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Purpose Orthorexia nervosa (OrNe) is a potentially pathological condition characterized by a fixation on healthy diet. An increasing number of studies have been conducted on this mental preoccupation, but the validity and reliability of some of the psychometric instruments employed in its assessment are still under debate. Among these measures, the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) seems to be promising, given that it allows to differentiate between OrNe and other non-problematic forms of interest with healthy eating, named as healthy orthorexia (HeOr). The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the TOS, by testing its factorial structure, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and validity. Method Through an online survey, we recruited 782 participants from different regions of Italy, asking them to complete the following self-report instruments: TOS, EHQ, EDI-3, OCI-R, and BSI-18. From the initial sample, 144 participants agreed to complete a second TOS administration 2 weeks later. Results Data confirmed the validity of the 2-correlated factors structure of the TOS. The questionnaire also showed good reliability, both in terms of internal consistency and temporal stability. With regard to the TOS validity, results showed that OrNe was significantly and positively associated with measures of psychopathology and psychological distress, while HeOr showed no correlations or negative associations with the above-mentioned measures. Conclusion Based on these results, the TOS can be considered a promising measure for the assessment of both pathological and non-problematic forms of orthorexic eating behavior also in Italian population. Level of evidence Level V, descriptive cross-sectional study.

Background: This multistudy report was aimed at examining the psychometric properties in the Italian context of the Student Adaptation College Questionnaire (SACQ) that represents the most important self-report measure for assessing how students adjust to university. Methods: Three studies were conducted in order to revise and improve the instrument for being more efficient in measuring adjustment to university. Results: The final result was the SACQ-SF consisting in 12 item assessing three dimensions: a) student’s perception of one’s study skills (Studying); b) student’s sense of satisfaction with courses and programs (Satisfaction with curriculum); c) student’s evaluation of the degree to which he has social skills and is making new friends (Social adjustment). Conclusions: Convergent and construct validity may be considered also adequate. In sum, the SACQSF can be considered a promising valuable and efficient instrument in measuring adjustment to university in the Italian context, and probably in the European one too. Further, as a brief instrument, it can be easily administered and used as a quick screening tool.

The aim of the study was to investigate the link between different communication patterns and psychological abuse among young adults romantic relationships. Specifically, the research was aimed at analyzing the direct relation between efficacious, avoidant, dismissive and manipulative communicative patterns and both reported victimized and perpetrated behaviors of psychological abuse within the couple. Participants were 557 young adults (211 males), aged between 18-30 years (M = 22.61; DS = 3.85), currently involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship of at least 6 months duration. Results showed that the most important predictors of perpetration and victimization reports of psychological abuse are the Dismissal and Manipulation communication patterns, whereas Avoidance is not a significant predictor of psychological abuse. Theoretical and social implications and directions for future research are identified.

The current study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the role of perceived parental monitoring, psychological control, and coping strategies on adolescents’ problem behaviors, in terms of anxiety and drinking behavior. Participants were 541 high school students, 17 to 19-year old (M = 17.09, SD = 0.80) high school students in Sicily and Calabria (Italy). Participants completed self-report measures assessing parental monitoring, psychological control, coping strategies (i.e., Task-Oriented, Emotion-Oriented, and Avoidance-Oriented). Results of the path analysis showed that coping strategies play a mediating role in the association between parental psychological control and both adolescents’ anxiety and drinking behavior. Furthermore, a direct positive association was reported from parental psychological control and anxiety, while a negative direct association was reported from parental monitoring to drinking behavior. Results of this study provide a comprehensive model that showed that the different coping strategies could explain the psychological mechanisms that underline the associations between two different kinds of parental control (psychological control and monitoring) and both internalizing and externalizing adolescents’ form of maladjustment (e.g. anxiety and drinking behaviors). Overall, coping strategies seem to be a fruitful target for the prevention programs for adolescents’ anxiety and drinking behaviors.

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 promotion of citizen’s democratic and intercultural competence is one of the main actions that European societies may take against some of the most significant challenges they are facing nowadays. The paper is aimed at briefly describing the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, some actions that can be taken to promote democratic and intercultural competences and a case of implementation of this framework in the context of primary school, that is the Erasmus+ Project “Children’s Voices for a new Human Space” (CVS). The paper also aims at illustrating the intellectual outputs produced by CVS project consisting in a training course for teachers, a curriculum for children, an app assisting trainers and teachers during the implementation of the training and the curriculum, and a scientific study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the educational processes in which teachers and children have been involved. Keywords: Democratic Competence; Intercultural Competence; Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture; Teacher Training; Curriculum, Journal of Clinical & Developmental Psychology, Online First Articles

During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the experience of quarantine has been an undesirable condition for people and it can have a negative impact on mental health and psychological wellbeing. Social isolation has led to an increase in time spent on social network sites, with people interacting more frequently with each other, and comparing online the way in which they are experiencing the same state of home confinement. Our study aimed to investigate the role of online social comparison on individuals' psychological distress and life satisfaction during the COVID-19-related quarantine. Specifically, a cross-lagged panel study at three-waves was conducted in Italy in order to examine the change in psychosocial distress levels (e.g. depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, low life-satisfaction) from before the quarantine for a period of one month, as well as the predictive role of online social comparison to ameliorate individual distress. An online survey was distributed through a social media platform three times after the initial lockdown and at the epidemic's peak two and five weeks later. A total of 113 participants participated in an online survey between the 7th of March and 14th of April 2020. The results showed an increase in the levels of loneliness, depression, stress, anxiety and a decrease in the level of life satisfaction in the pre/post quarantine comparison. Our cross-lagged results also showed that online social comparison at T1 and T2 predicted the individual's improvement in levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness and life satisfaction over time. Overall, the results of the current study underline the positive effects of online social comparison on the reduction of psychological distress during the COVID-19 quarantine.

The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) is a self-report instrument assessing the satisfaction and frustration of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness defined by self-determination theory. The aim of this study was to examine the dimensionality, the predictive validity, and the measurement invariance across different age groups of the Italian version of the BPNSFS. The participants were 2,204 Italian adolescents and young adults (41% males) from 14 to 28 years old (M age = 20.23, SD = 4.25). The invariance across age demonstrated adequate equivalence of the 6-factor model of scales across adolescents (14–18 years) and young adults (20–24 years), showing general homogeneity with respect to the constructs measured in the Italian context. Results of this study suggest that the satisfaction and frustration subscales for each need might be treated separately, because they might have unique effects that should be explored. For this reason, the BPNSFS could be a useful instrument in the counseling context because it can be easily used by operators both for assessment and for evaluation of the effects and results of counseling intervention.

The Self-Other Differentiation Scale (Olver, Aries, & Batgos, 1989) is a self-report instrument assessing the experience of a separate sense of self from others. The authors aimed to examine its dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. It was completed by 348 participants (48% men) from 17 to 30years old in Study 1, 348 participants (40% men) from 18 to 28years old in Study 2, and 1,068 participants (49% men) from 17 to 28years old in Study 3. The results supported the hypothesis of just one factor underlying the scale; they also showed an appropriate internal consistency and a partial measurement invariance across gender. Results also showed evidence for a 10-item version of the scale. Globally, the Self-Other Differentiation Scale can be considered a good scale to assess individual's sense of differentiation of one's own sense of self from others.

Framed from a framework based on the integration of self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000 Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68 [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], , [Google Scholar] ) and Endler and Parker’s (1990) conception of coping strategies, the authors analyzed the relationships between peer pressure and binge behaviors (binge eating and binge drinking) in adolescence. Moreover, the authors explored the mediating role of satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs and coping strategies in these associations. Participants were 570 high school students (M = 15.75 years, SD = 1.14 years) living in Italy. The study design was cross-sectional and adolescents were administered self-report questionnaires. Path analysis showed significant and positive direct associations of peer pressure with both binge eating and binge drinking. Moreover, findings show that there is an indirect path in which peer pressure is positively associated with need frustration that is related to the use of emotion-oriented coping strategies that, on their turn, are associated with binge eating. Differently, binge drinking seems to be only directly related to peer pressure. The authors put light to the complex nature of the relationships between peer pressure and binge behaviors in adolescence, taking into account the separate contribution of need satisfaction and need frustration, as well as of coping strategies. Finally, practical implications of the study are discussed.

In the last few decades, particular attention has been paid to the role of personality specific traits that can affect the loss of health, i.e., Type D personality and Alexithymia. They have been conceptualized in a different period, this means that they are different both for their theoretical positions and their empirical studies. Some authors have speculated that there is a potential conceptual overlap between Type D personality and alexithymia constructs but there is a shortcoming in the literature. The aim of the study was to examine the potential overlap between the constructs of type D personality and alexithymia, replicating previous two studies, to extend these findings to Italian population. The participants were 247 Italian adults (males = 43%), recruited in primary health care practices of Palermo. All participants did not have chronic diseases during tests administration. They ranged in age from 35 to 69 years old (M = 52.34 years, SD = 9.76). Participants were administered Type D Personality Scale (DS-14) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). A series of confirmatory factor analyses was performed to evaluate the factorial structure underlying the TAS-20 and DS-14 items. Globally results showed that alexithymia and type D personality are distinct constructs, but they are also strictly positively related with each other. Negative affectivity (NA) was highly correlated with Difficulties in identifying feelings and Difficulties in describing feelings, while Social inhibition (SI) was highly correlated with Difficulties in describing feelings. These results are consistent with those of other studies conducted in this area. Future research should consider evaluating the relationship between a deficit of affect regulation and type D personality to improve the effectiveness of interventions of health cure.

The purpose of this multistudy report was to adapt the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) to the Italian context. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, we investigated the dimensionality, reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument in a sample of 544 participants (males = 41%) from 16 to 35 years old. In Study 2, we replicated the results concerning dimensionality in an independent sample of 502 participants (males = 42%) from 16 to 35 years old. Furthermore, we analyzed measurement invariance across gender. Results of both studies showed that comparing a series of competitive factorial models, the 6-factor model had the best fit to the data, assessing 6 different but related dimensions: autonomy satisfaction, autonomy frustration, relatedness satisfaction, relatedness frustration, competence satisfaction, and competence frustration. Moreover, the reliability and convergent and discriminant validity can be considered adequate. Finally, the BPNSFS was shown to be invariant across gender. In sum, the BPNSFS can be considered a promising instrument in the context of self-determination theory-based research for investigating satisfaction and frustration of the 3 basic needs in Italy.

The present study aimed to investigate the relations among perceived parental psychological control (PPC), autonomy and relatedness, and negative outcomes during emerging adulthood in two cultural contexts: Italy and the USA. More specifically, we explored the mechanisms through which dependency-oriented PPC (DPPC) and achievement-oriented PPC (APPC) are associated with both internalizing and externalizing difficulties, focusing on the mediating role of autonomy and relatedness. Participants were 418 European-American and 359 Italian college students. Results indicated that the expressions of PPC with regard to dependency and achievement were related to emerging adults’ negative outcomes through different pathways, and these effects were moderated by the cultural group. The implications of the findings for future related empirical investigations and clinical interventions were discussed.

Our study investigated the associations among two expressions of perceived parental psychological control (dependency-oriented parental control [DPC] and achievement-oriented parental control [APC]), identity, and internalizing difficulties among college-attending emerging adults. In particular, our aim was to examine the potential role of identity in the pathways linking both DPC and APC to internalizing difficulties. Our participants included 495 Italian college students (49% males), between 19 and 28 years of age (mean = 23.37 years, standard deviation = 2.35). Our findings highlighted the existence of associations between APC, identity, and internalizing difficulties. Specifically, APC was negatively related to identity that, in turn, was related to both anxiety and depressive symptoms. Moreover, APC showed direct effects on internalizing difficulties, whereas DPC had neither direct nor indirect effects on the outcomes. Overall, our findings highlighted the importance of examining the different contribution of the two forms of parental psychological control to emerging adults’ internalizing difficulties via identity.

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between the quality of attachment relationships with parents and peers on the one hand, and ego-resiliency and self- esteem on the other hand. The present research was conducted with a group of 218 students (male = 101) aged from 11 to 19 years (M = 14.43, DS = 2.60). The results emphasize that (a) self-esteem is positively associated only with security of attachment to the mother, (b) ego-resil- iency is positively associated with security of attachment both to mother and peers, and (c) boys seem to have higher levels of self-esteem and ego-resiliency than girls.

Although several studies have investigated the factor structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), there are still disagreements about it. The present study assessed: a) the goodness of fit of nine competing factor models for the RSES using data from a clinical sample of 855 women with eating/weight disorders; and b) its measurement invariance across clinical and non-clinical (n = 943) samples. A bifactor model, with a general self-esteem factor, plus positive and negative method factors, provided a better fit with the data than alternative models. However, the results showed the high reliability of the general self-esteem factor, and a low reliability of the two method factors. Furthermore, the full metric invariance of the RSES, as well as a partial scalar invariance and partial strict invariance across clinical and non-clinical groups, was supported by our findings. The factor variances and means differed significantly across groups. Overall, the findings of this study showed that the factor structure of the RSES is contaminated by method effects due to item wording, also with clinical samples, and that respondents from clinical and non-clinical groups interpret the self-esteem construct of the RSES items in a substantially similar way.

Background: The relationship between low self-esteem and depression and anxiety disorders has solicited a growing body of empirical research. The most important explanation models are two: the vulnerability model states that low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression and anxiety, and the scar model states that low self-esteem is an outcome, not a cause, of depression and anxiety. Method: In the present research we tested the two different models using a sample of Italian preadolescent, aged 11 to 14 years, recruited from an Italian secondary school. To test the models, the path analysis technique was used: one in which self-esteem predicted anxiety and depression (Model 1), and one in which anxiety and depression predicted self-esteem (Model 2). Gender and age were included in the models as covariate. Conclusions: our findings suggest that the both models had the same good fit, although the effects of self-esteem on depressive and anxiety symptoms were significantly higher than the effects of anxiety and depression on self-esteem. In both models gender was positively associated with anxiety and self-esteem: girls tend to report higher levels of anxiety than boys. In the scar model age was positively related with depression; older preadolescents tend to report higher levels of depression than younger preadolescents. Keywords: self-esteem, anxiety, depression, early adolescence, Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol 4, No 3 (2016)

Although different studies have investigated career choices as cognitive acts of decision-making, non-cognitive components also play an important role. The study tries to develop an empirically based model of career decision-making process linking cognitive (search for work self-efficacy - SWSE) and non-cognitive (psychological well-being - PWB) components. In particular, the study investigates, among 148 never-employed Italian young adults, to what extent the relationship between SWSE and career indecision in terms of lack of readiness (LoR) can be explained by their common relationship with PWB. Results highlighted that SWSE is negatively associated with LoR when considered in absence of PWB. However, when PWB was included in one comprehensive model, it was positively associated with SWSE and negatively related to LoR. Moreover, the presence of PWB nullified the negative association between SWSE and LoR, meaning that PWB shares a large extent of variance with these variables. Implications are discussed in the light of theoretical expectations and limitations.

Adolescents' Emotional Autonomy from Parents A relevant tenet in developmental psychology is that adolescents are expected to achieve an autonomous functioning, independent from parents, to become reliant on their internal resources and responsible for their actions and decisions. Within this framework, emotional autonomy reflects the affective side of the largest process by which a young person acquires a more mature identity. It emerges when adolescents are capable to abandon dependence on parents and to individuate from them. Moreover, emotional autonomy implies a shift towards a less idealized conception of parental figures, the development of a more complex consideration of them as people, and the establishment of affective bonds more symmetrical than those characterizing the parental relationship in childhood (Beyers, Gossens, Vansant, & Moors, 2003; Parra, Oliva, & Sanchez-Queija, 2015; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986; Zimmer-Gembeck & Collins, 2003). The construct of emotional autonomy has gained interest among researchers because of its importance as a key component of adolescent development, and two main theoretical orientations have informed its study. Some authors with a psychoanalytic background have suggested that a positive process of emotional autonomy occurs when adolescents are able to move away from familial influences and to distance themselves from parents, including the extreme form of disengagement, achieving an emotional separation from them (Blos, 1979; Freud, 1958). Consistently with this perspective, research has shown that an increased independent behaviour and the relinquishing of dependence on parents are positively related to indices of well-being during adolescence, such as better school grades and performances (Chen & Dornbusch, 1998), better adjustment to university environments (Beyers & Goossens, 2003) and higher self-esteem (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). Some other authors have questioned the adaptive meaning of separating from parents (Beyers & Goossens, 1999; Garber & Little, 2001). According to their point of view, a healthy autonomous development can only occur if accompanied by a warm and intimate relationship with nurturing figures, providing love, support and empathic responsiveness to their children while encouraging and promoting an appropriate sense of autonomy, independence and selfregulation (Goossens & Waeben, 1996; Goossens & Van der Heijden, 1998; Grotevant & Cooper, 1986; Hill & Holmbeck, 1986; Ingoglia, Lo Coco, Liga, & Lo Cricchio, 2011; Lo Cricchio, Liga, Ingoglia, & Lo Coco, 2012; Youniss & Smollar, 1985). Research carried out from this perspective have found that highly emotionally autonomous adolescents who also perceive their parents as being supportive are more likely to show positive patterns of adjustment and competence than those with higher levels of autonomy but low levels of connectedness to parents (Fuhrman & Holmbeck, 1995 Ingoglia, Lo Coco, Pace, Zappulla, Liga, & Inguglia, 2004; Lamborn & Steinberg, 1993). However, even in this perspective, results are puzzling and there are studies that have found a different pattern of outcomes identifying teenagers who score high on measures of psychosocial adjustment even if they show low levels of attachment to parents and high levels of emotional autonomy (McClanahan & Holmbeck, 1992). Much of the above mentioned controversial findings seem to originate from measurement issues (Beyers, et al., 2003; Parra, Oliva, & Sanchez-Queija, 2015). Firstly, the Emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) has been one of the most widely used measure of this construct. However, it has been argued (Beyers et al., 2003; Ingoglia, Lo Coco, Liga, & Lo Cricchio, 2011; Ryan & Lynch, 1989; Schmitz & Baer, 2001; Turner, Irwin, Tschann, & Millstein, 1993) that this instrument seems to measure a detachment from parents, rather than a genuine autonomy. …

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is a standardized self-report measure of disposition to empathic responsiveness for the general adult population (the domain for which it was developed), and for the general adolescent population. The IRI has a number of problems, however, including some uncertainty about its factor structure, low reliabilities, and poor readability of some items for people with limited literacy skills. To address these issues, we constructed an abbreviated form of the index, the Brief IRI (B–IRI). Three studies demonstrated that this 16-item B–IRI has a clear and coherent factor structure, adequate internal consistency, measurement invariance across gender and age, and theoretically meaningful associations with a range of external criteria that support its construct validity. The B–IRI substantially preserves the psychometric properties of the long form, and we recommend its use in all research settings.

Autonomy and relatedness are fundamental needs both in adolescence and in emerging adulthood which are affected by parental support and are linked to children’s psychological distress. The study investigated autonomy and relatedness in late adolescents and emerging adults living in Italy, analyzing the relationships with perceived parental support and psychological distress. Self-report data were collected from a sample of 325 Caucasian adolescents and emerging adults (males = 41 %) ranging in age from 17 to 26 years and living in Sicily (southern Italy). Results showed that: (a) both autonomy and relatedness were positively predicted by parental support to these needs, (b) perceived support for autonomy was positively associated with perceived support for relatedness, (c) autonomy and relatedness were positively related to each other for emerging adults, but they were not related for teens, (d) autonomy predicted negatively depression and loneliness, while relatedness predicted negatively externalizing problems (only for adolescents), stress, depression, and loneliness. Taken together, the findings confirmed that autonomy and relatedness are fundamental needs for both teens and emerging adults related to parental support and psychological health. Notwithstanding, age moderated some of the investigated relationships suggesting that autonomy and relatedness have different meanings, as well as playing different roles during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

The study examined the association among mothers’ parenting stress, adolescents’ emotional separation and self-orientation toward connectedness. Participants were 194 Italian adolescents, aged from 15 to 19 years (mean age = 17.39, SD = 1.18), and their mothers, aged from 33 to 64 years (mean age = 44.35, SD = 5.40). General findings showed that adolescents’ emotional separation may not necessarily be associated with their mothers’ parenting stress, but both of these variables may be related to adolescents’ personal characteristics, which may contribute to define parent-child relationship. Particularly, adolescents’ orientation towards a connected self was associated negatively with emotional separation and parenting stress. These findings indicate potential pathways to mitigate the stress in facing the normative challenges of adolescence.

Lo scopo di questo volume è quello di mettere in grado anche coloro che si avvicinano per la prima volta alla metodologia della ricerca psicologica di trascendere dalle rigorose formule applicative e di saper fare a meno di ricette preformate. Nella ricerca scientifica ciò che è importante è avere chiaro il significato di ciò che si fa, interrogandosi sul ruolo che la scienza riveste nel campo della conoscenza e percependosi come attori creativi di un sapere in movimento, piuttosto che come esecutori passivi di sequenze fi sse che si basano su regole condivise. Benché questo libro fornisca un contributo che può defi nirsi “tecnico” nell’ambito della ricerca psicologica, non è nato per essere un elenco di strumenti privo della consapevolezza dei propri scopi e utilizzabile come un ricettario. Esso, piuttosto, prende le mosse da una riflessione sull’opzione scientifica maturata nelle diverse discipline attualmente impegnate nello studio della “dimensione umana”. Si sofferma sullo “scopo” per cui vengono messi in campo gli “strumenti” delle scienze sociali, sul “significato” dei dati e sulla complessità degli “oggetti” (teorie, modelli, costrutti, indicatori osservabili ecc.) che entrano nel discorso della psicologia e, in generale, delle scienze sociali.

The study refers to data coming from the Italian section of MIRIPS project. It was focused on the analysis of the adaptation of Tunisian adolescents living in Italy and it was guided by the integration hypothesis, stating that migrants feel better if they are engaged in both their own culture and that of the larger society than if they engage in one or the other culture only. Using a person-oriented approach, the study investigated the relationships between acculturation profiles - namely patterns of relations between factors associated to the acculturation process (e.g., acculturation strategies, ethnic and national identities, ethnic and national language use, social contacts with people of the same ethnic group and autochthonous) - and some outcomes related to migrants' psychosocial adaptation, considering also the perceived discrimination. Participants were 380 Tunisian adolescents (males = 52%; mean age = 15.82) living in Sicily (Italy) and attending Italian secondary schools. Data were collected during school time using the MIRIPS questionnaire. Results of a cluster analysis showed that participants could be assigned to three different profiles: Bicultural (39 % of the sample), characterized by high levels of integration, national and ethnic identification, competence in national language and social contacts with Italian and ethnic group members; Ethnic (35%), characterized by high levels of separation, competence in ethnic language and ethnic identity; National (26%), characterized by high levels of assimilation, competence in national language, national identity and social contacts with Italians. A MANOVA showed that Ethnic profile adolescents reported higher levels of perceived discrimination and lower levels of psychosocial adjustment than others, whereas Bicultural showed higher levels of self-esteem than National and Ethnic adolescents. Finally, a multi-group structural equation modeling highlighted different patterns of relations between perceived discrimination and psychosocial adjustment depending on the acculturation profiles. Implications of these findings for the research and intervention in this field are discussed.

The present study examined the relations between gender, the parental bond, resistance to peer influence, and risky driving. In particular, the mediating role of resistance to peer pressure in the relationship between parental bond and risky driving was examined. The moderating role of gender on these associations was also investigated. The sample comprised 322 adolescents (136 males and 186 females), aged from 16 to 20 years, who were living in northern Italy. Path analysis results showed that the maternal bond only indirectly influenced adolescents’ risky driving, via resistance to peer influence. On the contrary, the paternal bond was neither directly nor indirectly associated with risky driving. All the paths were invariant across gender. The results of the present study suggest that the parental bond is not responsible for the widely reported link between parenting practices and adolescents’ risky driving, per se. Rather, findings suggest that the mother–adolescent relationship shapes adolescents’ ability to resist peer influence, which, in turn, influences adolescent risky driving. Results are also discussed on the basis of cultural differences.

The Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS; Doherty, 1997) is a self-report instrument assessing susceptibility to emotional contagion. The study was aimed at examining its dimensionality, reliability, and validity in the Italian context. It was completed by 541 young adults (45% men) in Study 1 and 649 young adults (40% men) in Study 2. The results of a series of confirmatory factor analyses showed that a bi-factor model, with one general factor and four specific factors was supported. The general and specific factors resulted differently related to self-other differentiation, empathy, emotional fragility, masculinity, and femininity. Notwithstanding, the results posited some questions about the ECS reliability and convergent validity. Implications for scoring of the ECS and the need to revise it are discussed.

The aims of the present study were to provide a contribution to the validation of the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (ASRQ) (Stocker, Lanthier, & Furman, 1997) with a population of Italian emerging adults. The ASRQ measures individuals’ current perceptions of their own behaviour and feelings toward their sibling, as well as their perceptions of their sibling’s behaviour and feelings toward him or her by assessing fourteen fundamental dimensions (Intimacy; Affection; Emotional Support; Instrumental Support; Knowledge; Similarity; Admiration; Acceptance; Dominance; Competition; Antagonism; Quarrelling; Maternal Rivalry; and Paternal Rivalry), combined in order to form three macro-dimensions: Warmth, Conflict, and Rivalry. The sample comprised 464 young adults (200 males and 264 females), aged from 18 to 28 years, living in central Italy. Confirmatory factor analyses showed a factorial structure with fourteen first-order factors and two second-order factors. The internal consistency coefficients () were satisfactory for each of the fourteen ASRQ dimensions and the ASRQ macro-dimensions. Further, the present study provided support for the convergent validity of the ASRQ, also within the Italian context.

The study examined the applicability of the observational technique developed by Allen and colleagues (Allen, Hauser, Bell, & O’Connor, 1994; Allen, Hauser, et al., 2003) to investigate the issues of autonomy and relatedness in parent-adolescent relationship in the Italian context. Thirty-five mother-adolescent dyads participated to a task in which they discussed a family issue about which they disagree. Adolescents were also administered a self-report measure assessing their relationship with mothers. Mothers reported significantly higher levels of promoting and inhibiting autonomy, and promoting relatedness behaviors than their children. Results also suggested a partial behavioral reciprocity within the dyads, regarding promoting and inhibiting relatedness, and inhibiting autonomy. Finally, mothers’ inhibiting autonomy behaviors positively correlated to teens’ perception of their relationship as conflicting; adolescents’ inhibiting and promoting autonomy and inhibiting relatedness behaviors positively correlated to open confrontation, rejection and coolness, while promoting relatedness behaviors negatively correlated to open confrontation, rejection and coolness. The results suggest that, for Italian mothers, behaviors linked to autonomy seem to be associated with being involved in a more negative relationship with their children, even if not characterized by open hostility, while for Italian adolescents, behaviors linked to autonomy seem to be associated with threatening the closeness of the relationship. Globally, the findings suggest that the application of this observational procedure may help our understanding of youth autonomy and relatedness development in Italy, but they leave unanswered questions regarding its appropriate adaptation and the role played by cultural differences.

The study examined the relations between perceived emotional support from parents and peers, self-concept and social functioning among a sample of school-aged children. The study had three main purposes. Firstly, the study was aimed at evaluating the association between emotional support perceived from parents and peers, and self concept. Secondly, the study was aimed at inquiring the existence of different children’s profiles on the basis of the level of perceived emotional support from parents and peers, and their self-concept. Finally, the study was aimed at exploring any difference that could have emerged in their social functioning. The participants were 270 children (F = 137, M = 133), ranged in age from 9 to 11 (mean age = 10.75, SD = 1.48). Children were collectively assessed through self-report and peer-reported measures. A cluster analysis revealed the existence of five profiles characterized by different levels of emotional support perceived from parents and peers, and self-concept. Results have also evidenced differences between children belonging to different profiles in the social functioning assessed by peers. Globally, findings showed that a positive self-concept, when combined with high emotional support from parents or from peers, is related to a better social functioning both in terms of peer acceptance and prosocial behaviors.