0000000001313951
AUTHOR
Patrizia Steca
showing 27 related works from this author
How does illness severity influence depression, health satisfaction and life satisfaction in patients with cardiovascular disease? The mediating role…
2013
Numerous empirical studies have investigated the relationships between cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and patients' psychological well-being, with a focus almost exclusively on its dark side. Very little is known on the impact of illness severity on both negative and positive indicators of patients' well-being, as well as on the psychosocial variables that may mediate this association. Aim of the study was to investigate the impact of illness severity on depression as well as on health satisfaction and life satisfaction of patients undergoing a cardiovascular rehabilitation. It also aimed at testing the mediation of illness perception and self-efficacy beliefs in managing cardiac risk factor…
Measuring dispositional optimism in patients with chronic heart failure and their healthcare providers: The validity of the Life Orientation Test-Rev…
2017
Patrizia Steca,1 Dario Monzani,1 Antonia Pierobon,2 Giulia Avvenuti,2 Andrea Greco,1 Anna Giardini2 1Department of Psychology, University of Milano – Bicocca, Milan, 2Psychology Unit, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri Spa SB, IRCCS Montescano, Montescano, Italy Abstract: The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) measures dispositional optimism (DO) – an individual difference promoting physical and psychological well-being in healthy adults (HAs) as well as in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and healthcare providers (HPs). Controversy has arisen regarding the dimensionality of the LOT-R. Whereas DO was originally defined as a one-dimensional construct, empiri…
A longitudinal study on the information needs and preferences of patients after an acute coronary syndrome.
2016
Background Research has shown that the provision of pertinent health information to patients with cardiovascular disease is associated with better adherence to medical prescriptions, behavioral changes, and enhanced perception of control over the disease. Yet there is no clear knowledge on how to improve information pertinence. Identifying and meeting the information needs of patients and their preferences for sources of information is pivotal to developing patient-led services. This prospective, observational study was aimed at exploring the information needs and perceived relevance of different information sources for patients during the twenty-four months following an acute coronary synd…
Smoking Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess the Dimensionality of the Brief Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives and Identify Di…
2014
Introduction The present study aims to investigate the dimensionality of the brief version of the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (B-WISDM) and identify different smoking motivational profiles among young daily smokers (N = 375). Methods We tested 3 measurement models of the B-WISDM using confirmatory factor analysis, whereas cluster analysis was used to identify the smokers' motivational profiles. Furthermore, we compared clusters toward dependence level and the number of cigarettes smoked per day using analysis of variance tests. Results The results confirmed that the B-WISDM measures 11 first-order intercorrelated factors. The second-order model, originally proposed for…
Associations between personality, sports participation and athletic success. A comparison of Big Five in sporting and non-sporting adults
2018
Abstract The present study investigates whether the Big Five personality traits are different among diverse sports populations. A sample of 881 male athletes and non-athletes completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their personality traits. The Exploratory Structure Equation Modeling (ESEM) approach is adopted to test measurement invariance and mean differences among groups. The results indicate that athletes who had experienced the most success in their sport scored higher than non-athletes in each personality dimension of the Big Five, with the exception of openness, while less successful athletes scored higher than non-athletes only in extraversion and agreeableness. The more suc…
The hidden side of the Ultimatum Game: The role of motivations and mind-reading in a two-level one-shot Ultimatum Game
2015
The main aim of our study is to investigate the role of motivations and mind-reading in a two-level one-shot Ultimatum Game with three players. Our intention is to analyse subjects’ behaviour in both the responder and proposer roles. In the responder role, we found that the difference between the subjects’ expectations and the actual offers was the major factor that influenced their decisions and motivations in receiving money. In the proposer role, our results showed a significant influence of mind-reading, with a positive association between the fairness of subjects’ offers and the subjects’ expectations about the recipients’ willingness to accept. Although a shared concept of fairness ex…
Predicting depression from illness severity in cardiovascular disease patients: self-efficacy beliefs, illness perception, and perceived social suppo…
2014
Background: Many studies have investigated the relationships between cardiovascular diseases and patients' depression; nevertheless, few is still known as regard the impact of illness severity on depression and whether psychosocial variables mediate this association. Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the putative mediating role of illness representations, self-efficacy beliefs, and perceived social support on the relationship between illness severity and depression. Methods: A total of 75 consecutive patients with cardiovascular disease (80 % men; mean age=65.44, SD=10.20) were enrolled in an Italian hospital. Illness severity was measured in terms of left ventricular ejectio…
Clustering of Lifestyle Risk Factors in Acute Coronary Syndrome: Prevalence and Change after the First Event
2018
Background: Healthy lifestyles are modifiable risk factors for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) onset and recurrence. While unhealthy lifestyles tend to cluster together within the general healthy population, little is known about the prevalence and clustering of these behaviours in people with ACS before and after the first acute event. The aim of this study was to identify lifestyle profiles of patients with ACS and to explore their change after their first coronary event. Methods: Three hundred and fifty-six patients completed self-report measures of healthy habits at the beginning of cardiac rehabilitation and 6 months later. By adopting a person-oriented approach, we analysed lifestyle cl…
Individual Differences in Personality Associated with Aggressive Behavior among Adolescents Referred for Externalizing Behavior Problems
2017
The present study examined the extent to which individual differences in personality that have been previously associated with aggression in non-clinical subjects (Caprara et al., European Journal of Personality, 27(3), 290–303, 2013, Caprara et al., Developmental Psychology, 50(1), 71–85, 2014) account for aggression among adolescents referred to psychiatric services with diagnosis within the externalizing spectrum (i.e., conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). In particular a conceptual model was examined in which individual differences in basic traits (i.e., emotional instability and agreeableness), lower order traits (i.e., irritab…
Brief report: Assessing dispositional optimism in adolescence – Factor structure and concurrent validity of the Life Orientation Test – Revised
2014
Dispositional optimism is an individual difference promoting psychosocial adjustment and well-being during adolescence. Dispositional optimism was originally defined as a one-dimensional construct; however, empirical evidence suggests two correlated factors in the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R).The main aim of the study was to evaluate the dimensionality of the LOT-R. This study is the first attempt to identify the best factor structure, comparing congeneric, two correlated-factor, and two orthogonal-factor models in a sample of adolescents. Concurrent validity was also assessed.The results demonstrated the superior fit of the two orthogonal-factor model thus reconciling the one-di…
Effective pursuit of personal goals: The fostering effect of dispositional optimism on goal commitment and goal progress
2015
Abstract Personal goals play a leading role in directing behavior and influencing well-being. Thus, it is important to assess goal dimensions promoting effective goal pursuit. The current research aimed at identifying the best predictors of goal pursuit, operationalized as perceived goal progress, among goal-related variables and individual differences in dispositional optimism. Two studies examined the influence of optimism on goal progress, commitment, expectancy, value, and conflict. Moreover, the mediation effect of expectancy in the relationships among optimism, commitment and progress was assessed. Participants in the first cross-sectional study were 283 young people (19–32 years old)…
Stability and change of lifestyle profiles in cardiovascular patients after their first acute coronary event.
2017
Background Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Lifestyle and health behavior changes play an important role in the primary and secondary prevention of ACS recurrence. Changes in unhealthy lifestyles after an acute coronary event have been analyzed by considering separate behaviors individually, even though research on the healthy population has demonstrated that unhealthy behaviors tend to co-occur. Purpose The aim of this study was to identify lifestyle profiles of ACS patients and to explore their pathways of change for one year after their first coronary event by adopting a typological approach. Methods Two hundred and twenty-three patients (84% mal…
The Effects of Short-Term Personal Goals on Subjective Well-Being
2015
Several studies demonstrated that subjective well-being is associated with goal value and perceived progress but their validity is affected by methodological biases. Moreover, a few have analysed the influence of short-term goals. We aimed to analyse how the levels of and changes in short-term goals progress and value influence subsequent levels of and changes in subjective well-being. This study adopted a three-wave longitudinal design with one-month intervals. Four hundred nine participants (186 males; age 19–71) reported their subjective well-being and their two most important goals and rated each over time in terms of value and progress. A latent difference score model revealed that lev…
A Psychometric Evaluation of the Group Environment Questionnaire in a Sample of Professional Basketball and Soccer Players
2013
Psychometric properties of the Group environment Questionnaire were investigated in a large sample of soccer (n = 222) and professional basketball players (n = 375). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed both on the total sample and on the two sub samples through a multi-group approach; associations between cohesion and the duration of belonging to the team were also explored. Results confirmed the four-factor structure proposed by Carron's original model even though some items with low loadings were eliminated. No signifcant associations were found between team cohesion and the duration of belonging to the team. © Perceptual & Motor Skills 2013.
Similarity in self-enhancement and self-transcendence values between young adults and their parents and friends
2012
This study investigates similarities between the 'self-enhancement' and 'self-transcendence' values of young adults and the corresponding values of their parents and friends, examining both mean level and correlational similarities. Participants included 193 Italian young adults along with their parents and friends (one male and one female) who each reported on their own self-enhancement and self-transcendence values. Results showed that young adults were more similar to their friends than to their parents on mean levels of values. Females reported valuing self-transcendence more and self-enhancement less than males. Considering correlational similarity, male young adults' self-transcendenc…
Cardiovascular Management Self-efficacy: Psychometric Properties of a New Scale and Its Usefulness in a Rehabilitation Context.
2015
Self-efficacy beliefs have been shown to affect various effective health-promoting behaviors in patients. Unfortunately, availability of reliable and valid measures of self-efficacy in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is still very limited. Background: Self-efficacy beliefs have been shown to affect various effective health-promoting behaviors in patients. Unfortunately, availability of reliable and valid measures of self-efficacy in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is still very limited. Purpose: The aims of this study were to present a new scale measuring self-efficacy beliefs in managing CVD and to examine its psychometric properties. Methods: The study involved 172 patients (mean age = 66.4…
Changes in physical activity among coronary and hypertensive patients: A longitudinal study using the Health Action Process Approach
2017
Objectives: Physical activity (PA) is a key factor in cardiovascular disease prevention. Through the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), the present study investigated the process of change in PA in coronary patients (CPs) and hypertensive patients (HPs). Design: Longitudinal survey study with two follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months on 188 CPs and 169 HPs. Main outcome measures: Intensity and frequency of PA. Results: A multi-sample analysis indicated the equivalence of almost all the HAPA social cognitive patterns for both patient populations. A latent growth curve model showed strong interrelations among intercepts and slopes of PA, planning and maintenance self-efficacy, but chan…
Cognitive vulnerability to depressive symptoms in children: the protective role of self-efficacy beliefs in a multi-wave longitudinal study.
2014
The current multi-wave longitudinal study on childhood examined the role that social and academic self-efficacy beliefs and cognitive vulnerabilities play in predicting depressive symptoms in response to elevations in idiographic stressors. Children (N = 554; males: 51.4 %) attending second and third grade completed measures of depressive symptoms, negative cognitive styles, negative life events, and academic and social self-efficacy beliefs at four time-points over 6 months. Results showed that high levels of academic and social self-efficacy beliefs predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms, whereas negative cognitive styles about consequences predicted higher depression. Furthermore,…
The influence of illness severity on health satisfaction in patients with cardiovascular disease: The mediating role of illness perception and self-e…
2015
The importance of psychological factors in improving conditions of cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients is stressed by the guidelines for their prevention and rehabilitation, but little is known about the impact of illness severity on patients well-being, and on the psychosocial variables that may mediate this association. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of illness perception and self-efficacy beliefs on the relationship between illness severity and health satisfaction in 75 CVD patients undergoing rehabilitation (80% men; mean age = 65.44) at the St. Luca Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy. Illness severity was measured in terms of left ventricular ejec…
The situational version of the Brief Cope: Dimensionality and relationships with goal-related variables
2015
This study is aimed at investigating the dimensionality of the situational version of the Brief COPE, a questionnaire that is frequently used to assess a broad range of coping responses to specific difficulties, by comparing five different factor models highlighted in previous studies. It also aimed at exploring the relationships among coping responses, personal goal commitment and progress. The study involved 606 adults (male = 289) ranging in age from 19 to 71. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we compared five models and assessed relationships of coping responses with goal commitment and progress. The results confirmed the theoretical factor structure of the situational Brief COPE. All…
Relationship of Illness Severity with Health and Life Satisfaction in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: The Mediating Role of Self-efficacy Belie…
2012
Guidelines for cardiovascular rehabilitation from different countries underline the importance of psychological factors in the achievement of improved clinical conditions and quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nevertheless, little research has been performed to identify the specific factors that greatly affect or foster patients' quality of life. The aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution of illness perceptions (IP) and self-efficacy beliefs (SE) on the impact exerted by illness severity on health and life satisfaction in patients with CVD undergoing a rehabilitation program. The study had a cross-sectional design and involved 116 patients (…
A Type A and Type D Combined Personality Typology in Essential Hypertension and Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: Associations with Demographic, Psyc…
2016
Many studies have focused on Type A and Type D personality types in the context of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but nothing is known about how these personality types combine to create new profiles. The present study aimed to develop a typology of Type A and Type D personality in two groups of patients affected by and at risk for coronary disease. The study involved 711 patients: 51.6% with acute coronary syndrome, 48.4% with essential hypertension (mean age = 56.4 years; SD = 9.7 years; 70.7% men). Cluster analysis was applied. External variables, such as socio-demographic, psychological, lifestyle, and clinical parameters, were assessed. Six groups, each with its own unique combined pe…
Italian version of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module: linguistic validation
2015
Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients can experience symptoms due to the tumor itself or to the treatment, with an impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures pertaining to HRQoL are used in medical research and to support clinical decisions. PRO instrument applicability and cultural adaptation must be tested for each population. The aim of this study is to linguistically validate the Italian translation of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory—Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN). Methods: Following forward and backward translation of the items of the English MDASI-HN into Italian, it was administered along with a cognitive debriefing to HNC…
Item Response Theory Analysis of the Life Orientation Test-Revised: Age and Gender Differential Item Functioning Analyses
2015
This study is aimed at testing the measurement properties of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) for the assessment of dispositional optimism by employing item response theory (IRT) analyses. The LOT-R was administered to a large sample of 2,862 Italian adults. First, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the theoretical conceptualization of the construct measured by the LOT-R as a single bipolar dimension. Subsequently, IRT analyses for polytomous, ordered response category data were applied to investigate the items’ properties. The equivalence of the items across gender and age was assessed by analyzing differential item functioning. Discrimination and severity parameters indic…
Personality and Optimal Experience in Adolescence: Implications for Well-Being and Development
2013
Past research has repeatedly identified relations between optimal experience—or flow—and well-being across the lifespan. In the attempt to identify the conditions favoring this experience, some studies took into account personality traits. While most of them operationalized flow in terms of intensity, we presently focused on perceived occurrence versus absence of flow. Specifically, we investigated the relations between flow occurrence, hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, activities associated with flow, and personality in adolescence. A group of 408 Italian teenagers (mean age = 17.31; SD = 1.13) were administered Flow Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Positive and Negative Affec…
Additional file 1: of A longitudinal study on the information needs and preferences of patients after an acute coronary syndrome
2016
Study measures. (PDF 178 kb)
Additional file 2: of A longitudinal study on the information needs and preferences of patients after an acute coronary syndrome
2016
DATABASE. (XLS 191 kb)