Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence (SSIPV) among lesbian women has been underestimated until few ... more Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence (SSIPV) among lesbian women has been underestimated until few decades ago. While the association between romantic attachment and SSIPV has been widely demonstrated, mechanisms that mediate this association and the complex relationships between romantic attachment, SSIPV, and SSIPV-specific risk factors have not been adequately investigated to date. The current study assessed the influence of romantic attachment on SSIPV perpetration among lesbian women, exploring the mediating role of internalized homonegativity within this association. Three hundred and twenty-five Italian lesbian women with a mean age of 30 years were recruited and completed the following self-report measures: the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), the Measure of Internalized Sexual Stigma, and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale Short Form. The results showed a positive association between attachment anxiety, and general and psychological SSIPV perpetration. Simi...
L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che ... more L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che chiameremo Aurora, e stato quello di individuare, mediante l’analisi testuale dei suoi scritti personali (lettere, diario segreto, discorsi in chat) eventuali segnali di disagio che potessero far presagire l’estremo gesto. La ragazza quando si e suicidata per precipitazione aveva 17 anni e frequentava con successo le scuole superiori. L’analisi e stata effettuata mediante l’utilizzo di T-Lab (Lancia, 2004), all’interno della cornice teorica dell’analisi testuale, a cui abbiamo poi affiancato anche una lettura psicodinamica. Dall’analisi dei dati sono emersi alcuni fattori di rischio come l’ambivalenza fra il desiderio di chiedere aiuto e quello di restare da sola (χ2=4.6875 p=0,05); fra la pesantezza della vita e la possibilita/impossibilita di chiedere aiuto (χ2=8.2431 p=0,01) emerge un primo punto fortemente ambivalente. La grande possibilita che ci e stata fornita dai genitori ci ha p...
L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che ... more L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che chiameremo Aurora, è stato quello di individuare, mediante l’analisi testuale dei suoi scritti personali (lettere, diario segreto, discorsi in chat) eventuali segnali di disagio che potessero far presagire l’estremo gesto. La ragazza quando si è suicidata per precipitazione aveva 17 anni e frequentava con successo le scuole superiori. L’analisi è stata effettuata mediante l’utilizzo di T-Lab (Lancia, 2004), all’interno della cornice teorica dell’analisi testuale, a cui abbiamo poi affiancato anche una lettura psicodinamica. Dall’analisi dei dati sono emersi alcuni fattori di rischio come l’ambivalenza fra il desiderio di chiedere aiuto e quello di restare da sola (χ2=4.6875 p=0,05); fra la pesantezza della vita e la possibilità/impossibilità di chiedere aiuto (χ2=8.2431 p=0,01) emerge un primo punto fortemente ambivalente. La grande possibilità che ci è stata fornita dai genitori ci ha p...
International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology: INFAD. Revista de Psicología, 2011
EnglishINTRODUCTION: With the word homophobia or homonegativity we mean the disease, the devaluat... more EnglishINTRODUCTION: With the word homophobia or homonegativity we mean the disease, the devaluation and the hostility for the homosexuals men or women. The researches say high levels of homophobia are correlated with the belief that homosexuality is against nature (Frost, 2010; Lingiardi, 2007). This thought may induce people to act with aggressively against LG population. METHOD: The aims of our research are: first contribute to the validation of the homophobia scales and second to compare the level of homophobia in a sample of university students. Participants: Our sample was of 300 students (M = 22.82, SD = 2.83; min = 19, max = 42, Measures: An Identifying Information Form was used to collect demographic information and the Italian scale, SIMO-G and SIMO-L (Lingiardi, 2005; Lingiardi et al. in press), to evaluate the level of homophobia. CONCLUSIONS: The results show an association between religion education, politics and level of social homophobia. italianoINTRODUZIONE: Con il...
Most studies investigating the role of parenting behaviors on a child's development are directed ... more Most studies investigating the role of parenting behaviors on a child's development are directed to mothers. However, recent analyses show that mothers and fathers have a different influence on a child's functioning, specifically her/his temperament. The present study explored the developmental change of parents' perception of their daughters' and sons' temperament and its association with parental mental health problems. Methods: The sample included 188 parents (94 couples) and their at-term 94 babies (55.3% boys, 44.7% girls). Assessments by self-reports were conducted at 3 (Time 1) and 12 (Time 2) months after the children's birth; at Time 1, mothers and fathers independently answered: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ-R). At Time 2, EPDS, STAI, and IBQ-R were again administered to mothers and fathers. Results: In general, mothers and fathers would give similar descriptions of their child's temperament throughout the first year of life; however, infant temperament showed developmental changes as well as gender differences. Mother and father anxiety and depression symptoms are associated with the infants' negative affectivity. Also, mothers with high anxiety and depression levels perceive their infants with a minor tendency to approach novelty, to seek environmental stimulation, and to express/experience positive emotions. Conclusion: The results highlight the need to screen for infants' temperament vulnerabilities in the context of maternal and paternal depression in order to protect the child from behavioral, cognitive, and emotional difficulties and to create specific programs aimed at preventing dysfunctional parent-infant relationships.
Transition to parenthood is considered a critical process for mothers of twins. There are, howeve... more Transition to parenthood is considered a critical process for mothers of twins. There are, however, few studies on the subject. This study aims to evaluate the differences between mother-twin infant dyads and mother-singleton infant dyads with regard to maternal depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and the quality of mother-infant interaction. Mothers of twin infants (N = 40) were compared to mothers of singletons (N = 72). At infant 3 months, maternal depression, anxiety, and parenting stress were assessed via a questionnaire and styles of interaction with the Care-Index. The results indicated that mothers of twins (vs mothers of singletons) had significantly higher state anxiety and higher scores on the Difficult Child Scale of the Parenting Stress Index at infant 3 months. No significant differences between the two groups were found with regard to maternal depression. Mothers of twins had significantly lower sensitivity and were more unresponsive than mothers of singletons. Twin infants had significantly more difficult and compliant behaviours than singleton infants. Assisted reproductive treatment (ART) and prematurity had no effect on any of the examined variables. State anxiety was shown to partially mediate the relationship between twin parenthood and maternal sensitivity and to completely mediate the relationship between twin parenthood and infant difficult style. Maternal unresponsiveness was shown to be exclusively linked to being the parent of twins. The study shows that twin parenthood has a significant effect on maternal mental health and on the quality of mother-infant interaction and highlights the importance of early prevention programmes for twin parents.
This systematic review aims to examine the existing literature concerning the association between... more This systematic review aims to examine the existing literature concerning the association between father involvement and the development children's cognitive skills during early and middle childhood. Specifically, it analyzes: (1) how the number of researches developed across years; (2) which are the main socio-demographic characteristics of the samples; (3) which are the main focuses examined; and (4) which operational definitions were used to assess father involvement and children cognitive skills. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, the articles were searched through PubMed and EBSCO (PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Education Source, Social Sciences Abstract, Family Studies Abstracts, Gender Studies Database and CINAHL complete). The findings suggest that, although each research used a different operational definition of the father involvement construct, in recent years there was a wide and constant interest increase about this issue. Most of the empirical studies utilized quantitative methods, whereas relatively few used qualitative and only one mixed methods. As regards the analysis of socio-demographic characteristics of the samples there is a great evidence that most of them included biological and residential fathers: it may reflect that this type of sample is easier to recruit than non-residential and non-biological fathers. Regarding the socioeconomic status and the ethnicity of families, the data highlighted how in recent years the literature on father involvement is starting to look at differences in ethnic and cultural backgrounds, in contrast to past researches. The findings revealed that the main focus is the impact of father involvement on children's cognitive skills and the most of the studies highlighted that it is positive and statistically significant. Regarding to the assessment of father involvement and children's cognitive skills, the literature is quite heterogeneous
Background: Among twins, lower linguistic skills emerged when compared with singletons. Consideri... more Background: Among twins, lower linguistic skills emerged when compared with singletons. Considering the association found between parental linguistic input and children's language development, exploring the differences between twins and singletons' linguistic environments could find variables that are potentially associated with the lower linguistic skills of twins. Aim: The current systematic review aims to analyze and systematize the existing literature focused on the comparison of twins' and singletons' linguistic environments within their first 3 years of life. Methodological issues (i.e., the procedure used to assess the linguistic environment, the coding of the linguistic environment's features, the computational method employed to assess the parental linguistic input, and participant characteristics) and differences found among twins and singletons regarding their linguistic environment (i.e., linguistic input quantity, linguistic input complexity, linguistic features of child-directed speech, parental responsiveness, and directiveness, joint attention, and book reading) were highlighted. Method: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was followed. Eligible studies were searched through EBSCO, PubMed, and Web of Science. From this search, 1,347 study results emerged, and 8 studies were included. Results: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review focused on the comparison of twins' and singletons' linguistic environments. Differences between the groups were found in all of the included studies. Data against twins were generally identified regarding all the considered linguistic environment's features. However, conflicting results within and between the included studies emerged, mainly according to the computational method employed (i.e., twin moms value, twin direct dyadic value, twin direct dyadic + both value, and input directed toward both children simultaneously). Conclusion: The disadvantaged linguistic environment of twins is likely due to limited parental resources and demands associated with the management of two children of the same age. However, the limited and conflicting data found did not allow for a firm conclusion to be drawn on the differences in the twins' and singletons' linguistic environments. Further studies on the topic are needed.
This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics... more This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contac
In the scientific literature on aging, a recent core issue has been the role of individuals' inte... more In the scientific literature on aging, a recent core issue has been the role of individuals' internal and external resources, which are considered intrinsically connected, in contributing synergistically to physical and psychological quality of life (QoL). The current study investigates the way in which psychological factors-such as, loneliness, resilience, and mental states, in terms of depression and anxiety symptoms-affect the perceived QoL among elderly individuals. Method: Data from 290 elderly Italian participants were used to study the mediation effects of both mental health and resilience to elucidate the relationship between loneliness and psychophysical QoL. Results: The best model we obtained supports the mediation effect of both resilience and mental health between loneliness and mental and physical QoL. These results highlight that loneliness influences mental and physical QoL via two pathways, with the impact of loneliness mediated by mental health and resilience dimensions. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of the support that elderly people receive from social relationships. In terms of clinical interventions, the reduction of loneliness could be an important factor in primary prevention or the recovery process. A way to reduce levels of mental distress could be represented by the increasing of resilience and self-efficacy and reduction of loneliness dissatisfaction. A high degree of resiliency contributes to increasing perceived life quality at the physical and psychological levels, and at the same time, reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) hav... more Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same sex couples, that is, same sex IPV (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors. Our findings show there is a lack of studies that address LGB individuals involved in IPV; this is mostly due to the silence that has historically existed around violence in the LGB community, a silence built on fears and myths that have obstructed a public discussion on the phenomenon. We identified the main themes discussed in the published studies that we have reviewed here. The reviews lead us to the conclusion that it is essential to create a place where this subject can be freely discussed and approached, both by LGB and heterosexual people.
Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, Jan 11, 2017
The prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women is described to be about 20-25%, while 6-1... more The prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women is described to be about 20-25%, while 6-10% of expectant mothers report a severe fear that impairs their daily activities as well as their ability to cope with labour and childbirth. Research on fear of childbirth risk factors has produced heterogeneous results while being mostly done with expectant mothers from northern Europe, northern America, and Australia. The present research investigates whether fear of childbirth can be predicted by socio-demographic variables, distressing experiences before pregnancy, medical-obstetric factors and psychological variables with a sample of 426 Italian primiparous pregnant women. Subjects, recruited between the 34th and 36th week of pregnancy, completed a questionnaire packet that included the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Supp...
Objective: In the 1st year of the post-partum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic... more Objective: In the 1st year of the post-partum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents. Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples) of healthy babies. At 12 months post-partum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress an...
Objective: Research shows that women experiencing domestic violence and mental health problems of... more Objective: Research shows that women experiencing domestic violence and mental health problems often fall into gaps in services between support for domestic violence and support for mental health. This article reports on an action research project adopting a strengths-based approach to recovery funded by the European Commission. Multi-method research was carried out in five European countries examining how interconnections of domestic violence and mental health impact the lives of women, how their lives can be improved by empowering strategies, and how service providers' professional learning can be developed. Women survivors' strengths and post-traumatic growth in the context of domestic violence remains a considerably under-researched area and the study provides new insights into adopting a strengthsbased framework. Method: Free training programs were designed, delivered and evaluated for two groups of participants (n=136) pertaining to women service users, and mental health service providers (men and women) working with abused women. Results: Program evaluation data gained through surveys and focus groups show that women participants reported growth in self-esteem and coping skills, while professionals felt better equipped to address the tandem issues of domestic violence and mental health. Conclusions: Findings extend current knowledge about the barriers and facilitators to empowerment and strengths-based recovery perspectives, professional learning, and offer a more nuanced understanding of women's agential ability for post-traumatic growth.
Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence (SSIPV) among lesbian women has been underestimated until few ... more Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence (SSIPV) among lesbian women has been underestimated until few decades ago. While the association between romantic attachment and SSIPV has been widely demonstrated, mechanisms that mediate this association and the complex relationships between romantic attachment, SSIPV, and SSIPV-specific risk factors have not been adequately investigated to date. The current study assessed the influence of romantic attachment on SSIPV perpetration among lesbian women, exploring the mediating role of internalized homonegativity within this association. Three hundred and twenty-five Italian lesbian women with a mean age of 30 years were recruited and completed the following self-report measures: the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), the Measure of Internalized Sexual Stigma, and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale Short Form. The results showed a positive association between attachment anxiety, and general and psychological SSIPV perpetration. Simi...
L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che ... more L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che chiameremo Aurora, e stato quello di individuare, mediante l’analisi testuale dei suoi scritti personali (lettere, diario segreto, discorsi in chat) eventuali segnali di disagio che potessero far presagire l’estremo gesto. La ragazza quando si e suicidata per precipitazione aveva 17 anni e frequentava con successo le scuole superiori. L’analisi e stata effettuata mediante l’utilizzo di T-Lab (Lancia, 2004), all’interno della cornice teorica dell’analisi testuale, a cui abbiamo poi affiancato anche una lettura psicodinamica. Dall’analisi dei dati sono emersi alcuni fattori di rischio come l’ambivalenza fra il desiderio di chiedere aiuto e quello di restare da sola (χ2=4.6875 p=0,05); fra la pesantezza della vita e la possibilita/impossibilita di chiedere aiuto (χ2=8.2431 p=0,01) emerge un primo punto fortemente ambivalente. La grande possibilita che ci e stata fornita dai genitori ci ha p...
L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che ... more L’obiettivo della presente ricerca, richiestaci dalla famiglia della ragazza morta suicida e che chiameremo Aurora, è stato quello di individuare, mediante l’analisi testuale dei suoi scritti personali (lettere, diario segreto, discorsi in chat) eventuali segnali di disagio che potessero far presagire l’estremo gesto. La ragazza quando si è suicidata per precipitazione aveva 17 anni e frequentava con successo le scuole superiori. L’analisi è stata effettuata mediante l’utilizzo di T-Lab (Lancia, 2004), all’interno della cornice teorica dell’analisi testuale, a cui abbiamo poi affiancato anche una lettura psicodinamica. Dall’analisi dei dati sono emersi alcuni fattori di rischio come l’ambivalenza fra il desiderio di chiedere aiuto e quello di restare da sola (χ2=4.6875 p=0,05); fra la pesantezza della vita e la possibilità/impossibilità di chiedere aiuto (χ2=8.2431 p=0,01) emerge un primo punto fortemente ambivalente. La grande possibilità che ci è stata fornita dai genitori ci ha p...
International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology: INFAD. Revista de Psicología, 2011
EnglishINTRODUCTION: With the word homophobia or homonegativity we mean the disease, the devaluat... more EnglishINTRODUCTION: With the word homophobia or homonegativity we mean the disease, the devaluation and the hostility for the homosexuals men or women. The researches say high levels of homophobia are correlated with the belief that homosexuality is against nature (Frost, 2010; Lingiardi, 2007). This thought may induce people to act with aggressively against LG population. METHOD: The aims of our research are: first contribute to the validation of the homophobia scales and second to compare the level of homophobia in a sample of university students. Participants: Our sample was of 300 students (M = 22.82, SD = 2.83; min = 19, max = 42, Measures: An Identifying Information Form was used to collect demographic information and the Italian scale, SIMO-G and SIMO-L (Lingiardi, 2005; Lingiardi et al. in press), to evaluate the level of homophobia. CONCLUSIONS: The results show an association between religion education, politics and level of social homophobia. italianoINTRODUZIONE: Con il...
Most studies investigating the role of parenting behaviors on a child's development are directed ... more Most studies investigating the role of parenting behaviors on a child's development are directed to mothers. However, recent analyses show that mothers and fathers have a different influence on a child's functioning, specifically her/his temperament. The present study explored the developmental change of parents' perception of their daughters' and sons' temperament and its association with parental mental health problems. Methods: The sample included 188 parents (94 couples) and their at-term 94 babies (55.3% boys, 44.7% girls). Assessments by self-reports were conducted at 3 (Time 1) and 12 (Time 2) months after the children's birth; at Time 1, mothers and fathers independently answered: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ-R). At Time 2, EPDS, STAI, and IBQ-R were again administered to mothers and fathers. Results: In general, mothers and fathers would give similar descriptions of their child's temperament throughout the first year of life; however, infant temperament showed developmental changes as well as gender differences. Mother and father anxiety and depression symptoms are associated with the infants' negative affectivity. Also, mothers with high anxiety and depression levels perceive their infants with a minor tendency to approach novelty, to seek environmental stimulation, and to express/experience positive emotions. Conclusion: The results highlight the need to screen for infants' temperament vulnerabilities in the context of maternal and paternal depression in order to protect the child from behavioral, cognitive, and emotional difficulties and to create specific programs aimed at preventing dysfunctional parent-infant relationships.
Transition to parenthood is considered a critical process for mothers of twins. There are, howeve... more Transition to parenthood is considered a critical process for mothers of twins. There are, however, few studies on the subject. This study aims to evaluate the differences between mother-twin infant dyads and mother-singleton infant dyads with regard to maternal depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and the quality of mother-infant interaction. Mothers of twin infants (N = 40) were compared to mothers of singletons (N = 72). At infant 3 months, maternal depression, anxiety, and parenting stress were assessed via a questionnaire and styles of interaction with the Care-Index. The results indicated that mothers of twins (vs mothers of singletons) had significantly higher state anxiety and higher scores on the Difficult Child Scale of the Parenting Stress Index at infant 3 months. No significant differences between the two groups were found with regard to maternal depression. Mothers of twins had significantly lower sensitivity and were more unresponsive than mothers of singletons. Twin infants had significantly more difficult and compliant behaviours than singleton infants. Assisted reproductive treatment (ART) and prematurity had no effect on any of the examined variables. State anxiety was shown to partially mediate the relationship between twin parenthood and maternal sensitivity and to completely mediate the relationship between twin parenthood and infant difficult style. Maternal unresponsiveness was shown to be exclusively linked to being the parent of twins. The study shows that twin parenthood has a significant effect on maternal mental health and on the quality of mother-infant interaction and highlights the importance of early prevention programmes for twin parents.
This systematic review aims to examine the existing literature concerning the association between... more This systematic review aims to examine the existing literature concerning the association between father involvement and the development children's cognitive skills during early and middle childhood. Specifically, it analyzes: (1) how the number of researches developed across years; (2) which are the main socio-demographic characteristics of the samples; (3) which are the main focuses examined; and (4) which operational definitions were used to assess father involvement and children cognitive skills. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, the articles were searched through PubMed and EBSCO (PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Education Source, Social Sciences Abstract, Family Studies Abstracts, Gender Studies Database and CINAHL complete). The findings suggest that, although each research used a different operational definition of the father involvement construct, in recent years there was a wide and constant interest increase about this issue. Most of the empirical studies utilized quantitative methods, whereas relatively few used qualitative and only one mixed methods. As regards the analysis of socio-demographic characteristics of the samples there is a great evidence that most of them included biological and residential fathers: it may reflect that this type of sample is easier to recruit than non-residential and non-biological fathers. Regarding the socioeconomic status and the ethnicity of families, the data highlighted how in recent years the literature on father involvement is starting to look at differences in ethnic and cultural backgrounds, in contrast to past researches. The findings revealed that the main focus is the impact of father involvement on children's cognitive skills and the most of the studies highlighted that it is positive and statistically significant. Regarding to the assessment of father involvement and children's cognitive skills, the literature is quite heterogeneous
Background: Among twins, lower linguistic skills emerged when compared with singletons. Consideri... more Background: Among twins, lower linguistic skills emerged when compared with singletons. Considering the association found between parental linguistic input and children's language development, exploring the differences between twins and singletons' linguistic environments could find variables that are potentially associated with the lower linguistic skills of twins. Aim: The current systematic review aims to analyze and systematize the existing literature focused on the comparison of twins' and singletons' linguistic environments within their first 3 years of life. Methodological issues (i.e., the procedure used to assess the linguistic environment, the coding of the linguistic environment's features, the computational method employed to assess the parental linguistic input, and participant characteristics) and differences found among twins and singletons regarding their linguistic environment (i.e., linguistic input quantity, linguistic input complexity, linguistic features of child-directed speech, parental responsiveness, and directiveness, joint attention, and book reading) were highlighted. Method: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was followed. Eligible studies were searched through EBSCO, PubMed, and Web of Science. From this search, 1,347 study results emerged, and 8 studies were included. Results: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review focused on the comparison of twins' and singletons' linguistic environments. Differences between the groups were found in all of the included studies. Data against twins were generally identified regarding all the considered linguistic environment's features. However, conflicting results within and between the included studies emerged, mainly according to the computational method employed (i.e., twin moms value, twin direct dyadic value, twin direct dyadic + both value, and input directed toward both children simultaneously). Conclusion: The disadvantaged linguistic environment of twins is likely due to limited parental resources and demands associated with the management of two children of the same age. However, the limited and conflicting data found did not allow for a firm conclusion to be drawn on the differences in the twins' and singletons' linguistic environments. Further studies on the topic are needed.
This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics... more This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contac
In the scientific literature on aging, a recent core issue has been the role of individuals' inte... more In the scientific literature on aging, a recent core issue has been the role of individuals' internal and external resources, which are considered intrinsically connected, in contributing synergistically to physical and psychological quality of life (QoL). The current study investigates the way in which psychological factors-such as, loneliness, resilience, and mental states, in terms of depression and anxiety symptoms-affect the perceived QoL among elderly individuals. Method: Data from 290 elderly Italian participants were used to study the mediation effects of both mental health and resilience to elucidate the relationship between loneliness and psychophysical QoL. Results: The best model we obtained supports the mediation effect of both resilience and mental health between loneliness and mental and physical QoL. These results highlight that loneliness influences mental and physical QoL via two pathways, with the impact of loneliness mediated by mental health and resilience dimensions. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of the support that elderly people receive from social relationships. In terms of clinical interventions, the reduction of loneliness could be an important factor in primary prevention or the recovery process. A way to reduce levels of mental distress could be represented by the increasing of resilience and self-efficacy and reduction of loneliness dissatisfaction. A high degree of resiliency contributes to increasing perceived life quality at the physical and psychological levels, and at the same time, reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) hav... more Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same sex couples, that is, same sex IPV (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors. Our findings show there is a lack of studies that address LGB individuals involved in IPV; this is mostly due to the silence that has historically existed around violence in the LGB community, a silence built on fears and myths that have obstructed a public discussion on the phenomenon. We identified the main themes discussed in the published studies that we have reviewed here. The reviews lead us to the conclusion that it is essential to create a place where this subject can be freely discussed and approached, both by LGB and heterosexual people.
Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, Jan 11, 2017
The prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women is described to be about 20-25%, while 6-1... more The prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women is described to be about 20-25%, while 6-10% of expectant mothers report a severe fear that impairs their daily activities as well as their ability to cope with labour and childbirth. Research on fear of childbirth risk factors has produced heterogeneous results while being mostly done with expectant mothers from northern Europe, northern America, and Australia. The present research investigates whether fear of childbirth can be predicted by socio-demographic variables, distressing experiences before pregnancy, medical-obstetric factors and psychological variables with a sample of 426 Italian primiparous pregnant women. Subjects, recruited between the 34th and 36th week of pregnancy, completed a questionnaire packet that included the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Supp...
Objective: In the 1st year of the post-partum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic... more Objective: In the 1st year of the post-partum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents. Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples) of healthy babies. At 12 months post-partum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress an...
Objective: Research shows that women experiencing domestic violence and mental health problems of... more Objective: Research shows that women experiencing domestic violence and mental health problems often fall into gaps in services between support for domestic violence and support for mental health. This article reports on an action research project adopting a strengths-based approach to recovery funded by the European Commission. Multi-method research was carried out in five European countries examining how interconnections of domestic violence and mental health impact the lives of women, how their lives can be improved by empowering strategies, and how service providers' professional learning can be developed. Women survivors' strengths and post-traumatic growth in the context of domestic violence remains a considerably under-researched area and the study provides new insights into adopting a strengthsbased framework. Method: Free training programs were designed, delivered and evaluated for two groups of participants (n=136) pertaining to women service users, and mental health service providers (men and women) working with abused women. Results: Program evaluation data gained through surveys and focus groups show that women participants reported growth in self-esteem and coping skills, while professionals felt better equipped to address the tandem issues of domestic violence and mental health. Conclusions: Findings extend current knowledge about the barriers and facilitators to empowerment and strengths-based recovery perspectives, professional learning, and offer a more nuanced understanding of women's agential ability for post-traumatic growth.
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Papers by Luca Rollè