in ER might be multiple in nature and an assessment for GD should be accurate to identify the specific components accounting for the development and maintenance of the disorder. It should also orientate the clinician in selecting therapeutic objectives. Conclusions The nature of emotional states that are difficult to regulate might account for the GD severity and indicate the subtype of PGs the patient belongs to. Treatment programs should be tailored on the specificity of PGs.

Gambling Disorder (GD) is a complex psychopathology involving a numbers of cognitive, behavioral, emotional and neurobiological determinants. Previous research suggests that GD may frequently co-occur with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. However, there is still a lack of study investigating Pathological Narcissism (PN) in both its vulnerable and grandiose facets among clinical population. Moreover, emotional dysregulation is commonly thought to underlie GD albeit research on this topic remains poor. The present study aims to investigate the role of both vulnerable and grandiose narcissism in relation to GD as well as the mediator role played by emotion dysregulation in such link. We administered to a sample of addicted gamblers (n = 74) and a sample of heathy controls (n = 105), the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Differences across groups emerged on the scores obtained on the PNI and DERS. Moreover, we found positive associations between SOGS scores and both PNI and DERS. Also, strategic addicted gamblers showed higher levels of vulnerable narcissism compared to others. Finally, emotion dysregulation difficulties appeared to fully mediate the relationship between grandiose narcissism and GD severity. Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism appear important variables involved in GD. Also, emotion regulation deficits seem to account for GD and to explain the pathways by which grandiose narcissism leads to GD. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Background The Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II) is a self-report questionnaire that measures dissociative experiences such as derealization, depersonalization, absorption and amnesia. The DES-II has been prevalently used as a screening tool in patients suffering from psychotic disorders or schizophrenia. However, dissociative experiences can also be part of normal psychological life. Despite its popularity, the most problematic aspect of the DES-II is the inconsistency in its factor structure, which is probably due to the tendency to treat ordinal responses as responses on an interval scale, as it is assumed in the Classical Test Theory approach. In order to address issues related to the inconsistency of previous results, the aim of the present study was to collect new psychometric evidence to improve the properties of the DES-II using Rasch analysis, i.e. analyzing the functioning of the response scale. Methods Data were obtained on a sample composed by 320 Italian participants (122 inmates and 198 community-dwelling individuals) and were analyzed with the Rasch model. This model allows the estimation of participants’ level of dissociation, the degree of misfit of each item, the reliability of each item, and their measurement invariance. Moreover, Rasch estimation allows to determine the best response scale, in terms of response modalities number and their discriminant power. Results Three items of the scale had strong misfit. After their deletion, the resulting scale was composed by 25 items, which had low levels of misfit and high reliability, and showed measurement invariance. Participants tended to select more often lower categories of the response scale. Conclusions Results provided new knowledge on the DES-II structure and its psychometric properties, contributing to the understanding and measurement of the dissociation construct.

A number of researches showed high prevalence of personality disorders among addicted gamblers. However, there are still few studies investigating the role of pathological personality facets in Gambling Disorder (GD). Moreover, the nature of the relationship between GD and pathological personality is not clear. We administered to a group of addicted gamblers (N = 79) and a group of healthy participants (N = 101) a battery of self-report questionnaires encompassing the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), The Personality Inventory for DSM-V (PID-5), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Analyses of variance showed that addicted gamblers, compared to healthy participants, scored higher on most of the subscales of the DERS, on the Suppression Dimension of the ERQ and on the five main domains of the PID-5 whereas they obtained lower scores on the Reappraisal subscale of the ERQ. Moreover, multiple regression analyses indicated that some specific facets of pathological personality, emotion dysregulation and lack of cognitive reappraisal, significantly predict GD's severity. Finally, emotion dysregulation levels and lack of cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between these and GD's severity. Our results confirmed the central roles played by both pathological personality and deficit in emotion regulation capacities in GD. Specifically, Impulsivity, Lack of Perseverance and Suspiciousness may be important predictors of GD severity. Moreover, emotion dysregulation and lack of adaptive emotion regulation strategies partially explained such relationship. As such, training for emotion regulation abilities appears strategically useful in the treatment of addicted gamblers with pathological personality traits.

Introduction In recent literature, abnormalities in the metacognitive domain have been pointed out as psychological variables that may account for a wide range of psychopathologies, including gambling disorder (GD). Considering the growing but scattered nature of the research concerning the relationship between metacognition and GD, a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing results are required. Methods We performed a systematic search through five scientific databases for research published till December 10, 2019, following PRISMA guidelines. We also searched grey literature. After removing the redundancy, 16.855 records were screened. Results Unanimously, authors selected 10 articles based on the inclusion criteria. Four of the selected studies evaluated metacognitive abilities towards cognitive performances, mostly considering metacognitive deficits about decision-making, while metacognitive beliefs were assessed by six of the selected articles. Only one study examined metacognitive functioning regarding GD. The meta-analytic procedure was performed on 10 identified studies based on the criteria adopted, which comprised 1.655 individuals. Results showed that the average effect size linking metacognitive dysfunctions and GD was significant and moderated by the instrument used to measure metacognition. Conclusions The examined line of research is highly heterogeneous owing to the type of operationalization adopted for metacognition. The systematic review also showed a grey area, evidencing the lack of research on metacognitive functions. Results demonstrated by this meta-analysis call for future studies examining the role of metacognitive deficits in GD in order to delineate useful clinical indications.