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Aim This study was conducted to develop and validate a new self-report questionnaire for measuring quality of life (QoL), at school age, in children with a very low birthweight (VLBW). Method Through a focus group approach, children were involved directly in defining the questionnaire items, which were presented as illustrations rather than written questions. This preliminary validation of the questionnaire was conducted in 152 participants with VLBW (aged 7–11y) randomly selected from the five participating Italian centres. The questionnaire was completed by children and parents separately; data on children's demographic and medical history, and intellectual, adaptive, and behavioural functioning were collected using standardized scales. All the children also completed the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), another Italian-language measure of QoL in children. Results Our questionnaire was readily accepted and understood, and quick to complete. The Cronbach's alpha value showed it to be a reliable instrument. The child-compiled version correlated well with the PedsQL, whereas no correlations emerged with the other scales used, IQ, or degree of impairment. Conversely, these variables correlated significantly with the parent-compiled version. Children's and parents’ answers were divergent on practically all the items. Interpretation The results confirm the validity of the new instrument and highlight a poor overlap between parents’ and children's perspectives.

La Depressione Post-Partum (PPD) ha un incidenza del 12–16% circa delle donne in seguito alla gravidanza (O’Hara e Swain, 1996) e può incidere con serie e disabilitanti ripercussioni a lungo termine sulla madre, sul partner, e sullo sviluppo futuro del bambino. Nonostante i disordini depressivi in epoca peri e post natale siano di estrema rilevanza sociale e per la salute pubblica, essi sono sottovalutati, poco riconosciuti e spesso non trattati. A tale riguardo - nonostante si conoscano mplteplici aspetti relativi ai disordini psichici che possono intervenire nel periodo della gravidanza e del dopo parto - si rende necessaria una migliore chiarificazione al fine di pervenire a efficaci interventi preventivi e di trattamento. Il presente articolo presenta una rassegna sistematica delle più recenti indagini riguardanti l’incidenza, le caratteristiche, gli esiti e i possibili interventi relativi al fenomeno della depressione post partum.

In the framework of the cognitive-constructivist approach and referring to Guidano's personality organization model, the paper describes the dynamics of mood disorders, their links with patient's history of attachment, how they appear in the four personality organizations and some treatment issues

The aim of this study was to present a hospital intensive care program for patients affected by a severe eating disorders, with a significant loss of weight (BMI15 and weight less than 25° centile), severe medical complications (orthostatic hypotension, bradycardia40 bpm or tachycardia110 bpm or inability to sustain core body temperature), abnormal laboratory data, especially electrolyte imbalance and refusal to take food and fluids.In our study we reported 2 year follow-up of 16 patients treated with the hospital intensive care program between 2007 and 2008 in our department.The proposed program was proved an efficient method in a critical phase of the alimentary behavior disorders. It was possible for all the patients to avoid alternative feeding techniques (enteral or parenteral) and to obtain a correct alimentation with a satisfactory improvement of clinical conditions. Eight patients (50%) fully recovered. 5 patients (31.25%) had a significant improvement reaching a BMI18.5 and one of them had a regular menstrual cycle, too. However in this group of patients a strict modality to alimentation and concern about weight and physical appearance remain. In 3 patients (18.5%) the BMI is still low and amenorrhea persists.The hospital intensive care program, inspired by the cognitive-behavioral model, through a food rehabilitation and a psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational help, lets the patients and their family understand and modify the dysfunctional patterns, experimenting a right modality to approach alimentation, with a satisfactory improvement in clinical conditions.

The experience of being removed from one's home and the transition to a residential care system pose enormous challenges for a child. Substantial evidence has been found regarding severe developmental effects due to early exposition to extreme psychosocial and affective deprivation. The research on Bowlby's theoretical proposals has highlighted the link between insecure, disorganized and atypical attachment patterns and children both living in foster care facilities and adopted out of those institutions. The goal of this pilot study is to investigate the attachment representation in an Italian sample of children in middle childhood (9-13 years old) who have been removed from their homes.Two compared groups of children participated in this study. The first group was composed of 24 Italian children who had been removed from their homes. The second group, considered as the control group, was composed of 35 Italian children who had never been in foster care placement. The quality of children's attachment to their primary caregivers was assessed by the Child Attachment Interview, an innovative semi-structured interview that seeks to bridge the measurement gap identified in middle childhoodThe children in foster care placement show a higher percentage of insecure and disorganized attachment representations and lower scores on the Child Reflective Functioning Scale.The clinical implications and enhancements to effective intervention for foster children's caretaking are discussed.