Individual Differences in Adolescents’ Civic Engagement: The Role of Civic Discussions with Parents and Environmental Sensitivity

The main goal of the current study was to examine the direct and moderating effects of civic dis-cussions with parents and environmental sensitivity using both the total score and its specific di-mensions (i.e., Aesthetic Sensitivity, AES; Ease of Excitation, EOE; Low Sensitivity Threshold, LST) on youth civic engagement (attitudes and behaviours). The empirical analysis relied on a ques-tionnaire-based survey conducted on a sample of 438 adolescents (30% males), aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 16.50, SD = 1.36). We used a structural equation model (SEM) with latent vari-ables and the latent moderated structural equation (LMS) method to test our hypotheses. Our re-sults showed that civic discussions with parents were positively and significantly associated with general environmental sensitivity and with AES and predicted both civic attitudes and civic be-haviours; EOE was negatively and significantly related to civic behaviours; AES was positively and significantly related to civic attitudes; and LST was not significantly related to either civic attitudes or behaviours. Contrary to our expectations, environmental sensitivity did not moderate the rela-tionship between civic discussions with parents and civic engagement. Our study further high-lights the relevance that parents have in shaping their children’s civic engagement and makes a novel contribution regarding how differences in perceiving and processing environmental stimuli can affect beliefs and behaviours toward community issues among young individual

The relationship between subjective risk intelligence and courage with working performance : the potential mediating effect of workplace social courage

Background: There is a growing attention toward the construct of courage from a psychological point of view; recently, courage has been related with numerous positive individual behaviors and outcomes, such as coping strategies and subjective wellbeing, and an increasing number of studies explore the role of courage in the working and organizational environments. The present study is aimed to analyze the effect that individual courage—together with risk intelligence—and workplace social courage have on working performance; Methods: The participants are 961 Italian workers, balanced by gender; the measures used are: Courage, Subjective Risk Intelligence Scale, Workplace Social Courage Scale, and Performance Scale. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Models; Results: The results show the effect of subjective risk intelligence and courage on working performance, both directly and through the mediation of workplace social courage; Conclusions: Suggestions for further research and practical implications are discussed

Assessment of an Epidemic Urgency: Psychometric Evidence for the UCLA Loneliness Scale

Background: In modern industrialized countries, loneliness has been declared an epidemic. The present paper aimed to replicate previous findings about the dimensionality of the UCLA Loneliness Scale-3 version (LS-3) in a sample of Italian adults using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). Methods: In Study 1, 1676 participants (Mage= 31.15; SD = 11.89) completed the LS-3. The three-factor ESEM model was performed to replicate the previous Italian version, and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis compared the three- and ten-item short versions. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, we administered measures of anxiety, depression, stress, internet addiction, self-esteem, and social interaction anxiety to 3513 participants (Mage= 30.81; SD = 11.77) to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of LS-3. Results: The ESEM 3-factor model was replicated using a Target rotation (X2 = 847.597; df = 133; CFI = 0.942; TLI = 0.917; RMSEA = 0.062), whereas the already-known LS-3 short version raised psychometric concerns. Positive relationships with anxiety, depression, stress, internet addiction, and social interaction anxiety, as well as negative association with self-esteem were found. Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings support the use of the LS-3 in the Italian sample and discourage the administration of the current short forms. The implications for research and clinical practice have been discussed

Predicting university adjustment from coping-styles, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and personality: findings from a survey in a sample of italian students

Starting university life requires that students learn to cope with several personal, academic, and social challenges. A wide array of variables affects how students adjust to university life. This study was aimed to investigate which factors among coping styles, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and personality traits (i.e., diligence, relational availability, mental flexibility, activity, and emotional stability) best predicted the levels of university adjustment in a sample of university freshmen (N = 204, 63% women). Data were collected using self-report instruments. Multiple regressions analyses were conducted to identify the most significant predictors of adjustment to college. Our findings reported that self-efficacy, task-, and emotion-oriented coping were the most significant predictors, together with relational availability and mental flexibility. These findings might improve the growing knowledge concerning university adjustment, supporting main previous research. The observed relationships between university adjustment and the measured variables suggest intriguing considerations about the importance for schools and universities of providing interventions for students that aim to develop and strengthen the investigated personality facets, reducing withdrawal, behavioral and/or mental disengagement, and promoting academic achievement and success

Evaluating the Dimensionality of the Sociocultural Adaptation Scale in a Sample of International Students Sojourning in Los Angeles: Which Difference between Eastern and Western Culture?

The Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (SCAS) measures the degree of sociocultural competence in new cultural settings, and, despite its popularity, research aiming at evaluating its dimensionality is lacking and has incongruent results. Moreover, the dimensionality of the scale has been mainly tested on different samples adjusted to Eastern culture. We administered the SCAS to 266 international students sojourning in Los Angeles to test which underlying dimensionality emerges if the measure is used to assess sociocultural adaptation to Western culture, also verifying its measurement invariance across sex. Findings from EFA showed a three-factor solution: Diversity Approach, Social Functioning, and Distance and Life Changes, and the CFA indicated a plausible goodness-of-fit to the empirical data. The examination of MGCFA suggested that the questionnaire showed an invariant structure across sex. Our results suggest that the dimensionality of the SCAS may differ according to the sojourners’ country of settlement, emphasizing Western–Eastern differences

Emotional Intelligence and Social Support: Two Key Factors in Preventing Occupational Stress during COVID-19

Emotional intelligence (EI) and social support are among the most investigated hypothesized variables that affect stress at work. The current study aims to evaluate the direct association between EI and occupational stress and its indirect relationship mediated by three sources of social support during the spread of the COVID-19. The total sample was composed of 367 individuals (53.7% males), aged from 20 to 68 (M = 37.84, SD = 10.39), who filled out an online questionnaire. A mediation analysis was performed to test the hypothesized relationships. Our findings showed that EI has a direct effect on psychological effects and an indirect effect on almost all the facets of occupational stress. The significant mediators were social support from both family and friends. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and directions for future studies are suggested

Employability and Job Insecurity: The Role of Personal Resources on Work-Related Stress

This study is aimed to assess the effect of both employability and personal resources, in terms of pro-activity and self-efficacy, on the relationship between job insecurity and psycho-social distress. Using survey data from 211 participants, among employed, unemployed and workers in transition, we analyzed the incidence of employability, pro-activity and self-efficacy on psycho-social distress. Our results showed that the above-mentioned variables significantly differed by participants’ gender and age. The structural theoretical model proposed to assess the significance of the hypothesized paths exhibited good fit with the data. Thus, all our hypotheses were supported. Findings are in line with previous research, and practical implications may give significant effects when applied in new labor policies undertaken by local governments

Supporting Sensor-Based Usability Studies Using a Mobile App in Remotely Piloted Aircraft System

Monitoring user workload during task performance is a relevant and widely investigated topic in the aviation field of study due to its associations with the level of safety and number of human errors. The current study aims at assessing the workload of pilots wearing sensors while performing typical fly operations. To this purpose, a mobile app able to record physiological measures while performing usability studies with multiple users, even remotely, is provided. Results coming from a preliminary test with three pilots reveal the usefulness of the app in the evaluation of the workload level for each participant and each task