Values, ideological attitudes and patriotism

We tested a series of discriminant associations, investigating how dimensions of patriotism (i.e. blind and constructive) differently relate to value orientations, and to ideological attitudes such as Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). Using an Italian student sample (N = 146) we found that blind patriotism correlated positively with tradition and negatively with univer- salism, whilst constructive patriotism correlated negatively with tradition and positively with universal- ism. Both RWA and SDO correlated negatively with universalism, whilst only RWA was associated with security and tradition and only SDO related positively to power and self-direction. Mediation analyses revealed that most of the effects of value orientations on patriotism were mediated by SDO and RWA

Childhood emotional maltreatment and internalizing problems in a non-clinical sample of adolescents: a moderated-mediation model of insecure anxious attachment style and gender

Childhood emotional maltreatment (abuse and neglect) may contribute to the development of internalizing problems in adolescence. However, the mechanisms explaining this association should be examined further. This study explored the mediating role of insecure anxious attachment style in the relationship between emotional maltreatment and internalizing symptoms in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. Analyses were also conducted to determine whether gender moderated the direct and indirect pathways between emotional maltreatment and internalizing problems. We recruited 449 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years old [(Mage)=16.46, standard deviation (SD)=1.38]. 60.8% of adolescents were female (Mage=16.51, SD=1.43), whereas 39.2% identified as male (Mage=16.39, SD=1.28). Participants completed a survey including socio-demographic information and three selfreport questionnaires: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, the Attachment Style Questionnaire, and the Youth Self- Report for ages 11-18. Results showed that emotional abuse and neglect were related to internalizing problems both directly and indirectly through anxious attachment style. Girls who experienced higher levels of emotional abuse and who had an anxious attachment style reported more internalizing problems than boys, whereas higher levels of emotional neglect were associated with increasing levels of internalizing problems only for boys. This study expanded our knowledge of the role of anxious attachment in the onset of internalizing problems among adolescents with experiences of childhood emotional maltreatment

The Italian version of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: psychometric properties and validation in students, community, and clinical groups

The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Italian validation of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), conceived as a measure of self-criticism and dependency, i.e. two personality factors acting, according to Blatt (2004), as risk factors for depression in particular and psychopathology in general. A series of standardized measures [Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), DEQ, Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, 3rd edition (MCMI-III)] was administered to three samples (i.e., students, community and clinical). Factorial validity was evaluated along with convergent and predictive validity. In order to evaluate the reliability and internal consistency, a specific subgroup of participants was retested on the DEQ and BDI-II. Results showed correlations between DEQ dimensions and some personality traits of the MCMI-III. The traditional three-factor model of the DEQ structure as identified by principal component analysis appears to be as stable factors as typically found in American samples, although some items showed elevated cross-loading or low loadings on any factor. Clinical and diagnostic implications of the findings will be discussed