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Parental beliefs are relevant to child development because they shape parenting behaviors and help to determine and regulate child cognitive and socioemotional growth. Here we investigated cross-cultural variation in Italian and U.S. mothers' parental beliefs about their social and didactic interactions with their young children. To compare parental beliefs, the Parental Style Questionnaire (PSQ) was administered to samples of 273 Italian mothers and 279 U.S. mothers of 20-month-olds (55% male). To conduct substantive cross-cultural comparisons of beliefs, the measurement invariance of the PSQ was first established by hierarchical multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. The PSQ was essentially invariant across cultures. Italian mothers reported that they engaged in both social and didactic behaviors with their young children less frequently than U.S. mothers. Results of our study confirm that mothers in different cultures differentially value parental stimulation and its relevance for early child development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Spatial construction is a complex ability involving attention, global/local visual processing, mental representation, visuo-motor coordination and, to varying extent, working memory and executive functions, and verbal abilities. In developmental neuropsychology, little attention has been paid to comprehend whether and to what extent the above cognitive processes are involved in two main spatial construction tasks, that is drawing and block building., Method: We used path analysis to test shared and specific effects of verbal and spatial working memory, spatial attention, inhibition, verbal abilities (vocabulary and naming), figure disembedding, mental rotation, and visual-motor coordination, as well as of demographics (sex, age and socio-economic status), on two classical drawing (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure; ROCF) and block building (Block design; BD) tasks in a sample of 195 typically developing children (age range: 7-11 years)., Results: Figure disembedding and visuo-motor coordination were the only shared predictors of both spatial construction tasks. Moreover, ROCF score was directly related with spatial attention and inhibition, while BD score was directly related with sex, vocabulary, mental rotation and backward spatial working memory., Discussion: These findings distinguish between abilities involved in spatial construction regardless of the type of task and those specifically related to ROCF or Block Design, thus providing clues relevant to neuropsychological assessment and intervention in children with spatial construction disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Zappullo, Senese, Trojano, Cecere and Conson.)

Following the well-researched two-dimensional model of attachment-system functioning, based on the concepts of hyperactivation and deactivation, a two-dimensional model of the power behavioral system has recently been proposed. The power system is aimed at activating, organizing, and implementing action patterns that protect or restore a sense of power or dominance. Here, we tested predictions derived from the two-dimensional model of power-system functioning regarding the contribution of a 'problematic' high-high pattern, characterized by the coexistence of both hyperactivating and deactivating strategies, to psychopathological symptoms. A non-clinical sample of Italian adults ( N = 385) completed the Power Behavioral System Scale together with self-report measures of anxiety and depression symptoms and difficulties in executive control. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher deactivation and hyperactivation scores, characteristic of the 'problematic' pattern, significantly predicted anxiety and depression symptoms as well as executive function difficulties. These results provide initial support for the pathogenic implications of the 'problematic' high-high pattern of power-system functioning., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. FundingThe author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Literature on the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional (ICU) traits has suggested different versions of the instrument for assessing these traits during development. However, consensus on the instrument version and the best factorial solution remains a matter of debate, with only a few studies having validated ICU versions from a longitudinal perspective. The current study aims to contribute to the literature by comparing ICU models in a longitudinal sample of early adolescents (N = 739; 70.6% of eligible subjects, 371 females and 368 males, in the 6th grade at baseline assessment and in the 8th grade at the second assessment). We tested the validity of various versions of the ICU scales and their respective dimensions by conducting a series of confirmatory factor analyses to verify the factor structure, alongside assessments of internal consistency. For the best-fitting structure, we then analyzed gender and longitudinal invariance in addition to construct and predictive validity, using internalizing and externalizing criteria as well as prosocial behavior. From the comparative analysis, it emerged that the abbreviated 11-item ICU scale version displayed overall better data fit than the full 24-item version. Moreover, its confirmed gender invariance underscores its applicability across genders within the studied age group. With regard to longitudinal invariance, our findings advise caution when comparing ICU scores across early adolescence. Practical implications are discussed., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Paranoia is the erroneous idea that people are targeting you for harm, and the cognitive model suggests that symptoms increase with emotional and relational distress. A factor potentially associated with paranoia is mistrust, a milder form of suspiciousness. This study investigated the longitudinal course of non-clinical paranoia in a sample of 739 students (age range 10-12 at baseline assessment, 12-14 at second assessment) using data from the Social Mistrust Scale (SMS) and the paranoia subscale of the Specific Psychotic Experiences Questionnaire (SPEQ). Prevalence of mistrustful and high paranoia children was 14.6 and 15% respectively. Independently, baseline internalizing symptoms (b = 0.241, p < 0.001) and mistrust (b = 0.240, p < 0.001) longitudinally predict paranoia after controlling for confounders. The interaction of mistrust and internalizing symptoms at T1 increases the possibility of the onset of paranoia at T2. Therefore, the effect of mistrust on paranoia is more marked when internalizing symptoms are higher. Our results confirm the role of mistrust as a factor involved in the developmental trajectory of paranoia in adolescence, enhanced by the presence of internalizing symptoms. The implications of these results are both theoretical and clinical, as they add developmental information to the cognitive model of paranoia and suggests the assessment and clinical management of mistrust and internalizing symptoms in youth may be useful with the aim of reducing the risk of psychotic experiences., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This paper aimed at investigating the relationship between HEXACO personality traits and academic performance in two samples of Italian 10-14 years old middle-school adolescents (N = 714 and N = 1093) using Multilevel Mixed Models. The main results show that: 1) Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience were the most important predictors of school performance, followed by Honesty-Humility; 2) a modest effect was present also for eXtraversion and Emotionality; 3) these influences occurred net of the influence of gender and class and could be generalized to male and female adolescents across 6 th , 7 th and 8 th grade; 5) Perfectionism, Diligence and Prudence within Conscientiousness, Inquisitiveness within Openness, and Sincerity within Honesty-Humility were the facets more correlated with school performance; 6) results were replicated in two studies. Results are discussed and conclusions are drawn., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Drawing on the framework of interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory), this special issue edited by Ronald P. Rohner, Sumbleen Ali, and Jennifer E. Lansford explores forgiveness and vengeance within the context of the Muslim world. Examination of the precursors of forgiveness and vengeance holds significance because vengeance typically correlates with adverse physical and psychological health outcomes. We suggest ways to advance research outlined in the special issue, such as assessing cross-cultural invariance and using diverse research designs. Moreover, increasing the diversity of socioeconomic status in studies conducted in the Muslim world and exploring hypotheses in high-income countries are necessary for contextually nuanced research. Overall, this special issue offers valuable insights into the dynamics of forgiveness and vengeance and highlights the role of culture and gender on psychological well-being across diverse contexts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments had to impose social isolation measures to safeguard the citizens' health. However, this could have affected psychological problems. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychological effects associated with social and emotional isolation during the acute phase of the COVID-19 in Italy. To this purpose, the degree of social isolation and loneliness and the presence of psychological problems (externalising and internalising) were investigated online in a sample of 395 young adults (18-30 years; 57% women). Results confirmed the relevant association between social isolation, loneliness and psychological problems, in both internalising and externalising dimensions. Particularly, loneliness showed the strongest association. Moreover, consistently with surveys conducted during the COVID-19-era, data highlighted that men were more vulnerable to social isolation and loneliness than women. These results underline the need for adequate interpersonal support during moments of isolation to prevent negative effects on psychological problems., (© 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Union of Psychological Science.)

In this cross-sectional study we aimed at: 1) validating the observer (Obs) version of HEXACO Medium School Inventory Extended (MSI-E); 2) establishing convergent and divergent construct validity of the HEXACO-MSI-E; 3) establishing criterion validity of HEXACO-MSI-E. We administered the HEXACO-MSI-E, the Big Five Questionnaire-Children (BFQ-C), the Internalizing and Externalizing scales of Youth Self Report (YSR), some items of the 2019 Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRB) and some items about adolescents' values, beliefs, behaviors, and desired features of a possible future job to 1175 adolescents (Mage = 12.03, SD = 0.89) and the observer version of these measures (except for BFQ-C) to 854 parents or legal guardians. The factorial structure and the reliability of the Observer Report of HEXACO-MSI-E were confirmed. Convergent and divergent validity were successfully established with a version of the inventory filled out by parents. Convergent and divergent validity were also established with BFQ-C notwithstanding some only apparent anomalies. Criterion validity was established with respect to four specific groups of criteria collected in both self-report and observer form. HEXACO-MSI-E traits were more predictive with respect to self-report than to observer criteria and the majority were common. Together with the positive results of this study, implications and issues for future studies are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Mottola et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The power behavioural system is a neurobehavioral system that motivates a person to acquire and control resources that are important for survival and reproductive success. When activated, its function is to protect or restore the sense of power, influence, or dominance. Repeated experiences of failure in achieving this goal may result in hyperactivation or deactivation of power-oriented behaviours (analogous to the secondary strategies observed with respect to the attachment behavioural system). Gaining a reliable and valid measure of hyperactivation and deactivation of the power system can be important for understanding an individual's responses to different social contexts and, in clinical settings, can help the therapist identify the client's difficulties that may undermine the therapeutic process. In the present study, we developed the Italian version of the Power Behavioural System Scale (PBSS), a self-report measure developed by Shaver et al. (2011) to assess individual differences in hyperactivation and deactivation of the power system. Results indicated an adequate fit to the expected two-factor model, and the measure proved to be reliable and had good convergent and structural validity, allowing the quantification of individual differences in power system hyperactivation and deactivation.

In this paper, we aimed at developing and validating a novel instrument to evaluate personality in 10-14 years old adolescents with six basic traits, with two dedicated studies. In Study 1, we generated a large pool of items (384 items) from three basic items sources, which we administered to 714 Italian adolescents. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and extension factor analysis, we selected the best eight items for each facet, and so the best 32 items for each factor, except for the Unconventionality facet of Openness to Experience (O) for which we selected the best six items. This resulted in a total of 190 items. The 190-item HEXACO-MSI had very good levels of dimensional validity and reliability, but it fell short in containing 8 items for each facet (i.e., for Unconventionality) and in balancing normal and reversed items within each facet. Therefore, in a second study we added items to the scale and verified again the dimensionality and reliability with the goal of developing a final version of the scale. In Study 2, we administered a version of the HEXACO-MSI consisting of 219 items to 1175 Italian adolescents. Using principal component analysis (PCA), we selected the best eight items for each facet equally balanced between normal and reversed items within each facet and factor. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the six-factor structure and its invariance. The results showed that the HEXACO-MSI-E had a clear six-factor structure in adolescents, that was invariant across gender and across the three middle school classes, and was reliable. Finally, we established temporal stability of each factor in two measurements after one year. Together with the positive results of this contribution, we discussed some aspects for future studies., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Gnisci et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The quality of the relationship between caregiver and child has long-term effects on the cognitive and socio-emotional development of children. A process involved in human parenting is the bio-behavioural synchrony that occurs between the partners in the relationship during interaction. Through interaction, bio-behavioural synchronicity allows the adaptation of the physiological systems of the parent to those of the child and promotes the positive development and modelling of the child's social brain. The role of bio-behavioural synchrony in building social bonds could be investigated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In this paper we have (a) highlighted the importance of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship for the child's cognitive and socio-emotional development, as well as the relevance of infantile stimuli in the activation of parenting behaviour; (b) discussed the tools used in the study of the neurophysiological substrates of the parental response; (c) proposed fNIRS as a particularly suitable tool for the study of parental responses; and (d) underlined the need for a multi-systemic psychobiological approach to understand the mechanisms that regulate caregiver-child interactions and their bio-behavioural synchrony. We propose to adopt a multi-system psychobiological approach to the study of parental behaviour and social interaction., (© 2022 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Inconsistent data are available on mental rotation performance in neurotypicals with high autistic-like traits. Here, we tested whether global-local visual processing abilities mediate the influence of specific autistic-like trait domains (social skill, attention switching, attention-to-detail, communication, and imagination) on mental rotation. Neurotypical participants (N = 128) underwent an assessment of autistic-like traits, a flanker task with hierarchical stimuli, and a mental rotation task. Path analysis showed that Reaction Times on the incongruent/local condition of the flanker task mediated the relationship between attention-to-detail and mental rotation accuracy. These findings indicate that a better capacity of ignoring incongruent global information to identify local information (reduced global interference) in persons with high non-social autistic-like traits, as attention-to-detail, facilitates mental rotation performance., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Parental rejection has been consistently empirically implicated in a wide array of developmental, behavioural and psychological problems worldwide. However, the interaction effect between parental rejection in childhood and the oxytocin receptor genotype on psychological adjustment has yet to be investigated. The present study aimed to investigate gene-environment interaction effects between parental rejection (maternal and paternal) and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene polymorphisms (rs53576 and rs2254298) on depressive symptoms in adults in different cultural contexts. Adults from Italy and Japan ( N = 133, age = 18-27 years, females = 68) were preliminarily genotyped and then completed the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for mothers and fathers and the Beck Depression Inventory. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that paternal rejection was related to self-reported depression and that the effect of parental rejection was moderated by OXTR gene polymorphisms and nationality. Among Italians, OXTR rs2254298 A-carriers showed resilience to negative early parental care, whereas among Japanese, OXTR rs53576 non-A-carriers showed resistance to negative early paternal care. These findings align with expected relations between perceived acceptance-rejection and an individual's psychological adjustment, as proposed by interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory, and indicate the need for future studies adopting a multicultural and multilevel approach to better understand how the effects of parental rejection extend into adulthood.

Recent data has revealed dissociations between social and non-social skills in both autistic and neurotypical populations. In the present study, we investigated whether specific visuospatial abilities, such as figure disembedding and mental rotation, are differently related to social and non-social autistic traits, in neurotypical women and men. University students (N = 426) completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), figure disembedding and mental rotation of two-dimensional figures tasks. AQ social skills (AQ-social) and attention-to-details (AQ-attention) subscales were used as measures of social and non-social autistic traits, respectively. Mental rotation was affected by a significant interaction between sex, social and non-social traits. When non-social traits were above the mean (+ 1 SD), no sex differences in mental rotation were found. Instead, below this value, sex differences depended on the social traits, with men on average outperforming women at middle-to-high social traits, and with a comparable performance, and with women on average outperforming men, at lower social traits. A small positive correlation between figure disembedding and social traits was observed in the overall sample. These results are interpreted in terms of the hyper-systemizing theory of autism and contribute to the evidence of individual differences in the cognitive style of autistic people and neurotypical people with autistic traits., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Cyclothymic-hypersensitive temperament (CHT) has been related to both depression and bipolarity, as well as to suicidality. Recently, a psychometrically sound way of assessment has been validated in youth (Cyclothymic-Hypersensitive Temperament Questionnaire, CHTQ), but data on clinical populations are still scant. Aim of our study is to further explore the structure and other psychometric properties of the revised version of CHTQ and its clinical implications in clinical samples., Methods: The study is based on a dataset of patients with unipolar depression, bipolar disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (243 patients, 135 males, mean age 14.22 ± 2.16 years, age range 9-18 years), compared to a community sample of adolescents (398 subjects, 95 boys, mean age 15.47 ± 1.96 years, age range 10-18 years) RESULTS: The two-correlated factor structure of CHT has been confirmed, with a moodiness/hypersensitiveness factor, correlated with internalizing symptoms, and an impulsiveness/emotional dysregulation factor, correlated with externalizing symptoms. All CHTQ scores correlate with global functioning. CHTQ total scores discriminate patients from healthy controls. Only CHTQ impulsiveness/emotional dysregulation subscale score is higher in bipolar patients, compared to unipolar depression and ADHD, whereas neither CHTQ moodiness/hypersensitiveness subscale score nor CHTQ total score discriminate between clinical groups., Limitation: Data on current mood states are unavailable. Patients were recruited in a third level clinic. The unipolar depression group is relatively small., Conclusion: CHT may be a rapid and reliable screening and diagnostic tool in the clinical practice with youth, exploring the cyclothymic dimension in different psychiatric disorders., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Early adolescence, with its several changes and demands, represents a delicate period of life. Several studies highlighted that during early adolescence, emotional and behavioral problems tend to increase. Using a person-centered approach, the present study explored the emotional and behavioral functioning profiles in a sample of Italian preadolescent students. Participants were 2959 youths (1533 males and 1426 females; age 10-14 years); they completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Inventory of Callous Unemotional traits (ICU). Findings revealed four different profiles: "no psychopathology" (41.5%), "low psychopathology with sub-threshold hyperactivity" (33%), "predominantly internalizing" (19%), and "predominantly externalizing" (6.5%). The two latter clusters are characterized by high levels of SDQ Total Score. The "predominantly internalizing" is distinguished by a higher prevalence of females, and the "predominantly externalizing" by a higher prevalence of males and higher CU traits. A person-oriented approach allowed for identifying subgroups of early adolescents who may significantly vary in their configuration of internalizing and externalizing problems. Such subgroups may reflect youths for whom the creation of prevention and intervention programs could be more tailored., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In youths, callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems (CP) are independently associated with bullying perpetration and these effects are also observed when controlling for sex. Moreover, research indicates that the co-existence of high levels of both CU and CP further increase the risk. Although several studies have examined the relationship between CU traits and traditional bullying, few have also included a measure of cyberbullying and very few of them have focused the early adolescence. The aim of this study was to replicate and extend these findings in a large sample of Italian early adolescents considering both traditional and cyberbullying behaviors. Data were extracted from the Bullying and Youth Mental Health Naples study (BYMHNS) which included 2959 students of 10-15 years of age. CP, CU traits, traditional bullying behaviors, and cyberbullying behaviors were assessed by multi-item self-report scales. As expected, we replicated the significant and specific association between CU traits and traditional bullying, extending the findings to cyberbullying. In addition, in the latter case the effect was moderated by CP. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results were discussed.

In recent literature, many researchers have highlighted that the feeling of loneliness can be considered a sign of relevant distress with short- and long-term consequences on the health of people who needs to be appropriately monitored and treated. In this view, the Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Loneliness Scale (IPARLS) has been developed to evaluate the subjective feelings and distress related to interpersonal loneliness and to overcome the limits of the previous scales; however, its psychometric characteristics have not yet been fully investigated. Starting from these considerations, two studies have been conducted. The first study, involving 688 adults (19-69 years; 51% females), assessed dimensionality, reliability, and validity of and tested the measurement invariance (MI) of the Italian version of the IPARLS. The second study, involving 205 adults (20-69 years; 51% females), investigated the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment. Results confirmed the unidimensionality of the scale and showed that it is reliable, valid, and fully invariant as a function of age and gender. Moreover, data showed a strong association between perceived loneliness and psychological adjustment. The IPARLS is confirmed to be a valid and reliable measure to investigate loneliness in the life cycle from clinical and research perspectives., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Senese, Nasti, Mottola, Sergi, Massaro and Gnisci.)

Phantom Phone Signal (PPS) refers to the false perception of a mobile phone ringing, vibrating and blinking, when in fact it did not. A recent literature about PPS is growing, parallel to an increasing interest about its possible psychopathological implications. The present review aims to synthesize the current knowledge about the phenomenon, and to present a conceptual framework that integrates PPS as a putative index of psychopathology. Furthermore, we propose possible directions for further research. The phenomenon seems highly prevalent, irrespective of age and gender, although estimates are still inconsistent. We have analysed possible factors associated to PPS, disentangling them in person-related (i.e. characteristics of individuals who experience PPS) and phone use-related factors (i.e., time spent using the phone, time of the mobile in vibrating mode, the carrying location of the device, average number of call/message in a day, etc). Literature regarding the association between PPS and mental illness is limited, as most of the samples are not clinical and too sectorial. Preliminary data suggest that anxiety/depression and stress-related problems seem to be the psychopathological background favouring the experience of PPS. Despite PPS is a common phenomenon, it usually do not seem to significantly impact the people's quality of life. However, they deserve attention, given the huge diffusion of phone mobiles, particularly in children and adolescents, as it may be an index for emotional or stress-related difficulties. Future studies are needed to better clarify its frequency and its possible impact on everyday life. Studies in clinical samples may further clarify its psychopathological implications.

Background: Several studies have shown that during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, emotional symptoms increased in the general population. Less is known about youths., Methods: We surveyed a sample of Italian adolescents during the strictest quarantine period and assessed the effects of socio-demographic and psychological factors on current emotional symptoms. A convenient sample of 326 adolescents (age range 14-19 years) participated in a web-based survey. We collected data on several socio-demographic and psychological variables (summarized into three indexes: environmental context, changes in lifestyle, and worries about infection) and psychopathological symptoms (previous psychopathological status, current anxiety and depressive symptoms)., Results: Descriptive analysis showed that adolescents have experienced quarantine under very different conditions; they reported 47.5 and 14.1% of anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Regression analyses indicated that previous psychopathological status and worries about infection are linked to anxiety and that female gender, previous psychopathological status (moderated by change in lifestyle), worse environmental context are linked to depression., Conclusion: This study indicates that, facing the COVID-19 pandemic and its related safety measures, adolescents show relevant emotional symptoms and therefore should be monitored, assessed and supported.

Several studies investigated the neuropsychological bases of spatial construction in developmental samples. However, no study directly tested whether the pattern of the neuropsychological processes implied in spatial construction changed depending on whether a block building or a figure drawing task is considered. Here, we used the path analysis to test the direct and indirect effects of verbal abilities (naming and verbal knowledge), executive functions, figure disembedding and mental rotation on two classical spatial construction tasks: the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) and the Block Design (BD). We recruited a sample of 186 typically developing children (age range: 7-12 years). Results showed that ROCF copying was directly influenced by age and figure disembedding, and it was indirectly affected by executive functions, naming and verbal knowledge, whereas BD was influenced in a direct way by verbal knowledge, figure disembedding and mental rotation and indirectly affected by executive functions and naming skills. Moreover, the results showed a full measurement invariance of the path model between sexes, whereas only partial invariance was found for age. Thus, we tested the model in two age groups (age ranges: 7-9.5 and 9.6-12 years) and found that the relationships between the variables of the model changed across development. Although other variables might be relevant to spatial construction, the present findings demonstrate different neuropsychological bases of drawing figures and building blocks in typically developing children.

Interoception and impulsivity are two multi-dimensional constructs and although the role of interoception in impulsiveness has been previously reported, it is not clear whether their different facets are related to each other. In the present study, we aimed at bridging this gap by investigating the relationships between interoception and impulsivity in the light of their multi-dimensional nature. To this aim, we conducted a cross-task comparison and assessed in the same sample of healthy participants, interoceptive accuracy, by the heartbeat perception task, interoceptive sensibility, by a self-reported measure, "hot" impulsivity, by a behavioural task of risk taking, and "cool" impulsivity, by a go/no-go task. Also, we assessed trait impulsivity by a self-report measure. We found that interoceptive sensibility contributed to "hot" impulsivity, while interoceptive accuracy was related to non-planning trait impulsivity. These findings underscore the need to investigate at a finer grain the relationships between these two complex, multi-dimensional constructs.

Drawing stimulus from interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory, this multicultural study examined relations between men's versus women's remembrances of maternal and paternal acceptance-rejection in childhood and their current level of loneliness, as mediated by adults' self-reported psychological maladjustment. Adults (N = 899) from five nations (Iraq, Italy, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and the United States) responded to the Adult version of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire-short form for mothers and fathers, the Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire-short form, and the Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Loneliness Scale. Adults' remembrances of maternal and paternal rejection in childhood significantly and independently predicted feelings of loneliness but remembered paternal rejection was more strongly related to these feelings than were remembrances of maternal rejection. Psychological maladjustment fully mediated the effect of remembered maternal rejection but only partially mediated the effect of remembered paternal rejection on loneliness. There were no significant differences in these results across the five countries or genders. Overall, the results suggest that adults' remembrances of parental rejection in childhood-along with the theoretically expected development of psychological maladjustment-are likely to be associated panculturally with the experience of loneliness in adulthood., (© 2019 International Union of Psychological Science.)

Background: Although a better understanding of the prodromes of affective disorders in youth has important clinical and research implications, empirical data are still unconclusive. Cyclothymic-hypersensitive temperament (CHT) has been linked to both depression and bipolarity, as well as to suicidality. Its conceptualization is still debated, as well as a comprehensive, psychometrically sound way of assessment., Methods: factor structure, reliability, measurement invariance, convergent and divergent validity of the previously published CHT questionnaire (a youth version derived from Temperament Evaluation in Memphis Pisa and San Diego (TEMPS) was assessed in a school-based sample of 2959 students aged from 10 to 14 years (mean age = 11.8 ± 0.97 years). Furthermore, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated for a new cut-off score related to the presence of general psychopathology symptoms., Results: CHT is better conceptualized in a two-correlated factors model, a moodiness/hypersensitiveness factor, more associated with internalizing symptoms, and an impulsiveness/emotional dysregulation factor, more associated with externalizing symptoms. The revised 22-items version of the CHT questionnaire with a cut-off score of 15 for females and 17 for males results accurate, sensitive and specific enough for the recognition of cyclothymic adolescents with clinical symptoms., Limitation: the cross sectional design and the self-report nature of the measures limit the findings., Discussion: Cyclothymic-hypersensitive temperament is a relevant concept in the realm of affective disorder and can be reliably assessed in youths. It may describe youths with the coexistence of both internalizing and externalizing symptoms that can be difficult to diagnose with a DSM perspective., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Masi was in the advisory boards for Eli Lilly, Shire and Angelini, has received research grants from Eli Lilly, Shire, and Lundbeck, and has been speaker for Eli Lilly, Shire, Lundbeck, FB Health and Otsuka. Other authors do not have conflicts of interest to disclose. All the authors have contributed and agreed to the contents of the manuscript in its submitted form. We do confirm that the work is original and has not been, and will not be published, in whole, or in part, in any other journal., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Much evidence indicates that drawing is related to different neuropsychological abilities in children. However, a comprehensive cognitive model of drawing in children is still lacking. Here, we conducted a study on the neuropsychological predictors of drawing in a sample of 142 typically developing elementary school children ( M age = 8.8 years; SD  = 1.1). Based on a path analysis, we examined the contribution of visual perception (matching geometrical figures), complex spatial abilities (e.g., complex figures identification and mental rotation), visual attention, working memory, verbal and visual-motor skills, as well as of gender, age and socio-economic status, to copying the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). Results showed that ROCF copying was influenced in a specific and additive way by visual perception, visual-motor coordination, and verbal abilities as well as age, while it was indirectly related to visual attention, working memory, and to complex spatial abilities. These findings provide the grounds for identifying the neuropsychological bases of drawing in elementary school children.

Background: Knowledge of the Adult Baby-Diaper Lovers (ABDL) phenomena is quite recent and there are, of yet, few studies on this phenomenon., Aim: This study was conceived to investigate the functions of ABDL behaviours and the characteristics of ABDL in an online Italian community sample. We hypothesized that ABDL phenomena were associated with general psychological maladjustment and with an experience of parental rejection during childhood. It was also assumed that there would be differences in ABDL profiles based on the age of appearance of their first Adult Baby-Diaper Lover (ABDL) fantasies., Method: An internet-based study was conducted and it involved 38 adults aged between 18 and 74 years (M = 34.95; SD = 12.25). Participants were first given an ad hoc questionnaire, which was devised to obtain information about the anamnestic variables related to ABDL. Then, the participants filled out the Cognitive Behaviour Assessment 2.0 battery to obtain anamnestic information regarding their psychological, medical, and personal history and to evaluate primary psychological dimensions in clinical practice. Finally, they filled out the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, to evaluate their recollections of parental perceived rejection, and the Personality Assessment Questionnaire, to evaluate the primary psychological aspects related to parental rejection., Results: The data indicated that adults with ABDL showed the presence of anxious traits and recollections of parental rejection during childhood. Moreover, associations were observed between current or previous ABDL phenomena enuresis and negative mood states., Conclusion: Specific kinds of parental modes, anxiety traits, and enuresis seem to be the source of ABDL interests. Moreover, ADBL behaviours seem to assume different functions and meanings., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Research has shown that the quality of interpersonal relationships plays an important role in influencing childhood obesity-risk behavior. However, studies conducted so far have focused mostly on self-report data. But they rarely control for the effect of experimentally-induced social rejection or perceived maternal rejection. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the quality of the maternal relationships as well as experimentally-induced social rejection on children's motivation to consume high-caloric food. Eighty children (8-12 years of age) and their mothers participated in an experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to a social inclusion (acceptance) or exclusion (rejection) condition in a computer-based ball-toss game (Cyberball). After completing the Cyberball game, children were presented with high-caloric food and were evaluated on the amount of the food they consumed. Participants also completed a self-report questionnaire assessing their perceptions of their mothers' acceptance-rejection. Further, mothers' Body Mass Index (BMI) was measured, and a semi-structured interview was conducted to assess the tendency of mothers to regulate their child's stress with food. Results showed that the consumption of high-caloric food was directly influenced by the children's perceptions of maternal acceptance-rejection, and by the experience of brief, experimentally-induced social exclusion (rejection). Additionally, children's consumption of high-caloric food was related to their mothers' use of food to help regulate children's distress, and by the children's own BMI. The results document the importance of affective-relational experiences in the development of childhood obesity. The results also highlight the apparent fact that regardless of individual and family characteristics, the experience of even short-term social rejection can activate obesity-risk behaviors which deplete children's self-regulatory mechanisms, thereby resulting in more consumption of high-caloric food., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, we were interested to investigate how autistic traits (including systemizing and empathy) and academic degree influence individuals' visuospatial abilities. To this end, 352 university students completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the Empathy Quotient, the Systemizing Quotient (SQ) and visuospatial tests measuring figure disembedding and mental rotation of two-dimensional figures. Engineering-design students (architecture and engineering) were the most accurate in disembedding and mentally rotating figures, followed by students of physical sciences (computer science, chemistry, physics, etc.) and fact-based humanities (languages, classics, law); biological (psychology and neuroscience, etc.) and systems-based social scientists (economics and commerce) were the least accurate. Engineering-design students also showed higher SQ scores with respect to the other four academic degree subjects, with students of biological sciences showing lower SQ scores. Importantly, results from a path analysis revealed that SQ (but not AQ) exerted an indirect effect on figure disembedding and mental rotations through the influence of the academic degree. Thus, the present findings reveal shady differences in systemizing degree and visuospatial performance within systemizing-based degree subjects. Implications for education are discussed.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) is a widely used neuropsychological test for the evaluation of drawing disorders in different clinical populations, and, in particular, in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders. The aim of the present study is to provide normative data for ROCF copying (ROCF-Direct copy) and drawing from memory (ROCF-Immediate recall) in Italian-speaking children. The sample consisted of 348 children (147 males and 199 females), aged 7-11 years, recruited from elementary schools in Southern Italy. Normative data were gathered from 312 participants fulfilling the inclusion criteria, and estimated centiles were obtained according to the LMS method providing normalized growth centile standards. Results showed a significant effect of age on performance in both tasks, with a steady increase of drawing accuracy, whereas participants' gender and mean level of parental education did not exert any significant effect. Thus, normative data were stratified by age, and percentile scores were provided allowing a practical use of the ROCF for the clinical evaluation of drawing abilities in both typical and atypical children.

Background: Prejudices and negative attitudes towards intellectual disabilities (IDs) may hinder social inclusion of ID individuals, limiting their well-being. This study investigated the psychometric characteristics of the Italian Modern and Classical Prejudices Scale (MCPS-IT) towards people with ID and the effects of gender, age and socio-economic status (SES) on prejudices., Method: The MCPS-IT was administered to 474 adults (69% women, age range 18-70 years, M = 33.13) in conjunction with a questionnaire evaluating socio-demographic information (SES), the contact and the education about ID people and the social dominance orientation., Results: Results confirmed that Italian MCPS has a two-factor structure that measures in a reliable and valid way prejudice towards people with ID. Multivariate analyses of variance confirmed a weak gender difference in both scales and age differences in modern scale. No SES differences were found., Conclusion: The Italian MCPS represents a valid scale that can be used to monitor the social context of people with ID., (© 2019 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The concept of "presence" describes the quality of subjective experience in immersive virtual reality (IVR). Presence refers to a specific state of consciousness: we behave and feel as if we actually were in the virtual world even though we know there is nothing there. In their handbook of Virtual Reality, Burdea and Coiffet (Virtual reality technology, Wiley, New York, 2003) suggested that the experience of presence in IVR would emerge from the combination of three Is: Immersion or capacity to isolate from the external world, Interaction or capacity to naturally exploring the virtual environment, and Imagination or individual aptitudes with mental imagery. So far, several studies have investigated the technological and psychological factors affecting the degree of immersion and interaction. However, no study has explored the relationship between perceived presence and mental imagery. Here we aim at filling this gap through a correlational study comparing self-reports about sense of presence and mental imagery abilities. After experiencing two IVR scenarios (an art gallery and a living room), 142 male and female users were administered with questionnaires assessing the degree of presence (Igroup Presence Questionnaire), the degree of vividness (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire) and control (Test of Visual Imagery Control) of subjective mental images. Results showed a clear positive correlation between presence and vividness: the higher the vividness of mental images the stronger the reported sense of presence felt in IVR scenarios. Instead, the capacity to control mental imagery showed a weaker association with presence. We may conclude that individual differences in the degree of perceived presence and mental imagery ability are associated.

Background: Bullying is a widespread phenomenon that has captured attention from mental health researchers. Several studies have assessed bullying prevalence with some methodological concerns., Objectives: Preliminary, we analyzed the psychometric properties of two bullying scales for victimization (the multidimensional peer victimization scale - MPVS) and for perpetration (the bully subscale of the Illinois bully scale - IBS-B); then, we estimated bullying prevalence; finally, we evaluated the effect of gender and classroom on the phenomenon., Participants and Setting: 2959 students from the metropolitan city of Naples constituted the sample., Methods: Data collection was obtained using a multi-assessment approach that included both single-item questions and intensity scales in order to compare the two methods., Results: The two scales resulted valid and showed good reliability. The MPVS displayed a 1-factor second order model. The IBS-B had a mono-factorial structure. Both showed full invariance for gender and classroom. Prevalence of victimization was 37% whereas that for perpetration was 21%. As expected we obtained several bullying prevalence results depending on the specificity of questions and in particular repetitiveness of episodes. There was a good correspondence between results of single-item questions and multi-item scales. Finally results demonstrated several differences for gender and classroom attended., Conclusion: In this epidemiological study the multi-assessment approach identified different but complementary features of bullying phenomena. The use of the two measurement approaches allowed us to obtain more precise and exhaustive information on bullying prevalence and compare it with previous findings., (Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Adults' sensitive appraisal of and response to infant cry play a foundational role in child development. Employing a gene × environment (G × E) approach, this study investigated the interaction of genetic polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and oxytocin receptor genes (OXTR; rs53576, rs2254298) with early parental care experiences in influencing adults' implicit associations to infant cry. Eighty nulliparous adults (40 females, 40 males) responded to the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ), a measure of early care experiences, and participated in a Single Category Implicit Association Task (SC-IAT) to measure implicit associations to infant cry. Independent of parental experience, the valence of the implicit response to infant cry is associated with the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), with LL-carriers showing more positive implicit associations than S-carriers. OXTR rs53576 moderated the relation between parental rejection and implicit appraisal of infant cry: A-carriers who experienced negative early care showed an implicit positive appraisal of infant cry, whereas in GG carriers, positive early care experiences were associated with an implicit positive reaction to infant cry. OXTR rs2254298 had no relation to implicit associations to infant cry or to early care experiences. These findings cast light on the possible interplay of genetic inheritance and early environment in influencing adults' responses to infant cry that may be incorporated into screening protocols aimed at identifying at-risk adult-infant interactions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The term Phantom Phone Signals (PPS) refers to the perception of a mobile phone ringing, vibrating and blinking when in fact it did not. Data in youth are lacking, and controversies exist on whether PPS is related to psychopathology. In the present study, we showed data on the prevalence of PPS in a population (N = 2959) of students aged 10 to 14 years. We also explored the possible association between PPS and emotional or behavioural problems. Our results showed that PPS is a relatively common phenomenon with a prevalence rate of 58.9%, being more frequent in females. In univariate and multivariate analyses, we also found an association between the presence of PPS and emotional problems and temper tantrums, after accounting for relevant covariates. PPS is a relevant phenomenon to be considered in youth. It is common and may be a signal for emotional problems., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This study (a) investigates effects of the transition to motherhood on implicit and explicit responses to infant cues; (b) assesses influences of prior parenting and delivery experiences on implicit and explicit responses to infant cues; and (c) investigates relations between implicit and explicit responses to infant cues and parenting beliefs. A total of 45 pregnant women were followed from the sixth month of pregnancy to the third month after the childbirth and were administered a Single Category Implicit Association Test, a semantic differential scale, the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection scale, and the Parental Style Questionnaire. The transition to motherhood influenced explicit not implicit responses; only implicit responses were shaped by prior parenting experiences and mode of delivery; and parenting beliefs were related in independent and different ways to implicit and explicit evaluations. These findings indicate that implicit responses are valid and meaningful indices of maternal responsiveness to infants., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In this study a novel auditory version of the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT-A) was developed to investigate (a) the valence of adults' associations to infant cries and laughs, (b) moderation of implicit associations by gender and empathy, and (c) the robustness of implicit associations controlling for auditory sensitivity. Eighty adults (50% females) were administered two SC-IAT-As, the Empathy Quotient, and the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale. Adults showed positive implicit associations to infant laugh and negative ones to infant cry; only the implicit associations with the infant laugh were negatively related to empathy scores, and no gender differences were observed. Finally, implicit associations to infant cry were affected by noise sensitivity. The SC-IAT-A is useful to evaluate the valence of implicit reactions to infant auditory cues and could provide fresh insights into understanding processes that regulate the quality of adult-infant relationships.

Genetics, early experience, and culture shape caregiving, but it is still not clear how genetics, early experiences, and cultural factors might interact to influence specific caregiving propensities, such as adult responsiveness to infant cues. To address this gap, 80 Italian adults (50% M; 18-25 years) were (1) genotyped for two oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms (rs53576 and rs2254298) and the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), which are implicated in parenting behaviour, (2) completed the Adult Parental Acceptance/Rejection Questionnaire to evaluate their recollections of parental behaviours toward them in childhood, and (3) were administered a Single Category Implicit Association Test to evaluate their implicit responses to faces of Italian infants, Japanese infants, and Italian adults. Analysis of implicit associations revealed that Italian infant faces were evaluated as most positive; participants in the rs53576 GG group had the most positive implicit associations to Italian infant faces; the serotonin polymorphism moderated the effect of early care experiences on adults' implicit association to both Italian infant and adult female faces. Finally, 5-HTTLPR S carriers showed less positive implicit responses to Japanese infant faces. We conclude that adult in-group preference extends to in-group infant faces and that implicit responses to social cues are influenced by interactions of genetics, early care experiences, and cultural factors. These findings have implications for understanding processes that regulate adult caregiving., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Adults' adaptive interactions with intimate partners enhance well-being. Here we hypothesized that adult males' physiological responses to opposite-sex conspecifics' distress result from an interaction between an environmental factor (early social interaction with caregivers) and a genetic factor (a polymorphism within the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene, 5-HTTLPR). We assessed heart rate changes in 42 non-married male adults to distress vocalizations (female, infant, and bonobo cries). Males' early interaction with parents was assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument. Buccal mucosa cell samples were collected to assess their 5-HTTLPR genotype. A significant interaction emerged between early experience and genetic predisposition. Males with a genetic predisposition for higher sensitivity to environmental factors showed atypical physiological responses to adult female cries according to their experienced early maternal parenting. Environmental experiences and genetic characteristics are associated with adult males' physiological responses to socially meaningfully stimuli. Understanding the mechanisms that modulate responses to opposite-sex conspecifics may improve personal well-being and social adaptiveness.

Objective: We investigated how different levels of prenatal exposure to testosterone influence physiological reactions to dyadic interactions, hypothesising that higher levels of prenatal testosterone are linked to greater physiological responses., Method: Autonomic nervous system responses to dyadic interactions focussed on social or physical norms were measured. Physiological assessment of excitability (heart rate, facial temperature) and a behavioural assessment (Likert items judgements) were run on 25 neurotypical participants who had distinct testosterone exposure levels in utero. In utero exposure to testosterone was assessed measuring 2D : 4D (ratio between the lengths of the index and the ring fingers)., Results: Higher testosterone exposure participants showed greater physiological arousal: a greater heart rate decrease, independent from scenario type (p<0.05), and opposite facial temperature changes in response to social (increase) (vs.) physical scenarios (decrease) were found (Left-cheek: p<0.05; Right-cheek: p<0.05)., Conclusion: These findings suggest a long-term influence of prenatal environment on adults' physiological responses during social situations.

Motor simulation implies that the same motor representations involved in action execution are re-enacted during observation or imagery of actions. Neurofunctional data suggested that observation of letters or abstract paintings can elicit simulation of writing or drawing gestures. We performed four behavioural experiments on right-handed healthy participants to test whether observation of a static and complex geometrical figure implies re-enactment of drawing actions. In Experiment 1, participants had to observe the stimulus without explicit instruction (observation-only condition), while performing irrelevant finger tapping (motor dual task), or while articulating irrelevant verbal material (verbal dual task). Delayed drawing of the stimulus was less accurate in the motor dual-task (interfering with simulation of hand actions) than in verbal dual-task and observation-only conditions. In Experiment 2, delayed drawing in the observation only was as accurate as when participants encoded the stimulus by copying it; in both conditions, accuracy was higher than when participants were instructed to observe the stimulus to recall it later verbally (observe to recall), thus being discouraged from engaging motor simulation. In Experiment 3, delayed drawing was as accurate in the observation-only condition as when participants imagined copying the stimulus; accuracy in both conditions was higher than in the observe-to-recall condition. In Experiment 4, in the observe-only condition participants who observed the stimulus with their right arm hidden behind their back were significantly less accurate than participants who had their left arm hidden. These findings converge in suggesting that mere observation of a geometrical stimulus can activate motor simulation and re-enactment of drawing actions.

Although the effects of several personality factors on interpersonal space (i.e. social space within personal comfort area) are well documented, it is not clear whether they also extend to peripersonal space (i.e. reaching space). Indeed, no study has directly compared these spaces in relation to personality and anxiety factors even though such a comparison would help to clarify to what extent they share similar mechanisms and characteristics. The aim of the present paper was to investigate whether personality dimensions and anxiety levels are associated with reaching and comfort distances. Seventy university students (35 females) were administered the Big Five Questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; afterwards, they had to provide reachability- and comfort-distance judgments towards human confederates while standing still (passive) or walking towards them (active). The correlation analyses showed that both spaces were positively related to anxiety and negatively correlated with the Dynamism in the active condition. Moreover, in the passive condition higher Emotional Stability was related to shorter comfort distance, while higher cognitive Openness was associated with shorter reachability distance. The implications of these results are discussed.

Considering the wide growth of the wind turbine market over the last decade as well as their increasing power size, more and more potential conflicts have arisen in society due to the noise radiated by these plants. Our goal was to determine whether the annoyance caused by wind farms is related to aspects other than noise. To accomplish this, an auditory experiment on the recognition of wind turbine noise was conducted to people with long experience of wind turbine noise exposure and to people with no previous experience to this type of noise source. Our findings demonstrated that the trend of the auditory recognition is the same for the two examined groups, as far as the increase of the distance and the decrease of the values of sound equivalent levels and loudness are concerned. Significant differences between the two groups were observed as the distance increases. People with wind turbine noise experience showed a higher tendency to report false alarms than people without experience.

Cognitive models of drawing are mainly based on assessment of copying performance of adults, whereas only a few studies have verified these models in young children. Moreover, developmental investigations have only rarely performed a systematic examination of the contribution of perceptual and representational visuo-spatial processes to copying and drawing from memory. In this study we investigated the role of visual perception and mental representation in both copying and drawing from memory skills in a sample of 227 typically developing children (53% females) aged 7-10 years. Participants underwent a neuropsychological assessment and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). The fit and invariance of the predictive model considering visuo-spatial abilities, working memory, and executive functions were tested by means of hierarchical regressions and path analysis. Results showed that, in a gender invariant way, visual perception abilities and spatial mental representation had a direct effect on copying performance, whereas copying performance was the only specific predictor for drawing from memory. These effects were independent from age and socioeconomic status, and showed that cognitive models of drawing built up for adults could be considered for predicting copying and drawing from memory in children.

Human infants' complete dependence on adult caregiving suggests that mechanisms associated with adult responsiveness to infant cues might be deeply embedded in the brain. Behavioural and neuroimaging research has produced converging evidence for adults' positive disposition to infant cues, but these studies have not investigated directly the valence of adults' reactions, how they are moderated by biological and social factors, and if they relate to child caregiving. This study examines implicit affective responses of 90 adults toward faces of human and non-human (cats and dogs) infants and adults. Implicit reactions were assessed with Single Category Implicit Association Tests, and reports of childrearing behaviours were assessed by the Parental Style Questionnaire. The results showed that human infant faces represent highly biologically relevant stimuli that capture attention and are implicitly associated with positive emotions. This reaction holds independent of gender and parenthood status and is associated with ideal parenting behaviors.

Preserving the soundscape and geographic extension of quiet areas is a great challenge against the wide-spreading of environmental noise. The E.U. Environmental Noise Directive underlines the need to preserve quiet areas as a new aim for the management of noise in European countries. At the same time, due to their low population density, rural areas characterized by suitable wind are considered appropriate locations for installing wind farms. However, despite the fact that wind farms are represented as environmentally friendly projects, these plants are often viewed as visual and audible intruders, that spoil the landscape and generate noise. Even though the correlations are still unclear, it is obvious that visual impacts of wind farms could increase due to their size and coherence with respect to the rural/quiet environment. In this paper, by using the Immersive Virtual Reality technique, some visual and acoustical aspects of the impact of a wind farm on a sample of subjects were assessed and analyzed. The subjects were immersed in a virtual scenario that represented a situation of a typical rural outdoor scenario that they experienced at different distances from the wind turbines. The influence of the number and the colour of wind turbines on global, visual and auditory judgment were investigated. The main results showed that, regarding the number of wind turbines, the visual component has a weak effect on individual reactions, while the colour influences both visual and auditory individual reactions, although in a different way.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a wind farm on individuals by means of an audio-visual methodology that tried to simulate biologically plausible individual-environment interactions. To disentangle the effects of auditory and visual components on cognitive performances and subjective evaluations, unimodal (Audio or Video) and bimodal (Audio + Video) approaches were compared. Participants were assigned to three experimental conditions that reproduced a wind farm by means of an immersive virtual reality system: bimodal condition, reproducing scenarios with both acoustic and visual stimuli; unimodal visual condition, with only visual stimuli; unimodal auditory condition, with only auditory stimuli. While immersed in the virtual scenarios, participants performed tasks assessing verbal fluency, short-term verbal memory, backward counting, and distance estimations (egocentric: how far is the turbine from you?; allocentric: how far is the turbine from the target?). Afterwards, participants reported their degree of visual and noise annoyance. The results revealed that the presence of a visual scenario as compared to the only availability of auditory stimuli may exert a negative effect on resource-demanding cognitive tasks but a positive effect on perceived noise annoyance. This supports the idea that humans perceive the environment holistically and that auditory and visual features are processed in close interaction.

The aim of the present study was to compare the activation levels of true and false memories in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. For this purpose, we used a lexical decision task (LDT) that can be considered a relative pure measure of activation. Participants had to study a list of words that were semantically associated to a critical non-presented word (CI), and afterwards had to classify the actually studied words, the CI and new words in the LDT. Results indicated that the classification latency of the CI was the same as actually studied words and shorter than new words. The results might be interpreted as evidence that the false and true memory items have the same activation level and that the false memory effect can be based on the indirect activation of the CI at the encoding.

Drawing ability is a complex cognitive process that involves different aspects of visuo-spatial skills. To date, the link between these functions has not been deeply investigated because of the absence of a standardized test that globally analyzes the basic aspects of visuo-spatial processes. The aim of this study was to examine the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of a new battery assessing basic visuo-spatial abilities implied in drawing tasks. A total of 370 children (aged 4-11 years) participated in the study. In order to analyze the psychometric properties of the battery subscales, data were analyzed with a Rasch model and compared with other standardized tests. For each subscale items were compared and ordered on the latent trait, and the misfitting items eliminated. The results of this study provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the battery, and indicate that the battery can be a valid tool for researchers interested in investigating the development of visuo-spatial abilities and the relationship between basic visuo-spatial abilities and general cognitive abilities.