Towards a community clinical psychology? Insights from a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature

The present systematic review provides a narrative synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature concerning the synergy between community and clinical psychology, with the specific aim of detecting the theoretical, research, and practical basis for the development of a well-integrated community clinical psychology perspective. The authors screened 216 records on the topic, found in major citation databases (PsycArticles, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science) without time or language restrictions. Six articles addressing the review question were identified and examined through seven conceptual criteria referred to contextual premises, definitions, addressed problems/issues, application areas, reference theoretical models, examined constructs, and required professional competences. The results do not show evidence for a well-integrated community clinical psychological perspective, despite the many synergies between such disciplines on a theoretical and applied level. Community and clinical psychology could thus be further integrated in the future, potentially giving rise to a new and independent field of knowledge to get more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between individuals and social contexts

Simboli e significati nella cultura locale di una periferia urbana: uno studio di caso

Una ricerca psicologico-clinica esplora la Cultura Locale (i significati emozionali condivisi da chi partecipa a un contesto, atti a mantenere stabilità e coesione, a regolare e l’emozionalità dei processi di convivenza) di un quartiere della periferia romana nel momento della pianificazione di servizi per la comunità. La ricerca è fondata sulla analisi del testo computer assistita (Analisi Emozionale del Testo) di interviste somministrate a 8 figure chiave, e sulla analisi delle corrispondenze multiple di 314 questionari sulla percezione soggettiva della qualità di vita e sulla anticipazione dei rapporti sociali, somministrati a cittadini del quartiere. I risultati della analisi di interviste e questionari hanno messo in luce la qualità di vita come soggettivamente percepita dagli abitanti e le caratteristiche della cultura locale del territorio oggetto dello studio. Vengono fornite indicazioni pragmatiche sulla attivazione di servizi coerenti con la cultura locale del territorio esaminato. Viene messo in evidenza il possibile contributo della psicologia clinica alle discipline geografiche, urbanistiche, ambientali.This clinical-psychological research explores the Local Culture (emotional meanings shared by people in a given context aimed at maintaining stability and unity as well as regulating emotions affecting cohabitation) of a suburban neighborhood in Rome in the phase of community service planning. The inquiry is based on a computer-assisted text analysis (Emotional Text Analysis) of interviews of 8 key figures, and on the multiple correspondence analysis of questionnaires on the subjective perception of the quality of life and on the expectation of social relationships. The questionnaires have been administered to 314 inhabitants. The results of the analysis of interviews and questionnaires highlighted the quality of life in terms of subjective perception and the specific features of the local culture of the territory considered for this study. Practical solutions are indicated based on the Local Culture of the neighborhood in question. The possible contribution of clinical psychology to geographic, urban, and environmental disciplines is also highlighted. © 2019 The Author(s

Sense of community and resilience after a natural disaster

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the sense of community in moderating the impact of a natural disaster on community members. The research project began in Central Italy in the months following a massive earthquake in 2016 that caused human and capital casualties. A previous study (Langher et al. in press) tried to identify possible protective and risk factors affecting community resilience. The present study focuses on the sense of community as a protective factor against the onset of mental health issues on a convenient sample of 100 adults. The subjects are administered the following instruments: Life events checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) (Gray, Litz, Hsu, & Lombardo, 2004); Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) (Bonfiglio, Renati, Hjemdal, & Fribord, 2016); Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) (Craparo, Faraci, Rotondo, & Gori, 2013); Personal Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-8) (Kroenke, Strine, Williams, Berry, & Mokdad, 2009); Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Lowe, 2006); Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) (Gramigni, Stewart-Brown, 2001); Multidimensional Territorial Sense of Community Scale (MTSOCS) (Prezza, Pacilli, Barbaranelli & Zampatti, 2009); Scala di attaccamento al quartiere di residenza (AQ) (Bonaiuto, Fornara, Aiello, & Bonnes, 2002) [scale on the attachment to the neighbourgh]; Local Unconscious Dynamic Intervention Questionnaire (LUDIQ) (Langher, Caputo, Brandimarte, Giacchetta, Grippo, & Nannini, 2019). An exploratory multidimensional data analysis is carried out in order to identify the possible role of the sense of community on the psychological well-being of the community members

AIDS as social construction: text mining of AIDS-related information in the Italian press

Given the relevance of AIDS as a public health problem in the Italian context and of the role of mass media in the social construction of the phenomenon, the aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to explore the main AIDS-related themes in the Italian popular press; (2) to analyse the temporal trends of AIDS representations over the last decades. For the research, we decided to consult Italian newspaper articles produced between 1985 and 1990 and between 2005 and 2010 using the archives of the main two national newspapers (La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera), resulting in an overall sample of 446 newspaper articles. A computer-aided content analysis allowed the detection of five different thematic domains (clusters), respectively focused on: Medical care (7.47%), Family support (37.03%), Science and religion debate (27%), Social exclusion (17.6%) and Healthcare policies (10.9%). These thematic domains are conceived along two main latent dimensions (factors) which explain 72.47% of the data variance which respectively deal with: (1) Attitudes towards people with AIDS (care versus avoidance) and (2) Social mandate on AIDS (powerlessness versus control). The study results also reveal the potential evolution of representations of people with AIDS over time: from stigmatised subjects who represent a risk for the entire society within a climate of social control to people progressively symbolised as frail subjects that need to be taken care of

La "peste del secolo" nella stampa italiana: le rappesentazioni dell'AIDS negli anni '80 e 2000 a confronto

Lo studio delle rappresentazioni sociali ha avuto notevole importanza per la comprensione dell’AIDS e degli atteggiamenti verso la malattia. In particolare, la ricerca sulle rappresentazioni veicolate dai media ha individuato un’evoluzione storica dagli anni ’80 ad oggi nella costruzione sociale del fenomeno. Il presente lavoro intende contribuire a tale dibattito attraverso l’esplorazione dell’evoluzione del discorso giornalistico sull’AIDS a partire dal confronto tra due diversi periodi (1985-1990 e 2005-2010), al fine di individuare se e come le rappresentazioni dell’AIDS siano cambiate nel corso di oltre venti anni. Un campione di 446 articoli tratti dalle testate italiane La Repubblica e il Corriere della Sera costituisce la base testuale della presente ricerca. L’analisi di specificità ha permesso di confrontare i due subcorpora riferiti rispettivamente ai testi degli articoli prodotti tra il 1985 e il 1990 e il 2005 e 2010, al fine di individuare le parole tipiche che caratterizzano i due sottoinsiemi di articoli. In sintesi, i risultati rilevano alcune differenze che vanno verso una generale normalizzazione della malattia: il discorso sull’AIDS passa da una visione per lo più allarmistica che sembra caratterizzare gli anni ’80 a una maggiore centratura sulla sensibilizzazione dell’opinione pubblica negli anni 2000. Da temi quali la devianza di specifici gruppi sociali a rischio, il focus sulla diagnosi, i problemi di ordine pubblico e l’emarginazione del malato si passa nella stampa più recente a temi quali la salute globale, le soluzioni terapeutiche, l’epidemiologia, la cronicità della malattia e l’impatto sulla qualità della vita.The analysis of social representations played an important role in understanding AIDS and attitudes toward the illness. In particular, research on the representations spread by media detected a historical evolution of the social construction of the phenomenon from ’80s to date. This paper aims at contributing to this debate through exploring the evolution of journalistic discourse on AIDS by comparing two periods (1985-1990 and 2005-2010) in order to detect whether and how representations of AIDS changed over twenty years. The research textual corpus is composed of a sample of 446 articles derived from the Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera. Specificity analysis allowed the comparison of two subcorpora consisting in the articles produced between 1985 and 1990 and 2005 and 2010 respectively, in order to detect the typical words characterizing the sub-corpora. Overall, results highlight some differences dealing with a general normalization of the disease: from alarmism characterizing the 80s, discourse on AIDS changes over raising higher public awareness in the 2000’s. From topics such as deviance of specific social groups at risk, the focus on the diagnosis, the problems of public order and the marginalization of the patient, more recent popular press reports different topics such as global health, the therapeutic solutions, epidemiology, the chronicity of the disease and the impact on quality of life

Trauma e riparazione in una comunità colpita dal sisma: una lettura clinica dinamica per l’intervento post-emergenziale

The present study aims at investigating the community adaptation strategies to an earthquake according to a clinical-dynamic perspective. In particular, it aims at highlighting traumatic and reparative aspects of community in order to widely inform post-emergency interventions. A case-study conducted in an area affected by Central Italy earthquake was conducted in 2016-2017. Twenty-five key-figures were interviewed and their texts were analyzed through Emotional Text Analysis (Carli e Paniccia, 2002) utilizing T-lab software, according to a individual-context paradigm based on the construct of collusion intended as a socialization process of shared emotions within the same context. Five textual groupings were detected through cluster analysis and three factors, through multiple correspondence analysis, allowing the explanation of their relationships. Results from participants’ narratives, in summary, showed (a) a dynamic of anaclitic dependence to adapt to loss and abandonment feelings evoked by earthquake, (b) a strategy of hypervigilance related to a post-traumatic core featured by anxiety and worry about survival, and (c) a splitting process regarding ambivalent feelings towards territory perceived as threatening but also idealized. Conclusive reflections shed light on potential post-emergency intervention such as the role of institutions in leading to post-trauma recovery. Copyright © FrancoAngel

The Eberstadt study. Analysis of affective symbolization in a german neighborhood

This paper illustrates a case study about Eberstadt Süd, a suburb of the city of Darmstadt known for a large presence of immigrants and social problems related to unemployment and alcohol abuse. The present study had the aim to explore the affective symbolizations shared among people within the neighbourhood because, as literature declares, the possibility to find out new local developmental strategies is related to the understanding of the collusive dynamic which organize the relationship of people sharing the same context. Twelve stakeholders were administered a semi-structured interview about the quality of life in the neighbourhood, the relationship with the near city, and future developing strategies. The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed and analysed through Emotional Text Analysis. The analysis detected four clusters of words (CL). CL1 evokes a physical place still under construction; people living there represent themselves like elders needy for help. CL2 describes a feeling of judgement and devaluation from the main city, emotionally perceived as far and separate; people living in Eberstadt are represented as weak and defective. CL3 refers to the difficulties to develop a sense of citizenship in people living in Eberstadt, seen as being an active and productive part of the whole community. The projects made by social services are felt as incapable of bringing substantial changes in the neighbourhood. CL4 seems to refer to the reassuring, comfortable dual relationship between a child and his/her fundamental caregiver. Institutions are emotionally perceived as good mothers supporting their children. The results highlight that the relationship between Eberstadt and the near city of Darmstadt is experienced as asymmetrical. The neighbourhood is symbolized as little and needy, whereas the city is big, adult and powerful. These results were discussed with the stakeholders, giving them the opportunity to imagine possible future development