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We aimed to investigate the extent to which Environmental Sensitivity (ES), as captured by the Highly Sensitive Person, 12-item scale (HSP-12), is distinguishable from traditional personality traits, contributes to psychological adjustment over and above personality, and if this contribution depends on the rearing environment. We also explored the HSP-12 psychometric properties and invariance across countries (UK and Italy) and samples (university and general population). Across multiple adult samples (N = 4459), we provided evidence that ES can be reliably assessed with the HSP-12 across countries and groups. We also showed that ES is distinguishable from established personality traits and is associated with lower well-being and negative affect, beyond personality. An environment perceived as caring played a buffering role.

Ethnic minority youth show worse school adjustment than their ethnic majority peers. Yet, it remains unclear whether this gap can be explained by differences in family functioning and consequent identity commitments. This study examined (1) whether family functioning relates to identity commitments over time and (2) whether identity commitments impact later school value (3) among minority and majority adolescents. Minority (N = 205, Mage = 16.25 years, 31.1% girls) and majority adolescents (N = 480, Mage = 15.73 years, 47.9% girls) participated in this preregistered three-wave longitudinal study (T1: March-April 2012; T2: October 2012; T3: March-April 2013). Dynamic Panel Models revealed that most within-person cross-lagged associations were not significant in the total sample. Yet, multigroup analyses revealed differences between groups: Stronger identity commitments related to lower school value among minority adolescents, but were unrelated to school value among majority adolescents over time. Additionally, higher school value increased identity commitments among minority youth, yet it decreased identity commitments among majority youth over time. The findings highlight the differential interplay between identity commitments and school adjustment for minority and majority adolescents, with important implications for their future life chances.

Hikikomori is a severe form of social withdrawal increasing among the young Italian population. Hikikomori has been connected to psychological problems and high environmental sensitivity. Nevertheless, only a few studies have been carried out in the Italian context, and they did not analyze several aspects strictly related to the hikikomori phenomenon, such as the role of attachment and sensitivity. We aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment, sensitivity, and psychological problems in a sample of Italian hikikomori. Our sample comprised 72 Italian adolescents and young adults (49 males and 23 females), meanly aged 22.5 years, recruited through online forums and clinical centers for the hikikomori phenomenon. Our participants fulfilled the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R). The results showed high psychological issues (i.e., depression and anxiety), environmental sensitivity, and insecure attachment orientations. Moreover, we discovered a significant relationship between attachment dimensions, environmental sensitivity, and psychopathology. Our study sheds light on a novel research path and could help both the researchers and the clinicians who work with people suffering from social withdrawal.

The focus of this study is bystanders’ behavior and their willingness to intervene in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) in three different countries (China, Italy, and Ethiopia), considering individual and social factors (i.e., right-wing Authoritarianism, masculinity ideology, and gender). The Italian sample was made up of 192 participants (56% male). The Chinese sample was made up of 274 participants (66% female). The Ethiopian sample was made up of 161 participants (53.3% female). Participants completed the Male Role Norms Inventory–Short Form, the Right-wing Authoritarianism Scale, and the Willingness to intervene in cases of IPVAW. The Chinese model suggested how masculinity ideology is negatively associated with “reporting the incident to the authorities” factor, and positively with “not my business” factor. Right-wing authoritarianism is positively associated with “reporting the incident to the authorities” factor. The Italian model suggested how masculinity ideology was positively related to the “reporting the incident to the authorities” factor, and gender was negatively related to “not my business” factor, and positively related to “personal involvement” factor. The Ethiopian model suggested how masculinity ideology is positively associated with “personal involvement in the case” factor and gender is positively associated with the “reporting the incident to the authorities” factor. Masculine ideologies, authoritarian personality characteristics, and gender are predisposing factors toward bystander attitudes when confronted with cases of intimate partner violence. Our findings highlight key areas of focus to help raise awareness related to IPV cases, and policy aimed at promoting prosocial society.

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is a widely used measure in developmental science that assesses adults' current states of mind regarding early attachment-related experiences with their primary caregivers. The standard system for coding the AAI recommends classifying individuals categorically as having an autonomous, dismissing, preoccupied, or unresolved attachment state of mind. However, previous factor and taxometric analyses suggest that: (a) adults' attachment states of mind are captured by two weakly correlated factors reflecting adults' dismissing and preoccupied states of mind and (b) individual differences on these factors are continuously rather than categorically distributed. The current study revisited these suggestions about the latent structure of AAI scales by leveraging individual participant data from 40 studies (N = 3,218), with a particular focus on the controversial observation from prior factor analytic work that indicators of preoccupied states of mind and indicators of unresolved states of mind about loss and trauma loaded on a common factor. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that: (a) a 2-factor model with weakly correlated dismissing and preoccupied factors and (b) a 3-factor model that further distinguished unresolved from preoccupied states of mind were both compatible with the data. The preoccupied and unresolved factors in the 3-factor model were highly correlated. Taxometric analyses suggested that individual differences in dismissing, preoccupied, and unresolved states of mind were more consistent with a continuous than a categorical model. The importance of additional tests of predictive validity of the various models is emphasized.

This article presents a strategy for the initial step of data harmonization in Individual Participant Data syntheses, i.e., making decisions as to which measures operationalize the constructs of interest - and which do not. This step is vital in the process of data harmonization, because a study can only be as good as its measures. If the construct validity of the measures is in question, study results are questionable as well. Our proposed strategy for data harmonization consists of three steps. First, a unitary construct is defined based on the existing literature, preferably on the theoretical framework surrounding the construct. Second, the various instruments used to measure the construct are evaluated as operationalizations of this construct, and retained or excluded based on this evaluation. Third, the scores of the included measures are recoded on the same metric. We illustrate the use of this method with three example constructs focal to the Collaboration on Attachment Transmission Synthesis (CATS) study: parental sensitivity, child temperament, and social support. This process description may aid researchers in their data pooling studies, filling a gap in the literature on the first step of data harmonization. • Data harmonization in studies using combined datasets is of vital importance for the validity of the study results. • We have developed and illustrated a strategy on how to define a unitary construct and evaluate whether instruments are operationalizations of this construct as the initial step in the harmonization process. • This strategy is a transferable and reproducible method to apply to the data harmonization process.

Although conscious aspects of attachment representations can be effectively assessed in middle childhood, the few available self-reports are based on different operationalizations of attachment and do not always show adequate psychometric properties. The current study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Attachment in Middle Childhood Questionnaire (AMCQ). Using three independent samples of Italian children (Mage = 10 years, 52% = girls), in three interrelated studies we (1) selected a pool of items from existing questionnaires, adapted them to the same response format, and subjected them to exploratory factor analysis; (2) performed confirmatory factor analyses on the retained items; and (3) used structural equation modeling to assess the factor structure, external validity, and invariance across gender and age groups. The final 15-item questionnaire comprised two dimensions (anxiety and avoidance) and a supplementary scale (security). Overall, results supported the reliability and validity of the AMCQ for Italian children.

The preterm birth of a child is a sudden event that can disturb the overall family system and its functioning. Many studies have been conducted with the aim of exploring how and the degree to which this event affects the early mother–infant dyadic relationship and maternal well-being, with often mixed findings. The present study investigates the combined effect of preterm birth and parenting stress on mind-mindedness, a parenting dimension that captures how parents represent and treat their children as separate individuals with their own mental states and activities. A hundred and ten mothers and their three-month-old infants (preterm = 54; full-term = 56) participated in the study. Mind-mindedness was assessed by coding mothers’ comments about infant’s mental states during dyadic face-to-face interaction. Parenting stress was evaluated with the Parenting Stress Index Short Form questionnaire. Mothers of preterm infants reported similar levels of appropriate and non-attuned mind-related comments to mothers of full-term infants. The reported parenting stress levels were also comparable. Interestingly, only mothers of preterm infants who reported higher stress in parenting showed more non-attuned comments during the interaction. The results underline the need to address preterm birth as a complex event, going beyond group differences and considering its interplay with other risk or protective factors in shaping children’s and parents’ adjustments and well-being.

The worldwide spread of a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) since December 2019 has posed a severe threat to individuals well-being. While the world at large is waiting that the released vaccines immunize most citizens, public health experts suggest that, in the meantime, it is only through behavior change that the spread of COVID-19 can be controlled. Importantly, the required behaviors are aimed not only at safeguarding one s own health. Instead, individuals are asked to adapt their behaviors to protect the community at large. This raises the question of which social concerns and moral principles make people willing to do so. We considered in 23 countries (N = 6948) individuals willingness to engage in prescribed and discretionary behaviors, as well as country-level and individual-level factors that might drive such behavioral intentions. Results from multilevel multiple regressions, with country as the nesting variable, showed that publicized number of infections were not significantly related to individual intentions to comply with the prescribed measures and intentions to engage in discretionary prosocial behaviors. Instead, psychological differences in terms of trust in government, citizens, and in particular toward science predicted individuals behavioral intentions across countries. The more people endorsed moral principles of fairness and care (vs. loyalty and authority), the more they were inclined to report trust in science, which, in turn, statistically predicted prescribed and discretionary behavioral intentions. Results have implications for the type of intervention and public communication strategies that should be most effective to induce the behavioral changes that are needed to control the COVID-19 outbreak.

Parents’ attachment representations and child–parent attachment have been shown to be associated, but these associations vary across populations (Verhage et al., 2016). The current study examined whether ecological factors may explain variability in the strength of intergenerational transmission of attachment, using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis. Analyses on 4,396 parent–child dyads (58 studies, child age 11–96 months) revealed a combined effect size of r =.29. IPD meta-analyses revealed that effect sizes for the transmission of autonomous-secure representations to secure attachments were weaker under risk conditions and weaker in adolescent parent–child dyads, whereas transmission was stronger for older children. Findings support the ecological constraints hypothesis on attachment transmission. Implications for attachment theory and the use of IPD meta-analysis are discussed.

Self-report questionnaires based on Harter’s response format (“Some kids . . . but other kids . . . ”) are commonly used in developmental and clinical research settings, but the reliability and validity of this format in middle childhood are still under debate. The current study aimed to test the psychometric proprieties of Harter versus Likert response formats as applied to two attachment questionnaires in a sample of 410 Italian children aged 8 to 10 years. Participants completed the Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised Child version (n = 102, 4-point Likert-type scale; n = 104, adapted Harter version) and the Security Scale (n = 95, Harter’s format; n = 109 adapted 4-point Likert version). Results of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the two response formats exhibited comparable reliability and factorial validity, although a slight superiority of Harter’s format emerged for the Security Scale. External validity was supported for both answer formats. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.

Contains fulltext : 202697.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is a common, heritable and evolutionarily conserved trait describing inter-individual differences in sensitivity to both negative and positive environments. Despite societal interest in SPS, scientific knowledge is lagging behind. Here, we critically discuss how SPS relates to other theories, how to measure SPS, whether SPS is a continuous vs categorical trait, its relation to other temperament and personality traits, the underlying aetiology and neurobiological mechanisms, and relations to both typical and atypical development, including mental and sensory disorders. Drawing on the diverse expertise of the authors, we set an agenda for future research to stimulate the field. We conclude that SPS increases risk for stress-related problems in response to negative environments, but also provides greater benefit from positive and supportive experiences. The field requires more reliable and objective assessment of SPS, and deeper understanding of its mechanisms to differentiate it from other traits. Future research needs to target prevention of adverse effects associated with SPS, and exploitation of its positive potential to improve well-being and mental health.

Granulocytes isolated by counterflow centrifugation elutriation (CCE) were compared with those isolated by dextran sedimentation, centrifugation with Ficoll-Hypaque, and lysis of residual red cells (SFWL). They were also compared with granulocytes isolated on discontinuous density gradients using two densities Ficoll-Hypaque (DFDG). The cells were stored at 4 C for 72 hours and aliquots measured for phagocytic indices (particle ingestion), membrane integrity (fluorescein-diacetate-ethidium bromide) volume (electronic sizing) and membrane function (superoxide anion). CCE and SFWL prepared granulocytes were more stable than DFDG cells, The SFWL method is preferred over CCE because of its simplicity and the high quality and purity of the isolated granulocytes.

Granulocytes isolated by counterflow centrifugation eluriation (CCE) from leukapheresed dog blood, frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196 C, were studied. The effects of long term cryopreservation on cell recovery and in vitro function were determined. In eight separate experiments, an average of 1.7 x 10 to the 9th power granulocytes were obtained. The white cell differential count was 91% granulocytes and 9% mononuclear cells. There was less than 5% red cells present and no platelets. The granulocytes were placed in Hemoflex bags and mixed slowly with equal volumes of sterile ice-cold hyperosmolar cryoprotectant buffer to make a final composition of 5% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 6% hydroxyethylstarch (HES) and 4% bovine serum albumin (BSA), pH 7.1. A total volume of forty ml was frozen at a cooling rate of 4 C per minute by storage in a mechanical freezer at -80 C. After storage periods of 1, 34, 60, 90 and 132 weeks in liquid nitrogen at -196 C, a bag was thawed at a rate of 190 degrees per minute to 10 C. The recovery of cells at these periods was 95%, 105%, 100%, 100% and 88% respectively and the ethidium bromide exclusion, indicative of viable nuclei, was 91%, 81%, 94%, 89% respectively. Ingestion of opsonized Fluolite particles was measured and virtually all cells ingested particles but the number ingested was approximately one half that of prefreeze values. Thawed cells also demonstrated superoxide anion synthesis at rates approximating those in unfrozen granulocytes. These results indicate that dog granulocytes obtained by leukapheresis may be preserved in liquid nitrogen at 196 C with high cellular recovery and at least 50% phagocytic function. (Author)