The moderating effects of social support and romantic relationship in the link between child maltreatment and self-harm

Maternal attachment style and adolescents' self-esteem

Objectives: the study is aimed to verify the incidence of maternal relationship styles on adolescents’ self-esteem and their predisposition towards anxiety. Methods Participants: 250 mother-son/daughter couples. Adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years. Measurements: a brief form of Bracken’s Self-Concept Scale (Manna, Mirisola, Boca, 2005); Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (Endler, Edwards, Vitelli, 1996); Attachment Style Questionnaire (Feeney, Noller, Hanrahan, 1996). Procedure: Questionnaires were collectively administered to adolescents during school lessons. Mothers filled out the Attachment Style Questionnaire individually. Results: Multivariate analysis were performed to verif…

Substances use and perception among adolescents in Italy: Findings from an exploratory study

SUMMARY. Introduction: The present paper aims to examine the knowledge and the perception of some psychoactive substances (hashish, cocaine, ecstasy, etc.) of a group of Italian adolescents. Besides, the study investigates the way adolescents perceive drug effects, incidence among peers, and personal acknowledgement of the use of different substances. Methods: 650 adolescents, aged from 14 to 19, attending the first and the last two-year period of high school, filled out a questionnaire addressed to assess substances use and perception. Results: Inadequate knowledge of some substances emerged. Heroin and cocaine were considered dangerous substances. As for ecstasy, danger was often linked t…

The italian adaptation of Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS-V): A contribution

Objectives: The present study is addressed to validate the Italian version of the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS-V; Zuckerman, Eysenck & Eysenck, 1978), the most popular and widely used instrument to assess individuals’ tendency to differ with respect to their optimal levels of stimulation and arousal. Methods: After forward- and back-translation, psychometric properties were estimated from 1530 adolescents and young students (38.8% males; 61.5% females), who were asked to give their preference using a dichotomous forced choice answer format. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses highlighted a 2-factor structure: Thrill and Adventure Seeking and Disinhibition. Positive …