Maternal and paternal psychological control and adolescents’ negative adjustment: a dyadic longitudinal study in three countries

Psychological Control (PC) interferes with autonomy-related processes in adolescence and has a negative impact on adolescents’ development related to internalizing and externalizing problems. Several scholars suggested that PC can be used differently by mothers and fathers. However, these differences are still understudied and mainly grounded on maternal and/or adolescents’ perspectives, leading to potentially incomplete inferences on the effects of PC. The present study extends previous research on PC in two directions. First, we tested the dyadic and cumulative effects of maternal and paternal PC on adolescents’ antisocial behaviors and anxious-depressive symptoms. Secondly, we explored the cross-cultural generalizability of these associations in three countries: Italy, Colombia, and USA. Participants included 376 families with data from three consecutive years (T1, adolescents’ age=13.70). Mothers’ and fathers’ reports of PC and youth’s reports of antisocial and internalizing behaviors were assessed. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) we found that maternal PC predicted adolescents’ reported antisocial behaviors whereas paternal PC predicted lower anxious-depressed symptoms. Comparisons across countries evidenced the cross-cultural invariance of the longitudinal APIM across Italy, Colombia, and USA. The practical implications of these results are discussed

Overall mortality in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema related to systemic sclerosis

OBJECTIVES: This multicentre study aimed to investigate the overall mortality of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to compare CPFE-SSc characteristics with those of other SSc subtypes (with interstitial lung disease-ILD, emphysema or neither). METHODS: Chest CTs, anamnestic data, immunological profile and pulmonary function tests of patients with SSc were retrospectively collected. Each chest CT underwent a semiquantitative assessment blindly performed by three radiologists. Patients were clustered in four groups: SSc-CPFE, SSc-ILD, SSc-emphysema and other-SSc (without ILD nor emphysema). The overall mortality of these groups was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the stratified log-rank test; Kruskal-Wallis test, t-Student test and χ² test assessed the differences between groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We enrolled 470 patients (1959 patient-year); 15.5 % (73/470) died during the follow-up. Compared with the SSc-ILD and other-SSc, in SSc-CPFE there was a higher prevalence of males, lower anticentromere antibodies prevalence and a more reduced pulmonary function (p<0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrates a significantly worse survival in patients with SSc-CPFE (HR vs SSc-ILD, vs SSc-emphysema and vs other-SSc, respectively 1.6 (CI 0.5 to 5.2), 1.6 (CI 0.7 to 3.8) and 2.8 (CI 1.2 to 6.6). CONCLUSIONS: CPFE increases the mortality risk in SSc along with a highly impaired lung function. These findings strengthen the importance to take into account emphysema in patients with SSc with ILD

Predictors and outcomes associated with the growth curves of self-efficacy beliefs in regard to anger and sadness regulation during adolescence: a longitudinal cross-cultural study

IntroductionThis longitudinal study examined unique and joint effects of parenting and negative emotionality in predicting the growth curves of adolescents’ self-efficacy beliefs about regulating two discrete negative emotions (anger and sadness) and the association of these growth curves with later maladjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems).MethodsParticipants were 285 children (T1: Mage = 10.57, SD = 0.68; 53.3% girls) and their parents (mothers N = 286; fathers N = 276) from Colombia and Italy. Parental warmth, harsh parenting, and internalizing and externalizing problems were measured in late childhood at T1, whereas early adolescents’ anger and sadness were measured at T2 (T2: Mage = 12.10, SD = 1.09). Adolescent self-efficacy beliefs about anger and sadness regulation were measured at five time-points from T2 to T6 (T6: Mage = 18.45, SD = 0.71), and internalizing and externalizing problems were measured again at T6.ResultsMulti-group latent growth curve models (with country as the grouping variable) demonstrated that in both countries there was on average a linear increase in self-efficacy about anger regulation and no change or variation in self-efficacy about sadness regulation. In both countries, for self-efficacy about anger regulation (a) T1 harsh parenting and T1 externalizing problems were negatively associated with the intercept, (b) T2 anger was negatively associated with the slope, and (c) the intercept and the slope were associated with lower T6 internalizing and externalizing problems, controlling for T1 problems. For self-efficacy about sadness regulation, (a) T1 internalizing problems were negatively associated with the intercept only in Italy, (b) T2 sadness was negatively associated with the intercept only in Colombia, and (c) the intercept negatively predicted T6 internalizing problems.DiscussionThis study advances knowledge of the normative development of self-efficacy beliefs about anger and sadness regulation during adolescence across two countries, highlighting the predictive value of pre-existing family and individual characteristics on this development and prediction by the development of self-efficacy beliefs on later adjustment

La mappatura del rischio di incendi boschivi basata sulla previsione del comportamento degli incendi. Applicazione nella Regione del Veneto.

Considering the importance of forest fires problem in Italy, It is essential to improve the tools available for forest fire prevention, beginning with a correct and detailed fire risk evaluation. At present most part of forest fire plans at national level, do not consider, when dealing with forest fire risk analysis, fire's behavior and potential propagation (or consider them only using empirical models). This study shows the methodology used by the Veneto Region for the characterization and mapping of forest fire risk at regional level. The application of forest fire propagation simulation allowed the creation of very detailed maps and the acquisition of important information about potential fire intensity, something not possible using only empirical method

Marital Dyadic Coping and Its Associations with Parental Dimensions and Adolescents' Adjustment: Preliminary Cross-Sectional Results from an Italian Sample

The present study aims to extend research on Dyadic Coping (DC) and its role in broader family functioning by investigating its associations with parenting dimensions (PD) and child adjustment (CA). Little is known about the specific link between marital DC and child adjustment and further studies are needed to investigate this association (Zemp et al., 2016). Our contribution focuses on the mechanism through which supportive or unsupportive partners’ coping interactions influence the way they engage, as parents, in the relationship with their children. According to parenting process models (e.g Belsky,1984), marital characteristics work as fundamental determinants of parenting by affecting in turn child development. We expect parent’s perceptions of positive or negative DC to be associated with child adjustment through different dimensions of parent-child relationship. Interviews were conducted in Italy (Rome and Naples) with mothers (188), fathers (144), and with their children (n = 188, mean age=14.24, SD=.65; 51% boys), all involved in an ongoing longitudinal study (e.g. Lansford et al.,2014). Both parents were asked to report on their parent-child relationship (Parental Acceptance-Rejection/Control Questionnaire-Short Form; Rohner, 2005), children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviours and school performance (Child Behaviour Checklist; Achenbach,1991). Dyadic coping was assessed via an adapted version of the Dyadic Coping Inventory (Bodenmann, 2008). Cross-sectional path analysis models will be implemented to examine the associations between negative and positive DC and parental dimensions. We will examine the potential effects of these associations on child adjustment. Theoretical and practical implications of these results will be discussed

Imaging of congenital pulmonary malformations

Congenital pulmonary malformations represent a broad spectrum of anomalies that may result in varied clinical and pathologic pictures, ranging from recurrent pulmonary infections and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which require timely drug therapy, up to large space-occupying lesions needing surgical treatment. This classification includes three distinct anatomical and pathological entities, represented by Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation, Bronchopulmonary Sequestration and Congenital Lobar Emphysema. The final result in terms of embryological and fetal development of these alterations is a Congenital Lung Hypoplasia. Since even Bronchial Atresia, Pulmonary Bronchogenic Cysts and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernias are due to Pulmonary Hypoplasia, these diseases will be discussed in this review (1, 2)

Response Inhibition, anger regulation, self-efficacy about anger regulation, and aggressive behaviors in adolescence.

There is considerable evidence suggesting that adolescents who have greater response inhibition difficulties engage more in aggressive behaviors (e.g., Romer, 2010; Young et al., 2009). In addition, failure to use emotion regulation strategies in response to anger has fairly consistently been associated with adolescents’ aggressive behaviors (e.g., Blake & Hamrin, 2007). Moreover, evidence also suggests that among adolescents’ greater self-efficacy beliefs about anger regulation is associated with less aggressive behaviors (Di Giunta et al., 2017). The present study examines how response inhibition, anger regulation, and self-efficacy beliefs about anger regulation are associated with aggressive behaviors in adolescence. Pursuing this goal may lead to a better understanding of self-regulation-related processes in adolescence, which in turn could advance researchers’ knowledge of key targets for prevention and early intervention strategies seeking to thwart the adolescent onset of behavioral and mental health issues. Participants included 192 adolescents (M age = 14.25, SD = .66; 51% female) from the Parenting Across Cultures study (e.g., Lansford et al., 2014). Response inhibition difficulties were assessed with the amount of time that elapses (in milliseconds) between the presentation of each problem and the participants’ first move at the Tower of London task (Asato, Sweeney, & Luna, 2006; Steinberg et al., 2008). Anger dysregulation was self-reported via the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (Capaldi & Rothbart, 1992). Self-efficacy beliefs were self-reported via the Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (Caprara et al., 2008; Di Giunta et al., 2015). Aggressive behaviors were assessed via the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991). Data were analyzed using multiple regression. Findings show the significant contribution of greater response inhibition difficulties, higher anger dysregulation, and lower self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with anger on aggressive problems in adolescence

Longitudinal relation between state-trait maternal irritability and harsh parenting

According to Belsky’s process model of parenting, parents’ personality represents the most important factor influencing parenting and child development. While an extensive literature has empirically corroborated the role of irritability traits in predicting aggressive behaviors in laboratory-based studies, only a few studies have examined the role of irritability in predicting aggressive behaviors within family contexts. The present study addressed this gap by examining the longitudinal association between maternal irritability and harsh parenting. Referencing latent state-trait theory (LST), first we estimated the amount of variance in mothers’ irritability due to trait and state components, and, next, we examined the relation between mothers’ irritability (both at trait- and state- levels) and harsh parenting over time. A sample of 204 mothers from Naples and Rome provided data over 5 years in four waves. Mothers averaged 40.30 years (SD = 5.33) at Time 1 and 44.01 years (SD = 5.43) at Time 4. Their children (50% girls) were 9.45 years (SD = 0.74) at Time 1 and 13.18 years (SD = 0.66) at Time 4. Results of LST analysis showed that, on average, 39% of variability in irritability was due to trait-like factors and only 12% to state-like factors. A multitrait-multistate model revealed that the irritability trait associated with mother’s lack of control predicted her harsh parenting 1-year later, while controlling for the rank-order stability of harsh parenting

Disentangling Italian mothers' and fathers' psychological control over time: a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model

Psychological Control (PC) refers to the control parents exert over their offspring through strategies that limit the psychological and emotional experience of children and adolescents. Although the topic of PC has been largely investigated in the literature, very little is known on the potential differences/similarities in the use of specific psychologically controlling strategies by mothers and fathers. Hence, in the present study, we considered the contribution of both parents to analyze the direct and mutual relations in the use of PC over time by disentangling the role of mothers and fathers at the between- and within-person level. Participants were 147 parents of Italian adolescents (mean age = 13.54 at Time 1) who reported on their use of two different PC dimensions: Relationship-Oriented PC (R-OPC) and Verbal Constraint (VC). Results from a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model showed that at the between-person level, mothers' and fathers' use of R-OPC (and VC) was positively correlated over time. At the within-person level, significant cross-lagged effects showed that one parent's higher than usual levels of R-OPC and VC positively predicted the other parent's higher than usual use of PC at the next time point, showing how parental variations in PC are related to their partner's variations over time. For VC, significant cross-lagged effects were found only for fathers. Furthermore, differences were found when comparing the classical cross-lagged panel models to the Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)