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Recognizing that summarizing skills can contribute to the development of linguistic and transversal competence, we present a revised perspective on summary writing as a complex task, pointing up the highly complex linguistic and cognitive features of summarizing, and discussing the key role that assessment can play throughout teaching-learning processes aimed at developing primary school students’ summarizing abilities. After reviewing qualitative and quantitative tools tested in the assessment research literature, we go on to recommend a new approach to evaluation that combines both structured and open-ended tools. Specifically, we propose a set of guidelines on how to assess primary students’ ability to integrate cognitive, language and content aspects in order to grasp the meaning of the narrative text at both the local and global levels and organize a summary of it.

Introduction: Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) has been the backbone of the treatment of cancer associated thrombosis (CAT). Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have shown efficacy and safety not inferior to LMWH and guidelines included DOACs as an option for CAT treatment. Nevertheless, DOACs are still poorly prescribed in patients with cancer. The aim of this survey was to better understand prescription patterns of anticoagulants, in particular of DOACs, especially in gynecological cancers (GCs). Methods: Our survey was made up of 21 questions, the last four questions addressed to medical doctors (MDs) involved in GCs. An invitation to complete the survey was sent by e-mail to 691 MITO (Multicentre Italian Trials in Ovarian cancer and gynaecologic malignancies) and 2093 AIOM (Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica) members. Results: Overall, 113 MDs completed the questionnaire, 69 involved in GCs. Most respondents (46, 41%) were aged 30-40 years old, worked in public hospitals (59, 52.2%), were medical oncologists (86, 76.1%). LMWH was the preferred choice for the treatment of CAT (104, 92%). However, 89 respondents (78.8%) prescribed or asked to prescribe a DOAC for CAT. The major concern about DOACs was the difficulty in verifying the therapeutic effect and the absence of antidotes in case of bleeding (37.9%). In patients with GCs, DOACs were used with niraparib, olaparib, rucaparib and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in less than 10 patients by 23%, 20%, 9% and 10.2% of respondents, respectively. Conclusion: The responders are aware of the Direct-acting oral anticoagulants option and would like to use them

Background MSQOL-54 is a multidimensional, widely-used, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instrument specific for multiple sclerosis (MS). Findings from the validation study suggested that the two MSQOL-54 composite scores are correlated. Given this correlation, it could be assumed that a unique total score of HRQOL may be calculated, with the advantage to provide key stakeholders with a single overall HRQOL score. We aimed to assess how well the bifactor model could account for the MSQOL-54 structure, in order to verify whether a total HRQOL score can be calculated. Methods A large international database (3669 MS patients) was used. By means of confirmatory factor analysis, we estimated a bifactor model in which every item loads onto both a general factor and a group factor. Fit of the bifactor model was compared to that of single and two second-order factor models by means of Akaike information and Bayesian information criteria reduction. Reliability of the total and subscale scores was evaluated with Mc Donald’s coefficients (omega, and omega hierarchical). Results The bifactor model outperformed the two second-order factor models in all the statistics. All items loaded satisfactorily (≥ 0.40) on the general HRQOL factor, except the sexual function items. Omega coefficients for total score were very satisfactory (0.98 and 0.87). Omega hierarchical for subscales ranged between 0.22 to 0.57, except for the sexual function (0.70). Conclusions The bifactor model is particularly useful when it is intended to acknowledge multidimensionality and at the same time take account of a single general construct, as the HRQOL related to MS. The total raw score can be used as an estimate of the general HRQOL latent score.

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) represents a frequent complication after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). This study aimed to evaluate early postoperative AKI incidence during the first 72 h after OLT, perioperative risk factors, and AKI impact on survival. Methods From January 2011 to December 2013) 1681 patients underwent OLT in 19 centers and were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Results According to RIFLE criteria, AKI occurred in 367 patients, 21.8% (R: 5.8%, I: 6.4%, F: 4.8%, L: 4.8%). Based on multivariate analysis, intraoperative risk factors for AKI were: administration of 5-10 RBCs (OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.3-2.7), dopamine use (OR 1.6, 95%CI 1.2-2.3), post-reperfusion syndrome (OR 1.5, 95%CI 1.0-2.3), surgical complications (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.0), and cardiological complications (OR 2.2, 95%CI 1.2-4.0). Postoperative risk factors were: norepinephrine (OR 1.4, 95%CI 1.0-2.0), furosemide (OR 4.2, 95% CI 3.0-5.9), more than 10 RBCs transfusion, (OR 3.7, 95%CI 1.4-10.5), platelets administration (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.4), fibrinogen administration (OR 3.0, 95%CI, 1.5-6.2), hepatic complications (OR 4.6, 95%CI 2.9-7.5), neurological complications (OR 2.4, 95%CI 1.5-3.7), and infectious complications (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.8-4.3). NO-AKI patients' 5 years survival rate was higher than AKI patients (68.06, 95% CI 62.7-72.7 and 81.2, 95% CI 78.9-83.3, p Conclusions AKI still remains an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality after OLT. Further researches to develop new strategies aimed at preventing or minimizing post-OLT AKI are needed.

Since Brown and Kulik's (1977. Flashbulb memories. Cognition, 5, 73-99. http://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(77)90018-X) seminal work, a central issue in memory literature is whether flashbulb memories (FBMs) hold a special status within autobiographical recalls. To address this issue, we refer back to Brown and Kulik's definition of FBM as a snapshot of the reception context of an important public news and propose a method to identify the contents of this snapshot. Although Brown and Kulik found that the majority of FBM's contents could be classified within six canonical categories (CCs), here we claim that assessing the presence of FBMs through guided CCs' questions - as done by most researchers in this field - can be misleading. We suggest, instead, to use free recall reports to identify the consistent perceptual elements of the snapshot. Across two test-retest studies, we show that the contents of FBMs assessed by free reports and the contents of CCs assessed by guided questions, do not exactly coincide. Moreover, a structural equation model supports results of previous research about the determinants of FBM and reveals that FBM facilitates the recall of more consistent explicitly requested CCs' contents. Theoretical implications concerning the qualitative contents of FBMs and the debate about their consistency are discussed.

Knowledge about the role of empathy, emotional self-efficacy, and loneliness on early adolescents’ depressive symptoms is scarce. The main aims of the study were to investigate the following: (a) the role of empathy and emotional self-efficacy (additive and interactive) on loneliness and depressive symptoms, taking into account gender differences and (b) the possible mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between emotional predictors and depressive symptoms. Three hundred forty-eight Italian early adolescents (48% girls; mean age, 13; SD = 0.3) completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire at two time points (1 year apart). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data. Results indicated the following: (a) high empathy and low emotional self-efficacy were related to higher subsequent loneliness and depressive symptoms; (b) emotional self-efficacy moderated the relationship between empathy and loneliness and, only for girls, between empathy and depressive symptoms; (c) no mediation role of loneliness between emotional predictors (empathy and emotional self-efficacy) and depressive symptoms was found. Results are discussed in relation to preventive interventions targeting early adolescents.

Background Children with dyslexia often show second-language reading and writing difficulties, but the cognitive mechanisms connected to this impairment need to be clarified. Aims The present study examined the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying learning English as a foreign language in 4th- to the 8th-grade Italian students showing reading difficulties (RD) or typical development (TD). For this purpose, screening involving 901 students was carried out to select children with RD. Sample Ninety students with RD were compared with 90 typically developing (TD) children matched for non-verbal IQ, grade, and gender. Methods The two groups were compared on different measures to understand the relationships between reading skills in their mother tongue and in English as a second-language (L2). Subsequently, their phonological and memory skills were investigated to understand the potential role of these variables in learning L2 English. Results Students with RD obtained worse results than TD students for phonological awareness and working memory, which are both crucial to L2 learning. Conclusions The results suggest that memory mainly influences accuracy in English writing and, together with phonological skills, plays an important role in reading accuracy. Socio-economic status also plays an important role in L2 learning.

Some studies report delayed theory of mind (ToM) development in children with specific language impairment (SLI), while others do not. A ToM delay is acknowledged in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while whether these children also display a deficit is still under debate. In the current study, we drew on a developmental trajectory approach to assess whether children with SLI or ASD displayed delays or deficits in their ToM performance. Forty-three children with SLI (age 4-10 years), 44 children with ASD (age 5-12 years), and 227 typically developing children (age 3-11 years) completed the ToM Storybooks. Children with SLI were not found to display either a delay or a deficit in ToM, while children with ASD were found to display a deficit.

The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) is a self-report bidimensional instrument that has been employed in several cultural contexts to assess migrants’ orientations toward mainstream and heritage traditions. Although it has shown good reliability and validity in the past, recent theoretical developments and empirical studies have suggested the VIA might assess more than two dimensions. Moreover, measurement invariance of this instrument across demographic subgroups has never been assessed before. With the aim of evaluating these psychometric issues, exploratory factor analysis and Rasch modeling were conducted on data from two samples of immigrants to Canada (N = 224) and to Italy (N = 266). Results supported the hypothesized two-factor structure, with Rasch modeling showing that items within a subscale differed in terms of “difficulty” in being endorsed, but still belonged to a single factor. Differential item functioning analysis results showed measurement invariance across gender, age and education subgroups. Most results converged across the two samples.

Background Response shift (RS) has been defined as a change in the meaning of an individual’s self-evaluation that needs to be accounted for when assessing longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RS detection through structural equation modeling is accomplished by adopting Oort’s procedure based on a measurement model in which the observed variables are defined as reflective indicators of the HRQoL latent variable; that is, the latent variable causes the variation in the reflective indicators. This study aims to propose a procedure that assesses RS when formative indicators are used in measuring HRQoL; in this last case, the latent variable is considered to be a function of some formative indicators. A secondary aim is to compare the new procedure with Oort’s procedure to highlight similarities and differences. Methods The data were retrieved from a consecutive series of 258 patients newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer and undergoing chemotherapy and/or surgery. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QOL-C30) was administered twice, once before and once six months after treatment. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate RS and true change with the newly proposed method (in which fatigue and pain were defined as formative indicators) and with Oort’s procedure (in which fatigue and pain were defined as reflective indicators). Results According to the new procedure, there was no measurement bias, and on average, patients’ quality of life improved by 3.53 points (on a scale ranging from 0 to 100) at the 6-month follow-up. With Oort’s procedure, the loading of the pain indicator was not invariant across the two time points, suggesting the presence of reprioritization, whereas the estimation of true change was very similar to the previous one: 3.87. Conclusions RS and true change in HRQoL can be evaluated in the presence of formative indicators. Defining a measurement model by formative or reflective indicators can lead to different results.

The study is aimed at examining the relationship between emotional and self-regulated learning self-efficacy, subjective well-being (SWB) and positive coping among adolescents and youths, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 485 Italian students (74% girls; mean age 19.3) filled in an online questionnaire during the lockdown period. The hypothesized model in which both the forms of self-efficacy were predictors of SWB and positive coping, and SWB partially mediated the relation between self-efficacy measures and positive coping was tested by means of Structural equation modeling. Results largely supported the hypothesized relationships and suggested paying special attention to adolescents’ self-efficacy in regulating basic negative emotions, in order to promote positive coping strategies to face challenges coming from everyday life and from non-normative events.

A large number of methods of factor rotation are available in the literature, but the development of formal criteria by which to compare them is an understudied field of research. One possible criterion is the Thurstonian concept of "factorial invariance", which was applied by Kaiser to the varimax rotation method in 1958 and has been subsequently neglected. In the present study, we propose two conditions for establishing whether a method satisfies factorial invariance, and we apply them to 11 orthogonal rotation methods. The results show that 3 methods do not exhibit factorial invariance under either condition, 3 are invariant under one but not the other, and 5 are invariant under both. Varimax rotation is one of the 5 methods that satisfy factorial invariance under both conditions and is the only method that satisfies the invariance condition originally advocated by Kaiser in 1958. From this perspective, it appears that varimax rotation is the method that best ensures factorial invariance.

Background Flash glucose monitoring system (FGMS; FreeStyle Libre) was recently validated for use in diabetic dogs (DD). It is not known if this system is clinically useful in monitoring DD. Objective To compare the clinical utility of FGMS against blood glucose curves (BGCs) obtained with a portable blood glucose meter (PBGM) in monitoring DD. Animals Twenty dogs with diabetes mellitus. Methods Prospective study. Dogs with diabetes mellitus on insulin treatment for at least 1 month were included. Comparisons of insulin dose recommendations based on the in-hospital GCs acquired using FGMS and a PBGM, consecutive-day interstitial GCs (IGCs) acquired at home using the FGMS, and consecutive-day, home vs hospital IGCs acquired using the FGMS were made using concordance analysis. Results There was good concordance between insulin dose recommendations based on FGMS and PBGM generated GCs and IGCs obtained in the 2 different environments on 2 consecutive days, but almost absent concordance between IGCs obtained on 2 consecutive days at home. Glucose nadirs were detected in 34/43 (79%) of Ambulatory Glucose Profile (AGP) reports of the FGMS. In comparison, concordant glucose nadirs were identified in 14/34 (41%) BGCs using PBGM. The individual FGMS scans and PBGM identified 60% and 9% of low IG/hypoglycemic episodes, respectively. Conclusions and clinical importance Insulin dose adjustments based on BGCs can be suboptimal. The FGMS allows a more accurate identification of the glucose nadirs and hypoglycemic episodes compared to the use of a PBGM and assessment of day-to-day variations in glycemic control.

This study is a psychometric evaluation of the Sexual Activity Questionnaire, a 20-item tool that is focused on the relational, emotional, and behavioral aspects of sexual activity in the general p...

Background: We recently devised a shortened version of the 54-item Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life (MSQOL-54) in paper (MSQOL-29, consisting of 25 items forming 7 subscales and 4 single items, and one filter question for 3 ‘sexual function’ items) and electronic format (eMSQOL-29). Objectives: To prospectively assess eMSQOL-29 psychometric properties, acceptability/equivalence versus MSQOL-29. Methods: Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients ( n = 623; Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) range 0.0–9.0) completed eMSQOL-29, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Functional Assessment of MS (FAMS), European Quality of life Five Dimensions-3L, and received EDSS and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Equivalence versus MSQOL-29 was assessed in 242 patients (randomized cross-over design). Results: ‘Sexual function’ items were filtered out by 273 patients (47%). No multi-item scale had floor effect, while five had ceiling effect. Cronbach’s alpha range was 0.88–0.90. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good overall fit and the two-factor solution for composite scores was confirmed. Criterion validity was sub-optimal for ‘cognitive function’ (vs SDMT, r = 0.25) and ‘social function’ (vs FAMS social function, r = 0.38). eMSQOL-29 equivalence was confirmed and its acceptability was good. Conclusion: eMSQOL-29 showed good internal consistency, factor structure and no floor effect, while most subscales had some ceiling effect. Criterion validity was sub-optimal for two subscales. Equivalence and acceptability were good.

Rationale, aims, and objectives Missing data represent a challenge in longitudinal studies. The aim of the study is to compare the performance of the multivariate normal imputation and the fully conditional specification methods, using real data set with missing data partially completed 2 years later. Method The data used came from an ongoing randomized controlled trial with 5-year follow-up. At a certain time, we observed a number of patients with missing data and a number of patients whose data were unobserved because they were not yet eligible for a given follow-up. Both unobserved and missing data were imputed. The imputed unobserved data were compared with the corresponding real information obtained 2 years later. Results Both imputation methods showed similar performance on the accuracy measures and produced minimally biased estimates. Conclusion Despite the large number of repeated measures with intermittent missing data and the non-normal multivariate distribution of data, both methods performed well and was not possible to determine which was better.

The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Existential Quest (EQ) Scale, a nine-items instrument developed to assess openness to changing one’s own convictions concerning existential issues. We developed the Italian version of the scale and examined factorial structure, internal consistency, discriminant validity, and measurement invariance across gender and age groups. A total of 291 Italian adults were recruited, and they completed a self-report questionnaire comprising measures of authoritarianism, cognitive closure, well-being, and religiousness, alongside the EQ. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original one-factor structure was replicated in this study, except for one-item that was removed from the subsequent analyses. Both the internal consistency of the eight-item scale as assessed by Cronbach’s α and discriminant validity were in line with those of the original study. However, McDonald’s reliability coefficient were quite low, and further researches employing repeated measures are needed in order to comprehend the contribution of the random error and that of the item specificity in lowering McDonald’s coefficient. Finally, evidence of full measurement invariance across gender and partial measurement invariance across age was obtained. Overall, these findings suggest that the Italian version of the EQ is a promising tool for assessing flexibility about existential issues.

Early adolescence is a period of development of emotional competence, but also of increasing vulnerability for the onset of depressive symptoms. While literature underscored that empathy promotes social relationships and psychological well-being over the life course, the possible role of high empathy levels as a risk factor for depression has been under investigated, especially among early adolescents. Moreover, although parenting practices are known to influence both empathy and depression in adolescence, few studies investigated if parenting moderates the relationship between empathy and depression. Therefore, the aims of the study were: (1) to investigate the relationships between affective and cognitive empathy and depression; (2) to investigate the moderating role of perceived paternal and maternal support on the associations between affective and cognitive empathy and depression; (3) to examine if the relationships among affective and cognitive empathy, maternal and paternal support and depression vary as a function of early adolescents’ gender. The study involved 386 Italian students aged between 12 and 14 (M age = 13, SD = 0.3, 47.9% girls) who completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire, including measures of cognitive and affective empathy, paternal and maternal support and depression. Results showed that with a mean level of affective and cognitive empathy, higher maternal support was related to lower depression for girls, whereas higher paternal support was related to lower depression for both boys and girls. Both maternal and paternal support moderated the relation between empathy and depression. In particular, maternal support moderated the non-linear relation between affective empathy and depression and the relation was further moderated by early adolescents’ gender: boys with low affective empathy reported lower depression in a context of high maternal support. Paternal support moderated the linear relation between cognitive empathy and depression, independently of early adolescents’ gender: boys and girls with high cognitive empathy reported higher depression in a context of low paternal support. The results of the study suggested that high empathy might be a risk factor for depression during early adolescence and mothers and fathers have a differential moderating role in relation to the affective and cognitive dimensions of empathy, also in relation to early adolescents’ gender.

Background The Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III (FPQ-III) is a self-report instrument developed to assess fear of different stimuli usually causing pain. The present study aimed to construct an Italian version of the FPQ-III and examine its psychometric properties in a heterogeneous sample of Italian healthy individuals. Methods The questionnaire was translated following the forward-backward method and completed by 511 Italian adults who met the inclusion criteria. Within 2 months of the first assessment, a subgroup of participants (n = 164) was re-tested. The factorial structure of the FPQ-III was assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). To better comprehend the FPQ-III’s factorial structure, a CFA was also performed for each of the two reduced versions of the FPQ-III, namely the FPQ-Short Form and the FPQ-9. Divergent validity, test-retest reliability, and gender/age measurement invariance were also evaluated. Results The results of the CFA revealed that the original three-factor model poorly fitted the data, but it became satisfactory after allowing correlated error terms. Concerning divergent validity, correlations between FPQ-III scores and pain intensity, depression, and anxiety were found to be positive but weak in magnitude (< .20). FPQ-III subscales and total scores showed good internal consistency and time reliability. Finally, scalar invariance was only partially obtained, whereas all the other types of invariance were fully respected both for gender and age. Conclusions The current findings indicate that the Italian version of the FPQ-III provides valid and reliable scores for the assessment of fear of pain in the Italian population.

none 24 no Purpose: The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54) is a specific multiple sclerosis (MS) health-related quality of life inventory consisting of 52 items organized into 12 subscales plus two single items. No study was found in literature assessing its measurement invariance across language versions. We investigated whether MSQOL-54 items provide unbiased measurements of underlying constructs across Italian and English versions. Methods: Three constrained levels of measurement invariance were evaluated: configural invariance where equivalent numbers of factors/factor patterns were required; metric invariance where equivalent factor loadings were required; and scalar invariance where equivalent item intercepts between groups were required. Comparative fit index (CFI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) fit indices and their changes between nested models were used to assess tenability of invariance constraints. Results: Overall, the dataset included 3669 MS patients: 1605 (44%) Italian, mean age 41years, 62% women, 69% with mild level of disability; 2064 (56%) English-speaking (840 [41%] from North America, 797 [39%] from Australasia, 427 [20%] from UK and Ireland), mean age 46years, 83% women, 54% with mild level of disability. The configural invariance model showed acceptable fit (RMSEA = 0.052, CFI = 0.904, SRMR = 0.046); imposing loadings and intercepts equality constraints produced negligible worsening of fit (ΔRMSEA < 0.001, ΔCFI = − 0.002, ΔSRMR = 0.002 for metric invariance; ΔRMSEA = 0.003, ΔCFI = − 0.013, ΔSRMR = 0.003 for scalar invariance). Conclusions: These findings support measurement invariance of the MSQOL-54 across the two language versions, suggesting that the questionnaire has the same meaning and the same measurement paramaters in the Italian and English versions. open Giordano A.; Testa S.; Bassi M.; Cilia S.; Bertolotto A.; Quartuccio M.E.; Pietrolongo E.; Falautano M.; Grobberio M.; Niccolai C.; Allegri B.; Viterbo R.G.; Confalonieri P.; Giovannetti A.M.; Cocco E.; Grasso M.G.; Lugaresi A.; Ferriani E.; Nocentini U.; Zaffaroni M.; De Livera A.; Jelinek G.; Solari A.; Rosato R. Giordano A.; Testa S.; Bassi M.; Cilia S.; Bertolotto A.; Quartuccio M.E.; Pietrolongo E.; Falautano M.; Grobberio M.; Niccolai C.; Allegri B.; Viterbo R.G.; Confalonieri P.; Giovannetti A.M.; Cocco E.; Grasso M.G.; Lugaresi A.; Ferriani E.; Nocentini U.; Zaffaroni M.; De Livera A.; Jelinek G.; Solari A.; Rosato R.

La ricerca si propone di delineare, su un campione non clinico distribuito sul territorio italiano, le relazioni tra aspetti legati alla soddisfazione di coppia, alla soddisfazione sessuale e alla qualita della vita nell’ambito della coppia, analizzando eventuali differenze di matrice socio-demografica, quali eta, genere e scolarizzazione. E stato somministrato un questionario self-report, composto da piu strumenti: questionario sulle attivita sessuali, DAS, PGWBI. Il reclutamento dei partecipanti e avvenuto su base volontaria tramite le sedi FISS di tutta Italia. Il numero finale di questionari analizzati e di 963 (58,7% donne e 41,3% uomini). La maggioranza del campione ha ottenuto un punteggio relativo alla qualita della relazione di coppia (punteggio DAS) al di sopra del cutoff. E stata rilevata una correlazione positiva tra questa variabile e i punteggi alla scala della complicita-soddisfazione sessuale. La percezione della qualita della vita individuale e risultata positivamente correlata alla qualita della relazione di coppia. Rispetto alla dimensione della complicita-soddisfazione sessuale e emerso come uomini e donne si distribuiscano sul continuum soddisfazione-insoddisfazione in modo simile. Sono risultate meno soddisfatte le ultime due fasce d’eta considerate (dai 41 ai 50 anni e dai 51 ai 60 anni). Per quanto riguarda la variabile delle pratiche non-pene-vagina (rapporti orali, rapporti anali, uso di materiale erotico), gli uomini fanno registrare una frequenza maggiormente elevata rispetto alle donne. La scala relativa a tali pratiche e risultata positivamente correlata alla scala della complicita-soddisfazio¬ne sessuale. Da questa analisi e emersa una panoramica della sessualita in Italia che mostra come i soggetti siano in generale soddisfatti della propria vita sessuale e di coppia e come i due tipi di soddisfazione siano tra loro correlati. Un quadro aggiornato su queste tematiche puo essere utile al fine di mobilitare le figure professionali competenti ad attuare piani di informazione ed educazione sessuale in favore della popolazione.

The literature suggests that religion may play an important role in the acculturation process of immigrants by contributing to the maintenance of the heritage culture and preventing identification with the mainstream. With few exceptions, studies on this topic have focused on religion as a whole by assessing specific aspects or dimensions (such as religious identification, beliefs, and practices) and creating a composite measure without analyzing the contribution of each dimension to the acculturation process. In this study, the relationships between specific religious dimensions and acculturation were assessed with a sample of 282 Muslim immigrants who were recruited in the northern part of Italy. Two regression models show that religious identification drives the maintenance of Muslim culture but is unrelated to the acculturation to Italian culture, whereas beliefs and practices do not contribute to heritage acculturation but are negatively associated to acculturation to the host culture.

Many previous studies have indicated that the attachment pattern developed during infancy shapes the adult attachment style, which in turn affects responses to stress and help-seeking behaviors. It may be relevant within clinical contexts to have easy-to-administer and rapid tools aimed to investigate attachment dimensions. The current study presents the Italian adaptation of the Brief Modified Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-M16) – a self-reported measure of the attachment-style dimensions with reference to close others – and assesses its factorial structure. The questionnaire was administered to cancer outpatients. The number of factors to be extracted was calculated via parallel analysis. Subsequently, an exploratory factor analysis was run to calculate the first-order factor structure, which was compared to the original one via Procrustes rotation and Tucker’s coefficient. Finally, a second-order factor structure was calculated by factor analyzing the first-order factor scores. The Italian adaptation of the ECR-M16 is characterized by a first-order factor structure comprising four factors, like the original. The degree of similarity between the two ranges between fair and dissimilar. The second-order factor structure comprises two higher order dimensions, like in the original study. Although partially similar, the two second-order factor structures show relevant differences. A clinically oriented discussion centered on the similarities and differences between the two factor structures is provided, along with indications for future studies.

Introduction. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the factor structure of the CA-MIR (CArtes- Modeles Individuels de Relations), a self-report questionnaire designed to tap into the relational strategies of adults that was developed by a French-speaking research group coordinated by Blaise Pierrehumbert. The CA-MIR’s particular merit lies in the richness and complexity of the theoretical model underpinning it. However, to date, this model has only been partially reproduced in studies using exploratory analysis and has never been tested via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Objective and Method. We thus conducted CFA on data collected from a sample of 979 subjects, recruited using a snowball sampling method during the spring and fall of 2005. To assess if some item multidimensionality was present, we estimated both the independent clusters model (ICM-CFA) and a model in which some zero loading restrictions were removed. Results. The results supported the originally proposed structure of the CA-MIR; the large majority of items were good indicators of the expected latent dimensions and only few items showed relevant secondary loadings or loaded in an unexpected factor. The instrument adequately differentiates the three attachment styles, taking into account both past and present experiences of attachment relationships, and providing a rich and complex assessment of multiple features of attachment. In terms of internal consistency, alpha values were satisfactory and comparable to those found in the original Swiss validation study. Conclusions. Our results are of key importance for both research and clinical work, given the lack of valid and easy-to-administer tools for evaluating adult attachment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the meaning structure of emotion terms from the Greek lexicon, and to assess commonalities and differences with the maps of emotional words obtained in a prior study of neo-Latin languages, a linguistic family sharing ancient roots with the Greek tongue. Twelve native speakers contributed to the selection of 33 Greek terms with a clear emotional meaning and an independent sample of 30 participants evaluated the pairwise similarities among the target words. The similarity ratings were subjected to multidimensional scaling analyses, yielding a three-dimensional configuration (Valence, Physiological Activation and Potency) in which the coping potential dimension (Potency) was more important than, or at least as important as, the Physiological Activation dimension. The map resembled that previously identified for the core neo-Latin languages, namely Italian, French and Spanish, and was quite different from those obtained for other more peripheral neo-Latin languages, and also from those obtained in some studies involving English emotion lexicon. Reasons for these similarities and differences are discussed.

The aim of this study was to estimate preferences related to quality of life attributes in people with multiple sclerosis, by keeping heterogeneity of patient preference in mind, using the latent class approach. A discrete choice experiment survey was developed using the following attributes: activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, pain/fatigue, anxiety/depression and attention/concentration. Choice sets were presented as pairs of hypothetical health status, based upon a fractional factorial design. The latent class logit model estimated on 152 patients identified three subpopulations, which, respectively, attached more importance to: (1) the physical dimension; (2) pain/fatigue and anxiety/depression; and (3) instrumental activities of daily living impairments, anxiety/depression and attention/concentration. A posterior analysis suggests that the latent class membership may be related to an individual’s age to some extent, or to diagnosis and treatment, while apart from energy dimension, no significant difference exists between latent groups, with regard to Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 scales. A quality of life preference-based utility measure for people with multiple sclerosis was developed. These utility values allow identification of a hierarchic priority among different aspects of quality of life and may allow physicians to develop a care programme tailored to patient needs.

This study examined the relations between emotion regulation and defense mechanisms as assessed through self-report questionnaires. Participants were 314 undergraduate students at the University of Turin (Faculty of Agricultural Studies, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences and Faculty of Psychology). Correlational analysis identified several associations between emotion regulation strategies and defense mechanisms. A second-order factor model was tested in which each of the dimensions assessed by the defense mechanisms and emotion regulation instruments was assigned to either an adaptive or maladaptive latent dimension. The results suggested that the dimensions of adaptiveness and maladaptiveness may represent a key link between emotion regulation and defense mechanisms.

This study examined the relationships between protective factors and involvement in risk behaviour of Italian adolescents with friends involved in risk. Protective factors were drawn from models of peers and from individual skills (perceived regulatory self-efficacy, intolerant attitudes about deviance) and orientation (to health, school, religion). The data are from two waves, 1 year apart, of a questionnaire survey of adolescents in northwestern Italy. Participants were 908 adolescents (42% boys) ages 14-16 years. Results of a hierarchical regression revealed that religiosity is a protective factor and that friends' models for conventional behaviours and positive attitude about health can mitigate the influence of deviant friends on adolescent risk behaviour 1 year later, even after controlling for prior levels of risk behaviour. Possible implications of this study suggest the importance of implementing preventive interventions by involving the peer group, especially at about 16 years, and working with heterogeneous (deviant and nondeviant) groups.

This research aimed at the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale (Th.o.m.a.s.). Th.o.m.a.s. is a semi-structured interview meant to evaluate a person's Theory of Mind (ToM). It is composed of several questions organized in four scales, each focusing on one of the areas of knowledge in which such faculty may manifest itself: Scale A (I-Me) investigates first-order first-person ToM; Scale B (Other-Self) investigates third-person ToM from an allocentric perspective; Scale C (I-Other) again investigates third-person ToM, but from an egocentric perspective; and Scale D (Other-Me) investigates second-order ToM. The psychometric proprieties of Th.o.m.a.s. were evaluated in a sample of 156 healthy persons: 80 preadolescent and adolescent (aged 11-17 years, 42 females) and 76 adults (aged from 20 to 67 years, 35 females). Th.o.m.a.s. scores show good inter-rater agreement and internal consistency; the scores increase with age. Evidence of criterion validity was found as Scale B scores were correlated with those of an independent instrument for the evaluation of ToM, the Strange Stories task. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed good fit of the four-factors theoretical model to the data, although the four factors were highly correlated. For each of the four scales, Rasch analyses showed that, with few exceptions, items fitted the Partial credit model and their functioning was invariant for gender and age. The results of this study, along with those of previous researches with clinical samples, show that Th.o.m.a.s. is a promising instrument to assess ToM in different populations.

This study investigates how flashbulb memories (FBMs) relative to the death of Pope John Paul II vary according to the persons' evaluation of the event's importance and consequences. In particular, FBMs were investigated in persons who were expected to attribute different degrees of importance/consequentiality to the event as a function of two factors: (1) religious involvement, (2) nationality (Polish, Italian, Swiss). The comparison was made with respect to the following hypothesized determinants of FBMs: surprise, emotional reaction, rehearsal, event memory and especially the attitudes towards the Pope and the appraisal of the importance and the consequences of his death. Structural equation modelling indicates that importance/consequentiality is a fundamental determinant of FBM and is influenced by antecedent personal and social characteristics reflected in the person's attitudes. Moreover, memory consistency seems to be both directly influenced by emotional intensity and indirectly through rehearsal, whereas surprise seems not a critical determinant of FBM.

This article represents the conclusion of a wide-ranging European project concerning the lexical structure of emotion in the neo-Latin languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese and Romanian. Intended to bring to light common features in these languages, as well as any peculiarities, the research project selected representative samples of emotional terms from the dictionaries of the six languages studied and analysed the similarity between these words using Scaling procedures. The graphic outputs of the Scaling procedures appear to organize the neo-Latin emotion lexicons in respect of three major dimensions that are similar to those already found in other languages: `hedonic value', `potency' and `physiological activation'. Interesting peculiarities emerged in relation to the salience of the dimensions, mainly for Romanian and Portuguese.

Background and Objectives Multiple sclerosis (MS) has a broad spectrum of physical, social, psychological effects and significant impact on quality of life (QoL). Several studies has showed the importance of self-efficacy as a predictor of QoL in patients with MS. This study aims at evaluating the robustness of the relationship between self-efficacy and QoL. Specifically it aims to test whether such relation will vanish under the following conditions: using a general measure of self-efficacy and controlling for level of impairment defined as a broad construct dealing with physical, social and working changes due to the illness condition. Methods One hundred-fifty five participants responded to a questionnaire, including QoL and general self-efficacy measures, socio demographic and clinical variables. Two nested structural equation models that differ for the presence or absence of the path connecting self-efficacy and QoL was estimated. Results and Conclusions The hypothesis of the vanishing of the relationship between self-efficacy and QoL had to be rejected. These results support the genuineness of this relation and emphasize the importance of interventions promoting self-efficacy to improve QoL in chronic diseases such as MS. From a methodological perspective this study is an example of the usefulness of formative indicators in QoL studies.

This study examined the factorial structure of the Theory of Mind (ToM) Storybooks, a comprehensive 93-item instrument tapping the five components in Wellman's model of ToM (emotion recognition, understanding of desire and beliefs, ability to distinguish between physical and mental entities, and awareness of the link between perception and knowledge). A sample of 681 three- to eight-year-old Italian children was divided into three age groups to assess whether factorial structure varied across different age ranges. Partial credit model analysis was applied to the data, leading to the empirical identification of 23 composite variables aggregating the ToM Storybooks items. Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted on the composite variables, providing support for the theoretical model. There were partial differences in the specific composite variables making up the dimensions for each of the three age groups. A single test evaluating distinct dimensions of ToM is a valuable resource for clinical practice which may be used to define differential profiles for specific populations.