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Introduction Psychosocial risks increase the levels of not-integrated/ambivalent and restricted/disengaged representations during pregnancy, but no study has specifically analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal representation styles. Objectives (1) to compare maternal representation styles in primiparous women who became pregnant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to analyse the content of representation styles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 37 Italian pregnant women were recruited from 2019 to 2021. The sample was divided into two groups: the pre-COVID-19 group (22 women, mean age = 33.14 years; SD = 3.78) and the COVID-19 group (15 women, mean age = 35.9 years; SD = 4.6). Interviews on maternal representations during pregnancy were administered and analysed for style and content. Results: Women during the COVID-19 pandemic reported more restricted/disengaged and less integrated/balanced representation styles than women pre-COVID-19. Content analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic led women to focus more on concrete aspects of pregnancy in lieu of emotional aspects, thus leading them to develop more restricted/disengaged representation styles. Conclusions for practice In future pandemics pregnant women should be supported in focusing their attention to emotions, sensations and fantasies about themselves as mothers and their children.

The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown represent risk factors for the mental health of pregnant women. We explored the impact of COVID-19 restriction policies on psychological health, analysing the predictive role of social support on maternal wellbeing. A total of 212 pregnant women recruited from two public hospitals in Italy were divided into two groups: (a) a pre-COVID-19 group composed of 141 expectant women (mean age = 34.6; SD = 4.3) at their third trimester before the national lockdown period; (b) a COVID-19 group composed of 71 pregnant women (mean age = 33.3; SD = 4.5) at their third trimester during the COVID-19 national lockdown. Participants completed two self-report questionnaires: the Profile of Mood States and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Moreover, the COVID-19 group was asked to respond to an open question concerning worries about their pregnancies and COVID-19. Results showed that pregnant women during COVID-19 presented higher anxiety, depression and hostility, and lower vigour, than the pre-COVID-19 group. The main concerns were related to the effect of hospital restriction policies on childbirth and fears of contracting COVID-19. Perceived partner social support represented a protective factor only for the pre-COVID-19 women. Limitations, strengths, and theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Literature has shown that hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancy tend to develop anxious and depressive symptoms. Research has used quantitative or qualitative methods. By integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study aims to analyze: a) the level of depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety in a group of women hospitalized with high-risk pregnancy (hospitalized high-risk) compared with a group of non-hospitalized women with low-risk pregnancy; b) the content of hospitalization-related emotions in a high-risk group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 hospitalized high-risk pregnant women and 32 women with low-risk pregnancy. Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Anxiety), and Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire. The hospitalized high-risk group also completed open-ended questions about emotions experienced during hospitalization. Univariate Analysis of Covariance showed that the hospitalized high-risk group reported higher general anxiety and depression than the low-risk pregnancy group. Low-risk group reported higher level of concerns about own appearance than high-risk group. Narratives showed that the anxious and depressive symptoms of hospitalized women are related to the loneliness of being away from family. Despite attempts to understand hospitalization, they express concerns about pregnancy. Psychological support for hospitalized pregnant women should be provided to facilitate the communication of emotions that leads women to elaborate the experience of hospitalization to better adapt and cope with the critical condition.

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between the experience of childbirth as a traumatic event and the quality of postnatal attachment to child, analyzing the role of depressive symptomatology on this relationship. A sample of 103 women, aged from 26 to 46 years (M = 35.05, SD = 4.51) filled in questionnaires to assess postpartum stress symptoms related to the childbirth experience, postnatal attachment toward their newborns, and level of depressive symptomatology. A mediation analysis was carried out. The level of postpartum stress symptoms positively affects maternal depressive symptomatology and negatively affects the quality of postnatal attachment. Moreover, the relationship between a traumatic childbirth experience and postnatal attachment is both direct and indirect. In fact, a traumatic childbirth experience also affects the level of postnatal depression that, in turn, negatively affects the quality of postnatal attachment bond. The presence of postpartum distress symptoms affects the well-being of mothers, and these conditions interfere with the ability of women to develop good attachment bonds with their children. These results showed the relevance of paying attention to pregnant women, to help them to live childbirth in a positive and non-stressful way.

To investigate how prenatal symptoms of anxiety and depression and clinical aspects of labor (duration of labor, administration of oxytocin and epidural analgesia) interact with each other to contribute to symptoms of postpartum depression in women who give birth vaginally.A longitudinal design with measurement at three different time points: Time 1, 31 to 32 weeks gestation; Time 2, the day of labor and birth; and Time 3, 1 month after birth.Maternity ward of the Misericordia e Dolce Hospital in Prato, Italy.A total of 186 women at 31 to 32 weeks gestation were recruited during childbirth preparation courses at the maternity ward.At Time 1, women completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the State portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. At Time 2, midwives recorded clinical data related to labor, including duration of labor and administration of oxytocin and epidural analgesia. At Time 3, the women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Structural equation modeling was performed.Symptoms of depression (β = 0.36; p .001; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.17, 0.49]) and state anxiety (β = 0.25; p .001; 95% CI = [0.04, 0.27]) during pregnancy positively affected symptoms of depression after birth. Greater levels of these prenatal symptoms predicted a more complicated labor (depression: β = 0.29; p .01; 95% CI [0.00, 0.19]; anxiety: β = 0.30; p .01; 95% CI [0.01, 0.14]), which, in turn, positively predicted greater levels of symptoms of depression at 1 month after birth (β = 0.34; p .001; 95% CI [0.38, 1.51]). Moreover, results highlighted indirect effects that high levels of anxiety symptoms during pregnancy have on postpartum symptoms of depression through the clinical aspects of labor (β = 0.10; p .01; 95% CI [0.00, 0.13]). These indirect effects were not significant for antenatal symptoms of depression (β = 0.10; p .05; 95% CI [-0.02, 0.20]).Our findings confirm that symptoms of anxiety and depression during pregnancy represent significant risk factors for the clinical aspects of labor and for the development of symptoms of postpartum depression in the first month after childbirth.

Background The COVID-19 social restrictions have increased the risk for depression compared to the previous period in Italian women with Low-Risk Pregnancy (LRP). lLess is known about the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on High-Risk Pregnancy (HRP). This study aimed: 1) to explore levels of depression in women who become pregnant before and during COVID-19 pandemic, distinguishing between LRP and HRP; 2) to analyze the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on pregnancy experience in LRP and HRP. Methods A before-during COVID-19 pandemic cross-sectional study was carried out on 155 pregnant women (Mean age = 34.18), between 23 and 32 weeks of gestation. 77 women were recruited before COVID-19 pandemic (51.9% LRP; 48.1% HRP) and 78 women were recruited during COVID-19 pandemic (51.3% LRP; 48.7% HRP). HRP group was enrolled during hospitalization for high-risk pregnancy. Participants filled out Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Moreover, only COVID-19 group answered an open-ended question about the impact of restriction on pregnancy experience. Results HRP women reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than LRP. No difference emerged for COVID (before/during) but an interaction effect between COVID-19 and obstetric condition was found. The qualitative results showed the impact of restrictions on emotions and concerns. Conclusion Respect to the previous period, LRP women during COVID-19 presented an increased risk for depressive symptoms than HRP. The HRP women during COVID-19 seemed to use hospitalization as a resource to find a social support network with other pregnant women and to be reassured on the clinical ongoing of pregnancy.

Objective: Lombardy was the most affected Italian region by COVID-19. To limit the spread of infection, the government issued a national social lockdown. The obstetrical-gynaecological emergencies and essential services were guaranteed to protect pregnant women's health, and a return to a medicalised childbirth was necessary. This situation could had amplified risk factors on the psychological wellbeing of mothers-to-be. Indeed, the last trimester of pregnancy is a period of increased vulnerability itself.Method: For better support women who experience pregnancy during social lockdown, we explored the impact of COVID-19 on psychic wellbeing of two samples of pregnant women (40 living in Lombardy and 35 in Tuscany).Results: T-test and correlations analyses revealed that women living in the Lombardy had a higher perception of the centrality of COVID-19. Further, women that considered the pandemic as a significant event, experienced a higher perinatal depressive symptom. Those symptoms also arose in women who presented a higher number of intrusion and hyperarousal symptoms and a lower ability to plan.Conclusion: Pregnant women should be closely monitored and supported, especially those who live in high-risk areas, such as Lombardy Region. The target intervention could be focused on improving resilience to reduce depressive symptomatology.

Given the high prevalence of gambling among adolescents, the main purpose of the present study was to develop a gambling primary intervention program for students through the training of teachers a...

In the Italian context, parental bonding has great relevance in promoting satisfaction of emerging adults’ psychological needs, impacting their wellbeing, also in terms of interpersonal sensitivity. Aims: to analyse, in 497 emerging adults: the direct influence of maternal and paternal bonding on young interpersonal sensitivity and life satisfaction; indirect influence, mediated by the influence of the parents–offspring relationship on the need for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. SEM analysis showed that parental bonding characterized by high warmth and low over-protection could help satisfaction of all three needs; only paternal bonding is directly and positively related with life satisfaction and negatively with interpersonal sensitivity; satisfaction of needs could significantly improve life satisfaction. Implications are discussed in the article.

Introduction: Miscarriage is a stressful life event with negative consequences that can last into the subsequent gestation, increasing women’s risk for psychological symptoms. Less clear in literat...

The aims of the present study were to investigate whether twins and siblings close in age (1) present a normative pattern in the achievement of residential, working, and economic autonomy (the older sibling assumes a more adult role earlier than the younger, or twins assume an adult role at the same time); (2) differ in sibling relationship quality; and whether the normativity is linked (3) to the quality of sibling relationship and (4) to life satisfaction. A cross-sectional study on 145 emerging adults was conducted. Twins present a normative development pattern more frequently and a warmer sibling relationship than non-twin siblings. A normative development pattern is related to sibling relationships but not to the level of life satisfaction. In particular, normativity in residential conditions is linked with warmer sibling relationships, while nonnormativity in economic conditions is linked to more rivalrous relationships. These data support the assumption that during emerging adulthood a normative development pattern is linked to a more positive sibling relationship.

The topic of lactation following cancer diagnosis will become increasingly more current. Although oncological research confirms that breastfeeding after cancer might be possible, there is a lack of guidelines and a good recommendation for oncological women. In the absence of specific recommendations, women with past cancer may be at higher risk for psychological distress related to breastfeeding. The objective of this article was to analyse the experience of breastfeeding in new mothers with a history of cancer compared to women without a cancer diagnosis. First, we explored the impact of the cancer diagnosis on the breastfeeding choice. Second, we evaluated the relationship between different feeding methods and the mother’s mood states in women with and without a history of cancer. The sample was composed of 74 mothers divided into two groups: 34 with a cancer history (clinical sample) and 40 without a cancer diagnosis (control group). Participants were requested to complete a questionnaire three months after childbirth which assessed: socio-demographic and clinical data, feeding modes (breastfeeding, formula and mixed feeding) and the profile of mood states (POMS). Results showed that women in the clinical group breastfeed significantly less and use formula more than those in the control group. Moreover, in the clinical group, women who breastfeed feel reported higher levels of confusion (according to POMS) than mothers who bottle-feed or use a mixed feeding method. On the contrary, in the control sample, women who breastfeed feel significantly more vigorous than puerperae who bottle-feed or use mixed methods according to POMS. Our findings suggest the need for a specific warm chain of support and the development of guidelines with clear and specific information for women with a cancer diagnosis in order to reduce their confusion around breastfeeding.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between three types of maternal attachment bonds: anxious romantic, avoidant romantic and prenatal. The moderating role of perceived social support is also analysed. Ninety-one pregnant women in or near their thirtieth week of gestation (M = 29.59; SD = 4.57) were recruited, all of whom completed a series of questionnaires to assess the quality of their romantic and prenatal attachment bonds and their levels of perceived social support. The results reveal that both anxious and avoidant romantic attachments were significantly associated with low levels of maternal prenatal attachment. Moreover, the level of social support perceived during pregnancy moderated the relationship between anxious and prenatal attachments but had no effect on avoidant romantic and prenatal attachments. Our discussion of these findings considers the emotional and behavioural characteristics of various forms of insecure romantic attachments. Overall, the data highlight the relevance of the quality of intimate close relationships on maternity experiences and women's caregiving abilities.

The transition toward adulthood in Italy lasts longer than in other countries with respect to living with the family of origin, starting work, and gaining economic independence. This study aimed to...

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

The aim of this study was to explore whether the sibling condition (having a sibling) and sibling relationship quality affect prosocial behaviors and best friend relationship quality, deepening the mediating role of prosocial behaviors on the relationship between sibling relationship quality and best friend relationship quality. A sample of 310 children (161 males and 149 females) aged 8 to 11 years ( M = 9.50, SD = 0.66) completed a battery of questionnaires. Results revealed that the sibling condition did not affect prosocial behaviors and best friend relationship quality. However, the quality of sibling relationships positively affected prosocial behaviors, which in turn positively influenced best friend relationship quality, supporting the mediator hypothesis. Limitations, strengths, and further development of the present study are discussed.

The quality of the mother-child attachment bond is a relevant factor for the psychosocial well-being of a child. However, some variables could affect this relationship, such as a perceived traumatic childbirth experience. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of the childbirth experience on the relationship between prenatal and postnatal attachment. A predictive study was conducted on 105 pregnant women aged 26 to 44 years. The data was collected at two different times: at week 31–32 of gestation (T1) and three months after childbirth (T2). The quality of maternal prenatal attachment has a significant and direct effect on postnatal mother-child attachment. Moreover, the quality of prenatal attachment represents a protective factor for the quality of childbirth experience, promoting a higher quality of postnatal attachment bond. Our results highlight the importance of supporting women throughout the perinatal period, starting from pregnancy to after childbirth.

Postpartum depression is a common and complex phenomenon that can cause relevant negative outcomes for children, women and families. The existing literature highlights a wide range of risk factors. The main focus of this paper is to jointly investigate different types of risk factors (socio-demographical, psychopathological, relational, and related to labor and birth experience) in post-partum depression onset in women during first-child pregnancy identifying which of these are the most important predictors. A cohort longitudinal study was conducted on 161 Italian nulliparous low risk women (Mage = 31.63; SD = 4.88) without elective cesarean. Data was collected at three different times: Socio-demographical, prenatal anxiety and depression, and quality of close relationship network (with mother, father and partner, and the prenatal attachment to child) were assessed at T1 (week 31-32 of gestation); clinical data on labor and childbirth (mode and typology of delivery, duration of labor, duration of eventual administration of epidural analgesia, and child’s APGAR index at birth) were registered at T2 (the day of childbirth); and the degree of post-natal depression symptomatology was measured at T3 (one month after birth). Postpartum depression is associated with several risk factors (woman’s age, woman’s prenatal psychopathological characteristics, the level of prenatal attachment to child, the quality of romantic relationship, and some clinical delivery difficulties). However, overall, the level of prenatal attachment to child was the most important predictor of post-partum depression. These findings emphasize the very important role of prenatal attachment for the onset of postpartum depression and the need to promote adequate and targeted prevention interventions. Limitations, strengths, and theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Objective: The present work aimed to evaluate: (a) the psychometric properties of the Centrality of Event Scale in Italian primiparous and multiparous women; (b) individual differences in those dem...

Most research investigating relationships during emerging adulthood has focused on the quality of friendships and romantic relationships while devoting little attention to family relationships. The present study considered the quality of attachment to both parents in a sample of 253 emerging adults, aged 20–31 ( M = 24.32; SD = 2.22), examining how these could influence the quality of sibling relationships and analyzing the link of these family relationships with the level of life satisfaction. Results showed that the attachment to both the mother and the father was linked to the quality of sibling relationships. Moreover, parental attachment to both parents and sibling relationships affected the level of perceived life satisfaction during emerging adulthood. Limitations, strengths, and theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Road traffic injuries represent a serious public health problem and are one of leading cause of death, injury and disability around the world. Road accidents are often caused by an accumulation of factors; however, drivers appear to be by far the most decisive one. The driver's behaviour is complex and depends on reflex (or involuntary) and voluntary driving actions. The first class of actions (reflex actions) are typical human reactions that remain inaccessible to awareness and refer to the direct interaction between the road user and the characteristics of the road and its surrounding environment. Conversely, voluntary actions are conscious behaviours adopted on the basis of planned decisions. Both types of driving actions act simultaneously and the interaction between them and their relative effects on road safety are an aspect not yet well examined. The main objective of this study was to provide, by means of a driving simulation experiment, an insight on this interaction by evaluating the influence of some psychological characteristics on the effectiveness of different types of traffic calming measures at pedestrian crossings, designed according to the Human Factors principles. Fifty-eight participants drove a virtual urban route while data on their performance, as they approached five configurations of pedestrian crossings equipped with different physical and perceptual treatments, were collected. The participants were preliminarily characterized by means of two psychological questionnaires, which allowed the identification of three distinct groups of drivers belonging to three risk profiles (careful, worried, and at risk). The three groups of drivers reacted differently to the proposed engineering treatments, confirming the clustering identified by the preliminary analysis. The results showed that the proposed traffic calming measures are effective on all psychological sub-groups of drivers, with different effectiveness. These first results support that, in the considered driving environment (pedestrian crossings), the Human Factors approach, with which traffic calming measures can be arranged, could be effective, even if different psychological sub-groups are differently affected.

Background Epidemiological studies worldwide indicate that teenagers are at risk of internalizing and externalizing problems that persist into adulthood. In our country, there are few epidemiological studies on adolescents internalizing and externalizing problems. These studies, however, were not conducted in all of Italy. The aim of this study, promoted by the Italian Society of Paediatrician (SIP), was to investigate: a) the lifestyle and the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems in Italian teenagers and b) the risk and protective factors in family and social contexts. A further aim was to analyse gender differences in the above-mentioned variables. Methods 11,527 adolescents aged 13 to 21 years were recruited among students of Italian high schools. Participants were contacted by school authorities inviting them to participate in an internet survey on youth health and lifestyle. If they agreed to participate, the adolescents filled out an on-line anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of 60 multiple choice items to investigate nutrition, body perception and lifestyle, internet exposure and sexual behaviour, externalizing and internalizing problems, family context and social context. Participation in the study was completely voluntary. The statistical significance of gender differences was tested by means of Chi-square analyses. Results displayed that Italian female adolescents are at risk of internalizing problems while males are at higher risk of externalizing problems. Moreover, several risk factors emerged from the family context in terms of violence, physical and psychological abuse. Conclusions It is critical to make paediatricians and schools aware of the main points to improve prevention and healthcare in the teenage population. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the Italian context to enrol more than 11,000 adolescents.

Maternal symptomatology during pregnancy represents a significant risk factor for women and children. The main focus of this paper is to jointly investigate the role of maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy on the well-being of the newborn, through their influences on the clinical aspects of labour. A longitudinal study was conducted on 167 pregnant women (M

The present study aimed to provide a contribution to the study of a rare disease, amyloid light-chain (AL) cardiac amyloidosis, which is the most common type of systemic amyloidosis. In AL amyloidosis prognosis is determined by cardiac involvement. Although the association between psychological distress (e.g. anxiety and depression) and AL cardiac amyloidosis is documented, very little is known about the psychosocial variables that may mediate the association.The aim of the study is therefore to examine the potential mediating role of life satisfaction in the relationship between cardiac symptom severity (independent variable) and anxious and depressive symptoms (dependent variables) in AL patients.Forty-three AL amyloidosis patients (57.1% males) with cardiac amyloidosis were administered the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Centre for Epidemiological Study-Depression Scale. Clinical variables such as months since cardiac symptom onset and cardiac symptom severity were collected.Findings showed significant relationships between symptom severity and psychological disorders (e.g. anxiety and depression) and these were mediated by life satisfaction.Overall, findings highlight the importance of subjective well-being (e.g. life satisfaction) to reduce anxious and depressive symptoms and to improve general health in AL patients.

The present study examined the contribution of impulsiveness and aggressive and negative emotional driving to the prediction of traffic violations and accidents taking into account potential mediation effects. Three hundred and four young drivers completed self-report measures assessing impulsiveness, aggressive and negative emotional driving, driving violations, and accidents. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of impulsiveness on violations and accidents among young drivers through aggressive and negative emotional driving. Impulsiveness only indirectly influenced drivers' violations on the road via both the behavioral and emotional states of the driver. On the contrary, impulsiveness was neither directly nor indirectly associated with traffic accidents. Therefore, impulsiveness modulates young drivers' behavioral and emotional states while driving, which in turn influences risky driving.

Personal narratives tell the stories of people’s lives as well as provide insight into the meaning of those experiences. These narratives both reflect and are influenced by the relationships within which an individual is embedded. In this study, autobiographical narratives for two groups of women were compared: women who had experienced habitual gender-based domestic violence in their couple relationships and women who had not. The language of narratives was analyzed by LIWC (Language Inquiry and Word Count procedure). Results showed that the language and structure of narratives by women with a history of domestic violence indicated greater stress and trauma, more incoherent space-time organization, and poorer relationship quality. Women who experienced violence wrote longer narratives that contained proportionately more negative emotion words and more references to cognitions and physical/body issues, and indicated more disorganized structure by means of incoherent use of verbal tense, more impoverished use of connectives, and greater use of negative sentence syntax and discrepancy words. They also included proportionately more pronoun references to ‘I’,‘You’,’ and ‘He’, indicating self vs. partner conflictual relationships. However, women who had experienced relationship violence for longer decreased their references to the emotions of fear and anxiety, suggesting adaptation to violence over time.

Although grandparents can play a crucial role in the lives of their grandchildren in terms of education, only recently has grandparenthood been a topic in international literature. Studies have suggested that the extent of grandparental investment is influenced by age, gender and paternal/maternal side. Purpose: 1)explore grandparents’ perception of their relation with grandchildren; 2)investigate whether grandparent's gender, age and maternal/paternal side have influenced grandparents’ perception. Methods: A 26 item self-report questionnaire was administered to 373 Italian grandparents (153 male) age ranging between 53 and 88 years of age. The questionnaire aimed to investigate attitudes and feelings towards grandchild, shared activities, and viewpoint on their children's parenting style. Results displayed that grandmothers shared activities with their grandchildren more than grandfathers (p

The present study aims to assess adolescents' expectations of the future after bone cancer treatment and to investigate in greater depth the relationship between expectations of the future, resilience and coping strategies. Thirty-two adolescents with cancer experience (11-20 years old), who had a complete first remission at least 1 month after the end of successful treatment, were requested to respond to the Expectations for Future Scale, the Ego-Resiliency Scale and Coping Strategy Indicators. Forty-eight gender- and age-matched control adolescents were randomly selected from a normative sample (NORMs). Adolescents with cancer experience had more optimistic expectations of the future and were less open to experience compared to NORMs. They had lower global ego-resiliency, higher impulse control and tended to use more avoidance strategies than NORMs. In adolescents with cancer experience, expectations of the future were negatively related to global ego-resiliency and positively related to impulse control and avoidance. Expectations of the future were positively correlated with global ego-resiliency and openness to new experience and negatively correlated with impulse control in NORMs. Patients' positive expectations of the future may relate to positive adjustment to cancer events; however, they could also express unrealistic optimism.

Obiettivo. Analizzare le rappresentazioni materne in un campione di donne in gravidanza tramite fecondazione assistita. Nello specifico si intende analizzare: 1) il contenuto dell'esperienza della gravidanza e dell'essere madre e 2) lo stile delle rappresentazioni materne relative a sé e al bambino. Metodologia. Campione: 20 donne italiane di etŕ compresa tra i 28 e i 42 anni (etŕ media 35; d.s. 4) in attesa del primo figlio. Strumento: Intervista per le Rappresentazioni Materne in Gravidanza (Ammaniti et al., 1995). Risultati. Il tema dell'infertilitŕ emerge con forza dalle interviste; il modo in cui č avvenuta la fecondazione influenza l'esperienza della gravidanza che viene vissuta in maniera piů concreta e meno affettiva. Inoltre, soprattutto se la gravidanza č stata a forte rischio medico, le donne hanno maggiore difficoltŕ a lasciarsi andare alla gravidanza e tendono ad usare meccanismi di difesa volti a mantenere il controllo su di sé.

The present study examined peer attachment (friend attachment and romantic attachment) as potential mediator in the relationship between parental attachment (attachment to mother and father) and life satisfaction in emerging adulthood. The sample comprised 385 Italian emerging-adults aged from 18 to 25 years. The technique of structural equation modeling was applied to investigate the hypothesized model. Results indicated that both parental and peer attachment were positively related to life satisfaction, with romantic attachment being the stronger unique predictor. Further, only romantic attachment wholly mediates the association between attachment to mother and life satisfaction. Findings are reviewed in relation to past research and implications for professional practice are discussed.

Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems represent a significant health concern. Few empirical researches focused on understanding the interrelationships and links between the parental bond, drinking motives, and alcohol use during adolescence.The present study examined the relationships between a supportive parental bond, drinking motives, and alcohol use, with a focus on the role of mediation.The sample comprised 298 adolescents, aged from 16 to 20 years. The technique of structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of the parental bond on alcohol use among adolescents through motives for drinking.The relationship between the parental bond and frequency of alcohol use by adolescents was not mediated by any motives for drinking, neither for males nor females. Regarding the relationships between the parental bond and quantity of adolescent alcohol consumption, findings for females showed significant indirect effects of maternal bond on alcohol quantity, when coping, enhancement, and social drinking motives were entered as mediator variables. Rather, paternal bond did not predict drinking quantity, not even indirectly. On the contrary, results for males indicated that the parental bond was neither directly nor indirectly associated with adolescent alcohol use.Mothers are the relational fulcrum of the family, while fathers seem to maintain a more peripheral position. Gender differences are discussed on the basis of the different cultural and parental socialisation processes that operate for male and female adolescents.

The present study examined the relationships between a supportive parental bond, sensation seeking, and risky driving, with a focus on the role of mediation. The sample comprised 339 participants (143 males and 196 females), aged from 16 to 20 years, living in northern Italy. Mediation models were used to assess the direct and indirect effects of the parental bond on risky driving among adolescents through assessment of adolescents’ sensation seeking. These models were examined first for the total sample and subsequently for males and females separately. For the relationships between the parental bond and adolescent’s risky driving a partial mediation was supported for females as intensity and total sensation seeking score were entered as mediator variables. On the contrary, results for males indicated that the parental bond was neither directly nor indirectly associated with risky driving. Gender differences are discussed on the basis of the different cultural and parental socialisation processes that operate for male and female.

Amyloidosis is a rare disease group. AL amyloidosis represents the most common type of systemic amyloidosis and cardiac involvement determines prognosis. Although some studies have revealed that amyloidosis patients present high levels of depression, few data are available about depression-contributing factors. No investigations have been conducted about the coping strategies that AL amyloidosis patients use to face the disease and there is little research on patients with cardiac symptoms that are strongly related to the prognosis.to examine coping strategies (avoidance, social support seeking and problem-solving) as potential mediator in the relationship between cardiac symptom severity (independent variable) and depressive symptoms (dependent variable) in AL cardiologic patients.Thirty-four AL patients with cardiac-related symptoms were administered the Coping Strategy Indicator and the Centre for Epidemiological Study-Depression Scale. Clinical variables such as months since cardiac symptom onset and cardiac symptom severity were collected.According to questionnaire normative values, all patients presented clinical depression. Moreover, out of the coping strategies, avoidance and social support seeking mediated the link between cardiac symptom severity and depressive symptoms. No mediational effect was found for problem-solving.As cardiac symptoms have low severity, AL patients can avoid the disease. However, as cardiac symptoms proceed and interfere with daily activities, they can no longer ignore their signs thus perceiving the severity of their medical condition. This status makes individuals prone to seek less social support and thus to prefer social isolation. Results suggest the need for early psychological support on coping strategies for AL cardiologic patients.