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The present study investigated the antecedents of cyberbullying victimization and addressed the commonalities and differences between visual and written forms of cyberbullying victimization among 3172 Italian adolescents (51.6% male, M age=13.74years, SD=1.70) who participated in the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC, 2014) survey. The results from two logistic regression models revealed that the two distinct forms of cyberbullying victimization presented common and unique associated factors. Family support was negatively associated with both forms of cyberbullying victimization, while greater use of social networks and frequent experiences of traditional bullying victimization were positively associated with both forms. Neither written nor visual forms of cyberbullying victimization were associated with the quality of school relationships or online gaming frequency. Gender (female) was associated with written, but not visual, cyberbullying victimization. Finally, visual cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with high family socio-economic status and traditional bullying perpetration. The findings highlight the urgent need to tailor preventive and intervention strategies for the adolescent population.

Parental control and family dinners attendance may constitute protective factors against alcohol consumption during adolescence, with different patterns for boys and girls, though evidence thus far have produced mixed findings. The present study analyzed Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC, 2014) data from 906 adolescents living in Northern Italy (49% boys, Myears = 16.02, SD = 2.4) to examine: (a) gender differences in alcohol consumption frequency; (b) whether greater parental control would mediate gender differences in alcohol consumption over the last 30 days; (c) whether regular attendance of family dinners would strengthen the effect of parental control in decreasing adolescents’ alcohol consumption, functioning differently for boys and girls. Findings indicated that boys reported to attend family dinners more regularly, to consume alcohol more frequently, and to perceive greater paternal control, than girls. Conversely, girls perceived greater maternal control than boys. Both maternal and paternal control did mediate the relation between gender and alcohol consumption, decreasing adolescents’ drinking. Unexpectedly, family dinners attendance did not significantly moderate the effect of parental control on the monthly frequency of adolescents’ alcohol consumption. Results underline the protective role of parental control against adolescents’ alcohol consumption in both girls and boys, regardless of their family dinners attendance.

Background Health behaviours in adolescence have a high impact on both current and future health. The literature claims a focus on social determinants and shows that these behaviours are associated. The concept of ‘health lifestyles’ should be considered to account for co-occurring health behaviours and determinants interactions. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of adolescents’ health lifestyles and to (i) cluster adolescents according to a comprehensive number of health behaviours and (ii) describe these groups according to sociodemographic characteristics, perceptions of life contexts (family, school, peers or neighbourhood) and perceived physical and psychosocial health conditions. Methods In Italy, 906 15-year-old students participated in the cross-national Health Behaviour of School-aged Children study. Clusters were identified by applying the KAMILA clustering method and compared using analysis of variance and chi-squared tests. Results: Four clusters were identified: ‘substance consumers’, ‘media lovers’, ‘active students’ and ‘passive students’. Each cluster exhibited different characteristics related to health behaviours and social determinants. Conclusions Interesting associations between health behaviours were identified, which showed the relevance of considering the adolescents’ overall lifestyles. The description of each cluster permitted the identification of risks and protective factors, which may be important for designing effective health promotion activities.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a huge effect on adolescents’ health and learning. Health promotion strategies should be valued, and life skill education is a potential approach in this direction. This study aimed to investigate the implementation of an evidence-based life skill education programme during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Lombardy Region (Italy) by collecting opinions about the programme’s usefulness and feasibility and identifying the strategies for implementing it through distance teaching. The study involved 63 middle school expert teachers, principals or coordinators in life skill education. An online questionnaire with closed- and open-ended questions was used. A qualitative content analysis was carried out using N-Vivo Answers software. The participants recognized the high value of life skill education at the time of COVID-19, but they showed reticence regarding its feasibility. Positive effects of the programme on both health and learning outcomes were reported. The obstacles were related to interpersonal aspects, student involvement, methods, organization and planning. Many strategies were suggested related to the teaching method, the curriculum organization and the adaptation needs. These strategies can be used to implement active and cooperative learning at a distance to reinforce students’ life skills to cope with the crisis and promote their health.

The study assesses the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Norwegian Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale - NTSES. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis was used to explore the measurement invariance of the scale across two countries. Analyses performed on Italian and Norwegian samples confirmed a six-factor structure of the scale with a strong factorial invariance. The analyses conducted on the Italian sample supported good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The Italian version of the NTSES showed expected correlations with measures of job-related well-being. These results confirm the good psychometric properties of the Italian version of the NTSES. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Health literacy was identified as an important determinant of health, particularly for adolescents. However, more efforts are needed to monitor this construct and provide inputs for policy development. This study aims to: (a) Assess the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the Health Literacy for School-Aged Children (HLSAC-I), (b) Identify the health literacy levels among Italian students and compare them with other countries’ levels, and (c) Identify the associations between health literacy and multiple social determinants (social stratifiers, family, and school connectedness). Data came from the Health Behaviour School-Aged Children survey, carried out in the Lombardy region in northern Italy in 2018. A representative sample of 2,287 13- and 15-year-old Lombardian students was involved. The results support the validity and reliability of the HLSAC-I. A total of 18.7% of the sample reported low levels, and only 6.8% reported high levels. Italian students reported the lowest levels of health literacy compared with other countries. School connectedness and educational approach are the most relevant associated factors. This study confirms a school’s role in reducing inequalities and promoting health. It highlights the importance of monitoring health literacy and implementing health promotion policies at school through a whole-school approach.

Typically, schools implement health promotion programs that focus on a single behavioral domain. Multiple related health topics may be addressed using separate interventions, potentially producing overlap in program content. However, integrative approaches in health promotion have the potential to produce interventions capable of improving multiple health behaviors. In particular, more research is needed to identify the conditions and the factors that can promote the transfer of learning to broaden the target outcomes of health promotion programs. The present study aims to identify the characteristics of an evidence-based life skills education program that can facilitate the transfer of learning to different health behaviors not initially targeted by the program, and the strategies for achieving successful transfer. A two round Delphi method was used with a diverse group of 21 experts in health promotion, life skills education, and methods of pedagogy for early adolescent students. Questionnaires with open and closed-ended questions were administered on-line. Content qualitative analysis was run, integrating codes, subcategories, and categories of the two rounds of the study. Results showed strong consensus among experts about the potential for promoting the transfer of skills from one health domain to another. Many elements were identified as important factors that facilitate the transfer of learning. Strategies for successful transfer were related to teaching methods, educational approaches, and consistency with the broader school curriculum. Findings suggest that the successful transfer of learning to a new health domain requires that educators recognize its importance and explicitly designate it as an educational aim.

School psychologists’ relevance has been broadly affirmed. However, there is no shared definition of their professional role, and more efforts are needed to promote an organisational and whole-school approach. The present study aims to investigate practices and representations of Italian school psychologists, advance knowledge of the status and development of school psychology, and learn more about the approaches currently adopted in schools. A qualitative method was used and 11 focus groups with a total of 86 participants were carried out. Ad hoc instruments were defined. The results highlighted that school psychologists are more focused on building one-on-one relationships, whereas relationships with the organisation as a whole appear to be more difficult. However, participants reported a wide range of activities, targeted to both the individual and the organisation. Moreover, efforts to strengthen the relationships with school principals and the entire school community were described. Specific needs emerged and the necessity to better define the school psychologists’ role was reported by the participants. More efforts are needed to promote an organisational approach among Italian school psychologists and specific training should be offered.

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the entire school population’s emotions and the disruption of the organization of the school world. In this context it is important to reflect on the role of health promotion at school. The present study aimed at exploring school leaders’ and teachers’ perspectives and experiences about COVID-19 pandemic and its effects in the school and education system. The first objective was to gather the experience of school leaders regarding the change in school organization, with particular attention to organizational and health promotion aspects. The second was to investigate the perception of health promotion and self-efficacy of teachers in primary, middle and high schools. The research was conducted using qualitative (focus groups for the school leaders) and quantitative methods (questionnaires for the teachers). The findings showed new ways of improving wellbeing at school and implementing health promotion through the sharing of good practice between school leaders. The need for time and space to reflect among school leaders on the educational and didactic aspects of school organization also emerged. Teachers showed a low to medium level of self-efficacy regarding the adoption of strategies in line with health promotion, specificities for each grade and level will be discussed.

Concerns about negative consequences of gambling diffusion are increasing. Prevention and harm reduction strategies play a crucial role in reducing gambling supply and harms. This study aims to conduct an umbrella review of the effectiveness of gambling preventive and harm reduction strategies, which can be implemented at a local level and targeted at adults. It was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Sixteen reviews were analyzed, and 20 strategies were selected and classified in 4 areas with different targets and aims. Reducing the supply of gambling is an effective strategy both for the general population and for risky or problematic gamblers. Demand reduction interventions have been found to have limited effects but most of them are mainly focused on knowledge about risks and odds ratios. Risk reduction strategies aim to reduce contextual risk factors of the area where gambling is provided, change the gambling locations’ features, and modify individual behaviors while gambling. Smoking and alcohol bans or restrictions are considered one of the most effective strategies. Finally, harm reduction strategies targeted at problematic gamblers are potentially effective. Some relevant implementation conditions are identified and the results show inconsistent effects across different targets.

Objective: This study verifies whether the open-ended question of the B-IPQ can collect causal attributions of patients with cardiac diseases, define the more frequent causal attributions reported, classify them and describe the relation between the classification of the causes and patients’ characteristics. Design: A group of 2011 patients with cardiac diseases was recruited during the first week of cardiac rehabilitation. Primary outcome measures: Every participant filled in the B-IPQ and the HADS. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the text using T-LAB identified the most frequent causal attributions and their co-occurrences. Results: Among the patients, 26% did not recognise any causal attribution. The likelihood that the patients did not provide an answer was increased in older patients, females, patients with lower levels of education and higher levels of depression. Smoking and stress emerged as the most important attributions, followed by genetics, metabolic syndrome, work and nutrition. Four thematic clusters were identified: ‘work and stress’, ‘metabolic syndrome and hypertension’, ‘displeasures and body care’ and ‘heredity and other related diseases’. Conclusions: This study suggests a classification of the causal attributions in patients with cardiac diseases and identifies thematic patterns and unknown attributions. The themes identified can serve as categories for future closed-ended questions

Main topics of research in health psychology. A critical analysis of the 23rd European Congress of Health Psychology - The aim of this paper is to highlight the main research areas in health psychology in Europe through the critical analysis of presentations and posters at the last European Congress of Health Psychology, which was held in Pisa. Through the analysis of the congress programme and the abstract book we identified nine main areas: theories of behavioural change; health promotion interventions; illness perception and representations; coping strategies and self-regulation in the management of illness; the contribution of positive psychology to developments in health psychology; health in different stages of life; the psychophysiology of health and well-being; the health and well-being of workers and work organizations; research methods in health psychology. In every area considered, beyond classic contents, new developments and novel approaches were identified.

Il 22mo Congresso europeo di psicologia della salute "Behavior, Health and Healthcare: from physiology to policy" - The aim of this paper is to briefly report the topics discussed during the last European Conference of Health Psychology in Bath, describing the main research areas and reflections on methodological aspects presented. Finally, we also point out some organizational aspects that promote participants interaction and debate. Key words: European Health Psychology Society, European Conference, current issues of research.