Lo spettro impulsivo-compulsivo nell’addiction: una prospettiva in- tegrata sullo sviluppo delle dipendenze patologiche in adolescenza

The evaluation of alcohol use disorder is the important first stage of interven- tions and treatments. The S.A.I.D. is an auto-evaluation test built on the assumption that alcoho- lism is close connected to the other person’s life problems that may have contributed to rouse, exacerbate or maintain alcoholism. The test is composed of 39 items, presented as auto-descriptions, that provide patient’s diagnostic profile articulated in two specific areas (social area and psycho- logical area), each divided in 9 scales (work/study; relationships; social relation- ship; cure/physical health; depression; hostility; inattention, anxiety,alexitimya) investigated through specific behavioural indexes th…

Psychic retreats or psychic pits?: Unbearable states of mind and technological addiction.

New technologies are highly interactive. They promote imaginative involvement and allow the experience of different self-states, such as those involving withdrawal or “psychic retreat”. According to Steiner, psychic retreats are areas of the mind populated by imagination and ideas which are poorly aligned with reality. Psychic retreats are not necessarily pathological in themselves—for instance, they can be used positively for counteracting anxiety or enhancing creativeness. However, with technological addiction there is a misuse of psychic retreat: here the total absorption with computer applications serves to hide painful or unbearable states of mind, and to protect the patient from overw…

Menti che si fondono. L'invischiamento relazionale tra stalker e vittima

Ricerca sugli outcomes di Orthos: programma residenziale di psicoterapia intensiva per giocatori d'azzardo

PREFAZIONE ALL’EDIZIONE ITALIANA

Reliability and validity of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia in a mixed clinical and nonclinical sample from Italy. PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH, vol. 187, p. 432-436, ISSN: 0165-1781, doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.02.015

In this study, the (a) association of the client- and therapist-rated strength of the real relationship to the outcome of brief psychotherapy, and (b) extent to which the real relationship predicted outcome above and beyond the predictive power of the working alliance were examined. A total of 50 clients at the counseling center of a university in Italy received brief therapy and completed measures before treatment, after the third session, and at the end of treatment. From the clients’ perspective, both the Genuineness element of the real relationship and the Bond scale of the working alliance were found to relate significantly to treatment outcome. When we examined the real relationship a…

Gambling e Psicopatia

Uno degli elementi che emerge frequentemente in letteratura è l’associazione osservabile tra psicopatia e dipendenze patologiche, sia da sostanza che comportamentali. I dati di ricerca mostrano, infatti, una correlazione significativa tra PCL-R e consumo di sostanze (Blackburn & Coid, 1998; Brinkley et al., 2001; Rutherford et al., 2000), in particolare con il fattore 2 della PCL-R, quello connesso allo stile di vita antisociale. Queste associazioni sono coerenti con l’idea che un tratto determinante della psicopatia è l’elevata impulsività, spesso connessa alle condotte di risk-taking. Tale connessione si osserva anche per ciò che concerne la relazione tra psicopatia e gioco d’azzardo pato…

Disregolazione affettiva, trauma e dissociazione in un gruppo non clinico di adolescenti. Una prospettiva evolutiva

Psicobiologia dell'attaccamento

In this work, the emotional and cerebral development of the individual is treated as a complex process, within which genetic and experiential factors interact; equal focus is given to these factors as is through the interactions of both that the human brain achieves full maturity. The recent literature on neuroscientific findings has allowed to understand further which are the mechanisms that play the most important role in the human brain. In particular, this recent work has pointed out the importance of precocious experiences of emotional syntonization between the baby and its development partners; the quality of the experiences that such partners will be able to provide will configure no…

L’ALESSITIMIA COME DISREGOLAZIONE DEGLI AFFETTI.

ALESSITIMIA, VALUTAZIONE E TRATTAMENTO

Il costrutto di alessitimia e la sua valutazione.

Rationale for the use of the CECA measures as preferred tools for research on the relationship between child abuse/neglect and adult psychopathology

POSTFAZIONE

Mafia and psychopathy

Background In popular culture, Mafia members are often portrayed as ruthless, callous and remorseless, but there is no empirical research on their personality traits. Aims The goal of this research was to examine levels of psychopathic traits among Mafia members who have been convicted of a criminal offence. Methods The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) rated 30 Italian adult male prisoners who had been convicted for Mafia-related crimes (86% resident in one 6-month period) and 39 next adjacent convicted men who were not enrolled in any criminal organisation. Results Mafia members obtained lower PCL-R total scores, interpersonal and affective (PCL-R factor 1) scores and lifestyle scores…

Adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol plasma levels directly correlate with childhood neglect and depression measures in addicted patients.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction has been reported to be involved in vulnerability to alcohol and drug dependence in humans, possibly underlying both addictive behaviour and depression susceptibility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible interactions between childhood adverse experiences, depressive symptoms and HPA axis function in addicted patients, in comparison with healthy control. Eighty-two abstinent heroin or cocaine dependent patients and 44 normal controls, matched for age and sex, completed the symptoms Check List-90 (SCL-90), measuring depressive symptoms, and the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire. Blood samples wer…

Development of a new measure for assessing insight: Psychometric properties of the insight orientation scale (IOS)

Abstract Introduction Given the centrality of insight in promoting change, the relevance of measures for assessing this construct has become increasingly clear. This paper describes a new self-report measure for assessing some of the characteristics of insight, the insight orientation scale (IOS). Aims In study 1, we evaluated the factor structure and the reliability of the scale. In study 2, we analyzed the concurrent and discriminant validity of the scale in patients with different clinical diagnoses. Methods In study 1 participants were 600 individuals (41.1% male, 58.9% female) with a mean age of 33.95 years (SD = 13.04). In study 2 participants were 136 individuals divided into the fol…

La solitudine del curante, la scissione mente-corpo e il deficit della simbolizzazione

La diagnosi differenziale nella valutazione della psicopatia e del comportamento violento

La psicopatia č un disturbo di personalitŕ definito dalla presenza di tratti e comportamenti che hanno un impatto negativo sugli individui e sulla societŕ, tra cui egocentrismo patologico, fascino superficiale, senso di sé grandioso, bisogno di stimoli, uso patologico di menzogne e manipolazione, mancanza di rimorso e di senso di colpa, insensibilitŕ, mancanza di empatia, impulsivitŕ, irresponsabilitŕ, tendenza alla criminalitŕ. Sebbene il concetto di psicopatia sia da secoli discusso nella letteratura psichiatrica, la mancanza di una specifica categorizzazione nosografica nei manuali diagnostici, nonché l'erronea sovrapposizione con altri disturbi clinici (ad es., il disturbo antisociale d…

La disregolazione affettiva e la dissociazione nei disturbi somatoformi

Le dipendenze patologiche. Clinica e psicopatologia

Le dipendenze patologiche e la laoro valutazione diagnostica.

The relationship between alexithymia, shame, trauma, and body image disorders: investigation over a large clinical sample.

Emilio Franzoni,1 Stefano Gualandi,1 Vincenzo Caretti,2 Adriano Schimmenti,3 Elena Di Pietro,1 Gaetano Pellegrini,1 Giuseppe Craparo,3 Arianna Franchi,1 Alberto Verrotti,4 Alessandro Pellicciari11Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, University of Bologna, Italy; 2Department of Psychology, University of Palermo, Italy; 3Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy; 4Department of Pediatrics, University of Chieti, ItalyBackground: The connections between eating disorders (EDs) and alexithymia have not been fully clarified. This study aims to define alexithymia's connections with shame, trauma, dissociation, and body image disorders.Methods: We administered the Dis…

LA TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE (TAS-20).

Childhood Maltreatment, Educational Attainment, and IQ: Findings From a Multicentric Case-control Study of First-episode Psychosis (EU-GEI).

[Background and hypothesis] Evidence suggests that childhood maltreatment (ie, childhood abuse and childhood neglect) affects educational attainment and cognition. However, the association between childhood maltreatment and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) seems stronger among controls compared to people with psychosis. We hypothesised that: the association between childhood maltreatment and poor cognition would be stronger among community controls than among people with first-episode of psychosis (FEP); compared to abuse, neglect would show stronger associations with educational attainment and cognition; the association between childhood maltreatment and IQ would be partially accounted for by ot…

La depressione perinatale: correlazioni tra madri e padri

La valutazione della psicopatia con la PCL-R e aspetti depressivi

La PCL-R è lo strumento più utilizzato al mondo per la misurazione del costrutto di psicopatia: si tratta di un test clinician-report multimetodo che, attraverso l’applicazione di un’intervista semistrutturata e l’analisi della documentazione personale, degli atti processuali e delle informazioni collaterali relative al soggetto, permette di valutare accuratamente il grado di psicopatia di un individuo.

Traumatic experiences in childhood and psychopathy: a study on a sample of violent offenders from Italy

Background: The link between early traumatic experiences of abuse/neglect and criminal behaviour has been widely demonstrated. Less is known, however, about the relationship between these experiences and the development of psychopathic personality. Objective: This study investigated childhood relational trauma in a group of violent offenders from Italy. We hypothesised a higher level of early relational trauma associated with higher scores on psychopathy. Method: Twenty-two offenders convicted for violent crimes aged 22-60 (M=38, SD=11) participated in this study. Participants were selected by the Italian justice system for an experimental research programme aiming at the evaluation of psyc…

COMPULSIVITA' SESSUALE: UN INQUADRAMENTO DIAGNOSTICO, CLINICO E PSICODINAMICO DELLE DIPENDENZE SESSUALI

I disturbi d’ansia

PRESENTAZIONE.

Gli esiti psicopatologici della dissociazione

USO CLINICO DELL ADULT ATTACHMENT INTERVIEW: UN APPROFONDIMENTO

This article aims at illustrating how the patients assessment and the process of psychotherapy can be significantly improved by the administration of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The AAI questions evoke the memories of the interactions with the caregiving figures during childhood, thus providing an access to the patients states of mind regarding attachment; these childhood memories are crucial for the individuals approach to world and relationships, as they constitute the core of the Internal Working Models. Accordingly, the administration of the AAI can help the clinician and the patient in the development of the therapeutic alliance, also allowing an in-depth exploration of the p…

Stalking: definizione del costrutto, aspetti fenomenologici, comportamenti associati.

Objectives: Scientific literature on stalking behaviors is not sufficiently uniform and shows no clear definition of the theorical construct of stalking. In order to respond to current scientific criteria for defining a psychological and behavioral construct, the definition of "stalking" should be exhaustive and specific at the same time. There must be also a positive consensus by scholars on a definition of a construct, for that definition becoming operationalized and therefore profitably appliable in theory and research. Methods: Exploring the theoretical definitions of stalking that are privileged in current literature, and reviewing the different behavioral markers suggested for identif…

Reliability and validity of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia in a mixed clinical and nonclinical sample from Italy

The reliability and validity of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA) have been demonstrated in previous studies with English-speaking community and psychiatric samples and a German-speaking psychiatric sample. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TSIA in a mixed clinical and nonclinical sample from Italy. The original English version of the TSIA was translated into Italian and administered, along with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), to 80 healthy subjects, 69 medical outpatients, and 62 psychiatric outpatients. Eighty-one videotaped interviews were used for assessing the interrater reliability. Confirmatory factor analys…

Validité, Fiabilité et proprieties psychometriques de la version italienne de l’interview CECA (Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse Interview)

International audience; In questo articolo sono presentate le procedure di validazione e le caratteristiche psicometriche della versione italiana dell’intervista Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA; Bifulco et al. 1994). La CECA è un’intervista retrospettiva semistrutturata, somministrabile a partire dai 16 anni di età, che misura le esperienze vissute nell’infanzia e nell’adolescenza. La CECA risulta particolarmente nota nella letteratura internazionale, dove è considerata il criterio gold standard per la rilevazione delle esperienze di cura e di abuso vissute in età infantile e adolescenziale: essa viene comunemente utilizzata nella pratica psicologica e psichiatrica, oltre che n…

Fattori di rischio psicosociale e depressivo in gravidanza e la depressione post partum

Assessment of the Relationship Between the Use of Birth Control Pill and the Characteristics of Mate Selection

Abstract Introduction In recent research, scientists have begun to suspect that birth control pill use could interfere with key mechanisms that play a role when women choose a sexual partner. Many studies have shown that women, particularly during the most fertile days of their menstrual cycle, look for specific physical, psychological, and behavioral characteristics indicative of genetic quality in a short‐term partner. Aims Analysis of the psychometric properties of the Partner's Masculinity Index (PMI) scale. The scale was built to assess the degree of masculinity in hypothetical short‐term partners. Methods A total of 395 female Italian volunteers from Central Italy (M = 32.9 years old,…

Hippocampal and Amygdalar Volumes Changes in Drug Addicts: A Preliminary Study

Oral comunication for American Society of Neuroradiology 45th Annual Meeting. Chicago, June 9-14 2007

The Relationships between Early Trauma, Dissociation, and Alexithymia in Alcohol Addiction

Objective Addiction is often considered a dissociative behavior that is related to alexithymia and developmental trauma. The study aims were to explore the relationships between early trauma, alexithymia, and dissociation. Methods A total of 117 (males=60; females=57) alcohol-addicted individuals and 117 healthy individuals (males=60; females=57) were administered a series of self-report questionnaires that assess traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and pathological dissociation. Results Correlation analyses indicated significant correlations between alexithymia, dissociation, and trauma and a significant difference between the target and control groups, with higher alexithymia and dissocia…

LA CORRELAZIONE TRA ALESSITIMIA E DISSOCIAZIONE NELLA DIPENDENZA PATOLOGICA. NUOVE PROSPETTIVE DELLA RICERCA SUll’ADDICTION "TECNOMEDIATA"

Fattori di rischio della depressione post partum

La maternità rappresenta un periodo critico per una donna, caratterizzato da profonde trasformazioni fisiche, psicologiche e relazionali. I cambiamenti e la riorganizzazione richiesti in questa fase possono portare all’insorgenza di alcuni disturbi, tra cui la depressione post partum che nelle società occidentali ha un’incidenza compresa tra l’8% e il 15 % e può provocare effetti negativi sulla relazione madre-bambino e sullo sviluppo del bambino. Nel presente articolo vengono esaminati i fattori che predispongono allo sviluppo della depressione post partum, attraverso una revisione della letteratura sui fattori di rischio biologici, ambientali, ginecologici e ostetrici, psicosociali e psic…

INTRODUZIONE

Corrigendum to “Development of a new measure for assessing insight: Psychometric properties of the insight orientation scale (IOS)” [Schizophr. Res. 169 (2015) 298–302]

La valutazione della disregolazione affettiva con la Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA

Fattori di rischio della dipendenza patologica in adolescenza

Dipendenza e adolescenza

Sulla dipendenza Patologica: Una nuova ipotesi della doppia diagnosi basata sulla teoria del trauma

TRAUMA, DISSOCIAZIONE, DISREGOLAZIONE, DIPENDENZA

INTRODUZIONE ALL’EDIZIONE ITALIANA DI: LA DISSOCIAZIONE NEI BAMBINI E NEGLI ADOLESCENTI, UNA PROSPETTIVA EVOLUTIVA

Il ruolo del trauma nell'addiction

Antisocial and psychopathic personalities in a sample of addicted subjects: differences in psychological resources, symptoms, alexithymia and impulsivity.

Objective: Psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are two constructs not interchangeable. Compared to the ASPD, psychopathy is characterized by lack of anxiety, low withdrawal, and high levels of attention seeking. Method: The sample of this study included 76 subjects with a substance use disorder. Subjects were aged between 18 and 59 years old (M = 32.87, SD = 9.36). With respect to level of education 3 subjects are elementary school graduates, 49 have a middle school diploma, 21 own a high school diploma, and 3 participants have a bachelor's degree. We administered the following measures: a) Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R); b) Psychological Treatment Inv…

Ipotesi di nuovi criteri diagnostici per l'addiction

Il Trauma

Childhood neglect and parental care perception in cocaine addicts: Relation with psychiatric symptoms and biological correlates

Childhood neglect and poor child–parent relationships have been reported to increase substance use disorders susceptibility. Stressful environmental factors, including emotional neglect, could affect individual personality traits and mental health, possibly inducing stable changes in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and brain mono-amine function, in turn involved in addictive behavior vulnerability. Therefore, we decided to investigate homovanillic (HVA) and prolactin (PRL) plasma levels, as expression of possible changes in dopamine function, ACTH and cortisol plasma levels, as measures of HPA axis function, and concomitant psychiatric symptoms profile in abstinent cocaine a…

The Relationship Between Attachment and Psychopathy: A Study with a Sample of Violent Offenders

This study used a mixed quantitative-qualitative methodology to investigate the relationship between attachment and psychopathy. The Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R; Hare 2003) was administered to 139 Italian offenders who were convicted of violent crimes (murder, rape, child sexual abuse, armed robbery, assault causing bodily harm). First, we explored whether the two PCL-R items theoretically denoting devaluation of attachment bonds (promiscuous sexual behavior and many marital relationships) were able to predict PCL-R total, factor and facet scores. Subse- quently, we analyzed the transcripts of the 10 participants who obtained the highest PCL-R scores in the sample, assessing their…