Psychometric examination and factorial validity of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised in Italian exercisers

Background and aims: The purpose of this study was to verify the factorial structure, internal validity, reliability, and criterion validity of the 21-item Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R) in an Italian sample. Methods: Italian voluntary (N = 519) users of gyms who had a history of regular exercise for over a year completed the EDS-R and measures of exercise frequency. Results and conclusions: Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated a good fit to the hypothesized 7-factor model, and adequate internal consistency for the scale was evidenced. Criterion validity was evidenced by significant correlations among all the subscale of the EDS and exercise frequency. Finally, individuals at risk for exercise dependence reported more exercise behavior compared to the nondependent-symptomatic and nondependent-asymptomatic groups. These results suggest that the seven subscales of the Italian version of the EDS are measuring the construct of exercise dependence as defined by the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence and also confirm previous research using the EDS-R in other languages. More research is needed to examine the psychometric properties of the EDS-R in diverse populations with various research designs

Motivational aspects and personality correlates of physical exercise behavior

Although exercise can have many advantages, there are still many people that tend to be less active. For this reason, try to understand factor related to physical activity and that encouraging exercise is an essential area of health promotion and a priority to prevent serious diseases. The aim of the study was to analyze psychological factors (personality traits and motivation) related to physical activity and that encouraging or reducing exercise. 474 voluntary regular exercisers were recruited for the study. Participants completed Big Five Questionnaire and Behavioural Regulation Exercise Questionnaire-2, and also their exercise frequency was recorded.  Results showed that personality traits and motivation are strongly related with exercise frequency and, both seem to play a significant predictive role in structuring exercise behavior

Empathy, Social Self-Efficacy, Problematic Internet Use, and Problematic Online Gaming Between Early and Late Adolescence

This study aims to investigate the relationship between empathy, social self-efficacy, problematic Internet use (PIU), and problematic online gaming (POG) and to evaluate how such relationship varies according to the age of the participants. A sample of 1,585 Italian students, both genders, aged 12-20 years, were divided into three groups according to the age filled in these self-report questionnaires: PIU; Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents; Interpersonal Reactivity Index; Scale of Social Self-Efficacy; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results allow to confirm that in the Italian context the relationships between the examined constructs change across the three age groups considered in the study. PIU and POG, as well as prosocial behaviors and personal distress, tend to significantly decrease in late adolescence (age 18-20 years); 15-17 years adolescents reported more empathic concern compared with the other groups. PIU and POG are affected by empathy and social-self efficacy in different ways depending on age, suggesting that the two conditions have an at least partially different nature. The different components of empathy seem to play a different role in the development of either PIU or POG confirming the need to separate the components of empathy.Peer reviewe

Predizione della credenza di autoefficacia, dell’ansia e degli stili decisionali sui risultati universitari

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of some selected variables (problem solving skills, efficacy beliefs, state/trait anxiety, test anxiety, decision-making styles and personality traits) on the achievement of undergraduate students. Participants were enrolled in the first year of the Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences and Techniques of the University of Messina and completed self-report questionnaires. The results showed that decision making styles have a greater impact on student performance, but also anxiety levels and emotional states during exams seem to play a significant predictive role in structuring study outcomes. This confirms the need to focus the attention of educational research, as well as cognitive and metacognitive factors traditionally linked to the learning process, on individual, emotional, and motivational aspects that seem to be strongly related to academic success, influencing the quality of study career.L’obiettivo della presente ricerca è quello di verificare quali variabili tra quelle individuate (le abilità di problem solving, le credenze di efficacia, l’ansia di stato e di tratto, l’ansia da perfomance, gli stili decisionali e le dimensioni personologiche) abbiano maggiore incidenza sui risultati conseguiti da studenti universitari iscritti al primo anno del Corso di laurea triennale in Scienze Psicologiche e Tecniche dell’Università degli Studi di Messina. I risultati hanno evidenziato come il ruolo predittivo degli stili decisionali influenzino significativamente, più degli altri fattori selezionati, il rendimento degli studenti, il quale appare strettamente anche legato all’ansia e agli stati emotivi esperiti durante gli esami. Ciò conferma l’esigenza di focalizzare l’attenzionedella ricerca educativa, oltre che sui fattori cognitivi e metacognitivi, storicamente legati al rendimento, sugli aspetti individuali ed emotivo-motivazionali che sembrano condizionare in maniera determinante il percorso formativo degli studenti.

Parenting styles and Psychological control: similarities and differences between mothers and fathers of school-age children

Background: The first aim of the present study was to investigate differences and similarities in perceived parenting styles between fathers and mothers in the same family. Secondarily, this study wanted to verify the relation between parental anxiety and parenting dimensions, assuming differences according to the parental gender. Methods: The 80 parents of 40 school-age children independently completed the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), the Parenting Instrument (PI) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: revealed differences between fathers and mothers in almost all the variables considered, with mothers who reported the highest scores. Significant correlations between paternal and maternal perceptions were found in authoritarian style and in the practices of psychological control (disappointing and shaming). Finally, parental anxiety was associated positively with authoritarian style and inadequate parental practices, and negatively with authoritative style, expressive warmth and supportive involvement: the constructs however correlated in a different way according to parental gender.  Conclusions: Independent assessment of both mother’s and father’s parenting styles and, especially, parental practices of psychological control seem to be necessaries both in research and practical settings

Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Parents’ Educational Skills.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to propose a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the ability of parents to use appropriate educational strategies to manage the behavior of children, based on the principles of analysis and behavior modification. Methods:180 subjects, divided into 3 groups of 60 subjects: parents of Italian nationality, Italian parents with a disabled child, parents with no Italian nationality (including 20 Filipinos, 20 Sinhalese and 20 Moroccans), were invited to fill the questionnaire. Results: The results showed that the instrument has the potential to be very suitable for the evaluation of behavioral educational skills, which are the basis of behavioral parent training programs, but also to have the possibility to check the effectiveness of the training in terms of more competent techniques learned, even after a long time. Conclusions: The results showed that the instrument has the potential to be very suitable for the evaluation of behavioral educational skills.  To improve the level of confidence it will need to make some corrections, related to the revision of some item. We consider that further studies should be conducted in this area, so to broaden the range of instruments used for the assessment of educational skills

Osteoporosis and alzheimer pathology: Role of cellular stress response and hormetic redox signaling in aging and bone remodeling

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and osteoporosis are multifactorial progressive degenerative disorders. Increasing evidence shows that osteoporosis and hip fracture are common complication observed in AD patients, although the mechanisms underlying this association remain poorly understood. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are emerging as intracellular redox signaling molecules involved in the regulation of bone metabolism, including receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand-dependent osteoclast differentiation, but they also have cytotoxic effects that include lipoperoxidation and oxidative damage to proteins and DNA. ROS generation, which is implicated in the regulation of cellular stress response mechanisms, is an integrated, highly regulated, process under control of redox sensitive genes coding for redox proteins called vitagenes. Vitagenes, encoding for proteins such as heat shock proteins (Hsps) Hsp32, Hsp70, the thioredoxin, and the sirtuin protein, represent a systems controlling a complex network of intracellular signaling pathways relevant to life span and involved in the preservation of cellular homeostasis under stress conditions. Consistently, nutritional anti-oxidants have demonstrated their neuroprotective potential through a hormetic-dependent activation of vitagenes. The biological relevance of dose–response affects those strategies pointing to the optimal dosing to patients in the treatment of numerous diseases. Thus, the heat shock response has become an important hormetic target for novel cytoprotective strategies focusing on the pharmacological development of compounds capable of modulating stress response mechanisms. Here we discuss possible signaling mechanisms involved in the activation of vitagenes which, relevant to bone remodeling and through enhancement of cellular stress resistance provide a rationale to limit the deleterious consequences associated to homeostasis disruption with consequent impact on the aging process

A proof-of-concept analysis of plasma-derived exosomal microRNAs in interstitial pulmonary fibrosis secondary to antisynthetase syndrome

Antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the positivity of autoantibodies against different aminoacyl transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases. Morbidity and mortality of this disease are highly affected by interstitial lung disease (ILD) which is present in about 80% of patients. In this study, we investigated possible differences in 84 immune-related circulating miRNAs between ASSD patients with and without ILD; we enrolled 15 ASSD patients, 11 with ILD (ILD+) and 4 without ILD (ILD-), and 5 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) as an additional control group. All patients were at disease onset and not on therapy at the time of inclusion. Differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in plasma-derived exosomes, using an miRNA PCR array (MIHS-111ZG, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany); miR-30a-5p and miR-29c-3p were upregulated in ASSD-ILD patients compared to patients without lung involvement (adjusted p-value < 0.05). IPF patients showed higher miR-29c-3p expression levels with respect to both ASSD and ASSD-ILD (p = 0.0005), whereas levels of miR-30a-5p were not different. miR-29c-3p and miR-30a-5p are overexpressed in ASSD-ILD+ patients compared with ILD?. These miRNAs are involved in the regulation of inflammation and fibrosis through their action on NF-?B and TGF-?1. Although the mechanistic role of these miRNAs in ASSD-ILD development has to be elucidated, we suggest that their exosome levels could be useful in identifying patients at risk of ILD.Funding: This research was supported by the Ministry of Health IRCCS Foundation Policlinico San Matteo Grant [grant number 948-rcr2019i2-46]

The incremental role of trait emotional intelligence on perceived cervical screening barriers

Researchers have become increasingly interested in investigating the role of the psychological aspects related to the perception of cervical screening barriers. This study investigates the influence of trait EI on perceived cervical screening barriers. Furthermore, this study investigates the incremental validity of trait EI beyond the Big Five, as well as emotion regulation in the perceived barrier towards the Pap test as revealed in a sample of 206 Italian women that were undergoing cervical screening. Results have shown that trait EI is negatively related to cervical screening barriers. Furthermore, trait EI can be considered as a strong incremental predictor of a woman's perception of screening over and above the Big Five, emotion regulation, age, sexual intercourse experience and past Pap test. Detailed information on the study findings and future research directions are discussed