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Giuseppe Santisi,1 Paola Magnano,2 Silvia Platania,1 Tiziana Ramaci2 1Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy; 2Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, “Kore” University of Enna, Enna, Italy Background: The phases of career building today bring out a more complex process than in previous decades. Starting from the literature review, the university-to-work transition is considered a very important step in the future career of the graduates, and it involves some psychological resources and requires specific abilities. Methods: Research has examined the psychological resources that students at the end of a degree course can use in the university-to-work transition. The aim of the study is to verify the relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity, and the mediational role of readiness and confidence on this relationship. A group of 438 students were assigned to complete a questionnaire in order to examine the relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity and the role of core components of psychological resources: readiness and confidence as mediator. Results: The results indicated both a direct relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity and a mediated relationship with the influence of readiness and confidence for a transition. Adding to our results, we assert that academic satisfaction has a directed effect on confidence during the transition and is a predictor of career identity, both directly and by the mediation of readiness in career transitions. Conclusion: Career identity has implication for exploratory behavior, thus increasing the motivation and mindfulness that create a virtuous circle, influencing the development of knowledge and skills, which are the base of proactivity and confidence in construction of one’s future career. Keywords: career, transition, identity, satisfaction, resources

Tiziana Ramaci,1 Monica Pellerone,1 Caterina Ledda,2 Venerando Rapisarda2 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy; 2Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy Background: Job insecurity resulting from new types of employment contracts, together with organizational dynamics such as restructuring and internationalization, is emerging as an important source of organizational and individual stress, often transforming the workplace into a hostile and, above all, extremely demanding context from a psychological point of view.Materials and methods: The aim of this study was to identify the possible relationships between individual and organizational dimensions of work (such as engagement, autonomy, personal and collective efficacy at work, and satisfaction) and their impact on stress levels. The survey involved 120 Italian workers: 72 females (60%) and 48 males (40%), with a mean age of 41.8 years ±7.31 years. The groups of participants were selected on the basis of employment contract type (traditional or atypical) to emphasize potential differences. The study was conducted using a set of self-administered questionnaires, including the Psychological Stress Measure and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.Results: The data show that personal and collective efficacy at work correlates negatively with stress, which in turn correlates negatively with engagement and satisfaction. The results support the hypothesis that job insecurity could be considered a strong predictor of poor health.Conclusion: The study should be considered as a preliminary assessment prior to studies of broader interventions to increase quality of life. Keywords: well-being, workers, stress, efficacy, satisfaction, autonomy, organizational process

Tiziana Ramaci,1 Monica Pellerone,1 Caterina Ledda,2 Giovambattista Presti,1 Valeria Squatrito,1 Venerando Rapisarda2 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, “Kore” University of Enna, Enna, 2Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy Background: Gender beliefs represent cultural schemas for interpreting or making sense of the social and employment world, as they can influence attitudes, career aspirations, and the vocational decision process of young people, especially the adolescence.Materials and methods: This study examined the influence of gender stereotypes on the choice of career in adolescents. A group of 120 students were recruited to complete an ad hoc questionnaire, Scale of Perceived Occupational Self-Efficacy, and Semantic Differentials. The objectives of the study were to analyze the relationship between occupational self-efficacy and professional preference; to measure the influence of independent variables, such as age and gender, on the representation that students have of themselves and of the profession; and to identify the predictor variables of self-efficacy in the vocational decision.Results: Data showed that the distance between professional identity and social identity increases with age. Results underline that males seem to perceive themselves more self-efficient in military, scientific–technological, and agrarian professions than females. Furthermore, the type of job performed by parents appears to be a self-efficacy predictor variable in the choice of professions in the services area.Conclusion: Individuals’ perceived occupational self-efficacy, gender, age, and parents’ profession have implications for exploratory behavior. The conditions that make gender differences salient are more likely to favor self-representations of the career and consistent assessments with these representations. Keywords: adolescent, gender stereotypes, occupational choice

Monica Pellerone,1 Tiziana Ramaci,1 Santa Parrello,2 Paola Guariglia,1 Flavio Giaimo1 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, “Kore” University of Enna, Enna, 2Department of Humanities Studies, “Federico II” University of Naples, Napoli, Italy Background: Family functioning plays an important role in developing and maintaining dysfunctional behaviors, especially during adolescence. The lack of indicators of family functioning, as determinants of personal and interpersonal problems, represents an obstacle to the activities aimed at developing preventive and intervention strategies. The Process Model of Family Functioning provides a conceptual framework organizing and integrating various concepts into a comprehensive family assessment; this model underlines that through the process of task accomplishment, each family meets objectives central to its life as a group. The Family Assessment Measure Third Edition (FAM III), based on the Process Model of Family Functioning, is among the most frequently used self-report instruments to measure family functioning. Materials and methods: The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Family Assessment Measure Third Edition – Short Version (Brief FAM-III). It consists of three modules: General Scale, which evaluates the family as a system; Dyadic Relationships Scale, which examines how each family member perceives his/her relationship with another member; and Self-Rating Scale, which indicates how each family member is perceived within the nucleus. The developed Brief FAM-III together with the Family Assessment Device were administered to 484 subjects, members of 162 Italian families, formed of 162 fathers aged between 35 and 73 years; 162 mothers aged between 34 and 69 years; and 160 children aged between 12 and 35 years. Correlation, paired-sample t-test, and reliability analyses were carried out. Results: General item analysis shows good indices of reliability with Cronbach’s α coefficients equal to 0.96. The Brief FAM-III has satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α equal to 0.90 for General Scale, 0.94 for Dyadic Relationships Scale, and 0.88 for the Self-Rating Scale. Conclusion: The Brief FAM-III can be a psychometrically reliable and valid measure for the assessment of family strengths and weaknesses within Italian contexts. The instrument can be used to obtain an overall idea of family functioning, for the purposes of preliminary screening, and for monitoring family functioning over time or during treatment. Keywords: family assessment, psychometric properties, Italian validation, family strengths, family weaknesses