Immigrants Psychopathology: Emerging Phenomena and Adaptation of Mental Health Care Setting by Native Language.

2018

Mental health of immigrants is an important social and clinical issue. Immigrants may report higher rates of mental disorders and lower levels of use of mental health service with respect to natives. The aim of the present work is to review recent findings of the psychopathology of immigrants and analyze how to adapt the mental care settings through the use of mother tongues. We searched the literature to individuate and review the most recent scientific articles focused on the psychopathology of immigrants realized in Europe. Moreover, we summarized the guidelines about immigrants mental health care and we focused on the barriers caused by language. We individuated 15 papers reporting data…

Al di là del sintomo. Il gruppo psicodinamico nelle dipendenze

2012

I Disturbi da Uso di Sostanze (DUS) e i Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare (DCA) presentano delle caratteristiche comuni. Essi infatti si manifestano attraverso un attacco al corpo, presentano un’insorgenza in età adolescenziale o tardo adolescenziale e una prevalenza associata rispettivamente al genere maschile e femminile. In una prospettiva psicodinamica, ciò che soprattutto accomuna i DUS e i DCA (insieme ai disturbi psicosomatici) è il fatto di poter essere considerati dei disturbi di secondo livello, dei quadri sintomatologici di copertura rispetto ad una sofferenza psichica sottostante. In questo senso possono essere considerate delle modalità di auto-terapia e autoregolazione emo…

Promoting Awareness about Psychological Consequences of Living in a Community Oppressed by the Mafia: A Group-Analytic Intervention

2017

The effects of the Mafia have been extensively studied from sociological, economic, and historical points of view. However, little research has investigated the influence of the Mafia on individuals and communities in terms of its psychological and social impact. In order to contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the psychological effects of the Mafia on individuals and communities and to promote a participative process of social change, a group analytic intervention was conducted within a Community Based Participatory Research carried out in Corleone, a small Sicilian town with a historically recognized role in the evolution of the Mafia, as well as in the fight against its …

Mediating Effects of Global Negative Effect Expectancies on the Association between Problematic Cannabis Use and Social Anxiety

2017

The relationship between social anxiety and cannabis use among adolescents and young adults is a highly debated topic. In this cross-sectional study, we tested whether cannabis use expectancies mediated the association between social anxiety and cannabis use severity in a sample of 343 young adults (74.3% male) who used cannabis. They completed self-report measures for the screening of problematic cannabis use (Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test) and social anxiety symptoms (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale). A multiple mediation analysis was used to test whether marijuana effect expectancies mediate social anxiety effect on problematic cannabis use. Social an…

Problematic video game use as an emotional coping strategy: Evidence from a sample of MMORPG gamers

2019

Background A positive relationship between problematic gaming and escapism motivation to play video games has been well established, suggesting that problematic gaming may result from attempts to deal with negative emotions. However, to date, no study has examined how emotion dysregulation affects both escapism motives and problematic gaming patterns. Methods Difficulties in emotion regulation, escapism, and problematic involvement with video games were assessed in a sample of 390 World of Warcraft players. A structural equation modeling framework was used to test the hypothesis that escapism mediates the relationship between emotion dysregulation and problematic gaming. Results Statistica…

Integrating xAPI in AR applications for Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support

2021

The spread of new technologies like Augmented Reality and recent technological developments, provide innovative techniques and tools that show increasing potential in education. In this paper we will showcase the work implemented within the Horizon 2020 European project ARETE (Augmented Reality Interactive Educational System). One of the pilots of this project aims to investigate for the first time the introduction of AR to support a behavioral lesson in schools where Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) methodology is adopted. In particular, we present the study conducted to track user interactions with augmented reality objects through the use of the Experience API standard.

Transition to adulthood and recession: a qualitative study

2016

While the transition to adulthood has been broadly examined, less is known about the impact of economic recession on the well-being and psychosocial functioning of young people. The present study used qualitative interviews with 12 college students to understand their experience. Consensual qualitative research was used to analyse data and develop core themes around young people’s experiences. Interviews focused on how young people perceived the impact of the economic recession on their social context and on emotional, behavioural, and interpersonal dimensions. Although students showed a proactive attitude in dealing with the crisis, findings highlighted a negative impact on psychological f…

Rolling Psychodynamic Group for Cocaine Use Disorder: A Single-Group Study Using Multilevel Models

2017

Cocaine disorder has been shown to have an important impact on the success of treatments because it is often associated with social or occupational impairment, high relapse incidences and poor trea...

Self-image and psychological distress in treatment-seeking adolescents

2017

Background: Adolescence has been recognized as a critical period for mental health during which it is fundamental to the well-being of adolescents to provide early and appropriate mental health interventions. Self-image perceptions play a particularly relevant role during adolescence since individuals are extensively involved in reorganizing their identity and relationships. Although the self-image development implies adaptive outcomes for most adolescents, some age-related tasks can be difficult to deal with and lead to psychological suffering for a minority of them. Method: This study examined how domain-specific self-image was associated with psychological distress in 128 treatment-seeki…

Relationship between device acceptance and patient-reported outcomes in Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) recipients

2019

AbstractThe number of Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) implanted each year is rising. Nevertheless, there are minimal data on device acceptance after LVAD implant, and on its relationship with patient-reported outcomes. We designed a cross-sectional study to address this knowledge gap and test the hypothesis that low device acceptance is associated with poorer quality of life, depression and anxiety. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess quality of life (12-item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire quality of life subscale), level of anxiety (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder; GAD-7), level of depression (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9) and device a…

The psychological impact of the crisis: a qualitative study

2013

Terapia di gruppo in setting comunitario per pazienti con disturbo da uso di sostanze (DUS): un contributo di ricerca

2012

La terapia di gruppo è considerata uno dei trattamenti elettivi per i DUS, trovando ampio utilizzo nei setting ambulatoriali e residenziali statunitensi e anglosassoni. Nonostante ciò si registrano significative lacune rispetto alla valutazione dell’efficacia delle psicoterapie di gruppo, soprattutto di matrice psicodinamica. Il presente contributo di ricerca propone un’analisi dell’andamento della coesione e dei fattori terapeutici nell’arco di un anno all’interno di un gruppo psicoterapeutico slow-open in setting comunitario per pazienti DUS. Il gruppo di matrice fenomenologico-esistenziale ha coinvolto 28 pazienti che si sono alternati in funzione dei nuovi ingressi e delle uscite (compl…

Minori stranieri non accompagnati e sistema sanitario. Un modello educativo che può facilitare questo rapporto.

2014

Crisi economica e funzionamento psicologico: uno studio qualitativo

2013

"Il gruppo mi è servito a...": valutazione di un'esperienza di training

2014

Il contributo espone i dati di una ricerca qualitativa che riguarda la valutazione soggettiva dell’esperienza di partecipazione a cinque gruppi a conduzione psicodinamica svolti in ambito universitario. I gruppi di training sono oggi ampiamente utilizzati in diversi settori della formazione psicologica. Molti autori suggeriscono che gli studenti devono svolgere attività esperienziali per l'apprendimento ottimale (Connolly et al, 2005;. Guth & McDonnell, 2004; Kottler, 2004; McDonnell et al, 2005;. Wilson et al. 2004); tuttavia vi sono ancora pochi studi che mostrano l’esito formativo di questo tipo di esperienza. Obiettivi della ricerca sono: (1) comprendere l’esito dell’esperienza percepit…

I fattori terapeutici nella psicoterapia di gruppo per disturbi da uso di sostanze. Considerazioni cliniche a partire da un contributo empirico

2013

L'articolo propone alcune riflessioni sui gruppi psicoterapeutici ad orientamento psicodinamico con pazienti tossicodipendenti a partire da una ricerca focalizzata sull'analisi del processo e sui fattori terapeutici. Viene anche presentata l'analisi degli elementi processuali che la letteratura ritiene rilevanti nel favorire i processi di cambiamento psicologico

Psicoterapia di gruppo per pazienti con diagnosi di abuso di cocaina:valutazione del processo nei primi sei mesi

2012