Examining the well-being of Ukrainian female migrant workers in Italy: Age perspective

Scientific data on the impact of work immigration on well-being is particularly limited for women migrant workers from Eastern European countries. The current study aimed to assess well-being, psychological distress, and acculturative stress in Ukrainian migrant women of different ages who worked as caregivers or in cleaning services. Women were recruited with the purposive sampling procedure at public places in Italy from November 2018 to February 2019 (N= 200). They were assessed with the following scales: The Life Satisfaction Scale, Mental Health Continuum Short Form, The Brief Symptom Inventory 18, and The Acculturative Stress Scale. The sample was divided into three age groups (young, middle-aged and older) and three mental health groups (languishing, moderate and flourishing). Findings showed that younger women experienced more well-being, and had higher scores on the overall mental health continuum score and lower scores on homesickness and acculturative stress compared to middle-aged and older women. Ukrainian young women were more likely to flourish while working in Italy than middle-aged and older women. Flourishing women reported the lowest level of clinically significant scores on depression, anxiety, somatization, and acculturative stress. This study showed how well-being provided protection in the face of psychological distress and acculturative stress in a sample of Ukraine migrant women

Las polaridades del bienestar psicológico y su respuesta al tratamiento

An increasing number of investigations in the positive psychology area has suggested the benefits of improving well-being and positivity. However, observations from clinical domains raised some concerns on the effectiveness and utility of such interventions, because excessively elevated levels in positive domains could become detrimental and impede flourishing. The aim of this article is to describe these polarities in well-being and to suggest specific therapeutic strategies to promote flourishing and resilience. Well-being therapy (WBT) is a psychotherapeutic technique based on Ryff's conceptual model, that has been developed and tested in a number of randomized controlled trials. The differential technical characteristics and indications of WBT are described, with special reference to the promotion of an individualized and balanced path to achieve optimal human functioning, avoiding the polarities in positive psychological dimensions. Un número creciente de investigaciones en el área de la Psicología positiva sugiere que incrementar el bienestar y la positividad conlleva beneficios. Sin embargo, observaciones del ámbito clínico han suscitado algunas cautelas sobre la efectividad y utilidad de dichas intervenciones ya que niveles excesivamente elevados en los dominios positivos pudieran ser perjudiciales e impide el florecimiento. El objetivo de este artículo es describir estas polaridades en el bienestar y sugerir estrategias terapéuticas para promover el florecimiento y la resiliencia. La terapia del bienestar (TB) es una técnica de psicoterapia, basada en el modelo conceptual de Ryff, que ha sido desarrollada y sometida a prueba en una serie de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados. Se describen las características técnicas diferenciales y las indicaciones de la TB, con especial referencia a la promoción de una vía individualizada y equilibrada para conseguir un funcionamiento humano óptimo, evitando las polaridades en las dimensiones psicológicas positivas

Psychological and clinical correlates of posttraumatic growth in cancer. A systematic and critical review

Objective The objective of this study is to describe major findings on posttraumatic growth (PTG) in cancer, by analyzing its various definitions, assessment tools, and examining its main psychological and clinical correlates. Methods A search in relevant databases (PsycINFO, Pubmed, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science) was performed using descriptors related to the positive reactions in cancer. Articles were screened by title, abstract, and full text. Results Seventy-two met the inclusion criteria. Most articles (46%) focused on breast cancer, used the PTG inventory (76%), and had a cross-sectional design (68%). The PTG resulted inversely associated with depressive and anxious symptoms and directly related to hope, optimism, spirituality, and meaning. Illness-related variables have been poorly investigated compared to psychological ones. Articles found no relationship between cancer site, cancer surgery, cancer recurrence, and PTG. Some correlations emerged with the elapsed time since diagnosis, type of oncological treatment received, and cancer stage. Only few studies differentiated illness-related-life-threatening stressors from other forms of trauma, and the potentially different mechanisms connected with PTG outcome in cancer patients. Conclusions The evaluation of PTG in cancer patients is worthy, because it may promote a better adaption to the illness. However, many investigations do not explicitly refer to the medical nature of the trauma, and they may have not completely captured the full spectrum of positive reactions in cancer patients. Future research should better investigate issues such as health attitudes; the risks of future recurrences; and the type, quality, and efficacy of medical treatments received and their influence on PTG in cancer patients

Positive Narrative Group Psychotherapy: the use of traditional fairy tales to enhance psychological well-being and growth

Background: Oral narrative strategies have rarely been applied in the positive psychology domain. Traditional folk and fairy tales are concerned with several concepts that are now scientifically investigated by research on positive psychology, such as resilience, self-realization, personal growth and meaning in life. The aim of this pilot study was to apply a new narrative approach based on fairy tales (Märchen, tales of magic, rise tales) told, discussed, and written in a group context for the purpose of promoting psychological well-being and growth. Methods: A group intervention consisting of 7 sessions was delivered to 21 women who reported adjustment disorder. The group was conducted by a folklorist and a clinical psychologist. Each session consisted of an introduction to a number of themes recurring in fairy tales as well as references to the social uses of narratives, followed by a discussion with the participants. In two concluding workshops, participants were asked to work as a group to write their own original fairy tale. Assessment pre- and post-intervention was performed with the Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale, the Kellner Symptom Questionnaire and 2 subscales of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Appreciation of Life and personal strengths). Results: Participants reported increased personal growth, self-acceptance, and an enhanced sense of appreciation of life and personal strengths, together with decreased levels of anxiety. Conclusions: This pilot investigation suggests the feasibility and positive effect of a group intervention based on narrative strategies for promoting well-being and growth in stressed women. Considering its promising results, clinical implications and possible further applications are discussed

Quiet Time- A School Program Based on Meditation for Promoting Well-Being in Children: Results from a Controlled Investigation

Various investigations have applied meditation protocols in the school context, with beneficial effects. Transcendental meditation, however, received little attention in primary school settings and few controlled studies are available. The present study is aimed: 1) to investigate the implementation of a school protocol (Quiet Time-QT) based on Transcendental Meditation ™ in a primary school setting 2) to test its efficacy in promoting strengths and resilience in children, using a controlled research, with a cross over design. 92 students attending fourth and fifth class of a primary school were assigned to either the QT intervention, or to a waiting list condition. Children assigned to the waiting list received the QT protocol after few months. Before and after the intervention children were evaluated by their teachers using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). A Repeated Measures MANOVA was applied to compare the two groups. After the QT intervention children in the experimental condition showed fewer emotional and behavioral difficulties (SDQ) compared to children in the waiting list. An overall positive effect of QT was observed in the total sample in improving children’s strengths and emotional well-being. Participants enjoyed the practice of meditation in the school setting. Conclusions: the results of this controlled investigation showed that the QT school protocol is feasible in the school setting, and it yielded improvements in children’s strengths and well-being. Meditation programs could be easily included in the educational system to sustain children positive development

Examining the well-being of Ukrainian female migrant workers in Italy: Age perspective

Scientific data on the impact of work immigration on well-being is particularly limited for women migrant workers from Eastern European countries. The current study aimed to assess well-being, psychological distress, and acculturative stress in Ukrainian migrant women of different ages who worked as caregivers or in cleaning services. Women were recruited with the purposive sampling procedure at public places in Italy from November 2018 to February 2019 (N = 200). They were assessed with the following scales: The Life Satisfaction Scale, Mental Health Continuum Short Form, The Brief Symptom Inventory 18, and The Acculturative Stress Scale. The sample was divided into three age groups (young, middle-aged and older) and three mental health groups (languishing, moderate and flourishing). Findings showed that younger women experienced more well-being, and had higher scores on the overall mental health continuum score and lower scores on homesickness and acculturative stress compared to middle-aged and older women. Ukrainian young women were more likely to flourish while working in Italy than middle-aged and older women. Flourishing women reported the lowest level of clinically significant scores on depression, anxiety, somatization, and acculturative stress. This study showed how well-being provided protection in the face of psychological distress and acculturative stress in a sample of Ukraine migrant women

Lighten UP! A community-based group intervention to promote psychological well-being in older adults

Objectives: Aging is often characterized by declines in physical and mental health and increased risk for depression and social isolation. A protective factor that has been found to effectively moderate these phenomena is psychological well-being. The aim of his study was to pilot test a novel group intervention (Lighten UP! program) for the promotion of psychological well-being in older adults living in the community. Methods: Lighten UP! is an eight-week program consisting of 90-minute group session designed to teach participants to identify and savor positive experiences across multiple domains of eudaimonic well-being. It was delivered to a sample of 103 men and women aged 60 or over, that were assessed pre- and post-intervention with Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale (PWB), Life Satisfaction scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, Symptom Questionnaire, and items measuring sleep complaints and social well-being. Results: At the end of the eight weeks, participants reported significantly increased PWB, life satisfaction, and social well-being along with lower levels of depression and fewer physical symptoms and sleep complaints. These gains were particularly robust for individuals with lower pre-program levels of PWB. Conclusions: This pilot investigation suggests the feasibility of a short group program for enhancing well-being in older adults. Future controlled investigations with long-term follow-up assessment are needed to confirm the effectiveness and sustained benefits of the Lighten UP! program. © 2015 Taylor & Franci

Quick assessment of cell-free DNA in seminal fluid and fragment size for early non-invasive prostate cancer diagnosis

Liquid biopsy consists in the quantification and qualification of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and tumor-derived DNA (ctDNA) for cancer recognition. Recently, the characterization of seminal cfDNA (scfDNA) has been reported as a possible biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis

Long-Lasting Efficacy of Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer Neuromodulation Treatment on Functional Dysmetria, an Adaptive Motor Behavior

BackgroundFluctuating asymmetry (FA) is widely defined as the deviation from perfect bilateral symmetry and is considered an epigenetic measure of environmental stress. Rinaldi and Fontani hypothesized that the FA morpho-functional changes originate from an adaptive motor behavior determined by functional alterations in the cerebellum and neural circuits, not caused by a lesion, but induced by environmental stress. They called this phenomenon functional dysmetria (FD). On this premise, they developed the radio electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology, a neuromodulation technology aimed at optimizing the best neuro-psycho-motor strategies in relation to environmental interaction.AimsPrevious studies showed that specific REAC neuro postural optimization (NPO) treatment can induce stable FD recovery. This study aimed to verify the duration of the NPO effect in inducing the stable FD recovery over timeMaterials and methodsData were retrospectively collected from a population of 29,794 subjects who underwent a specific semiological FD assessment and received the NPO treatment, regardless of the pathology referred.ResultsThe analysis of the data collected by the various participants in the study led us to ascertain the disappearance of FD in 100% of the cases treated, with a stability of the result detected up to 18 years after the single administration of the REAC NPO treatment.ConclusionsThe REAC NPO neurobiological modulation treatment consisting of a single administration surprisingly maintains a very long efficacy in the correction of FD. This effect can be explained as the long-lasting capacity of the NPO treatment to induce greater functional efficiency of the brain dynamics as proven in previous studies

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe