Communicating corporate social responsibility to involve stakeholders. The case of employer branding for university students

La responsabilità sociale d'impresa (o Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR) è uno strumento efficace di marketing e la sua efficacia è mediata dalla modalità con cui le aziende comunicano le proprie attività di CSR agli stakeholder. La ricerca si propone di valutare l'effetto di cinque strategie di comunicazione della CSR, ordinate secondo un livello crescente di coinvolgimento degli stakeholder, sull'Employer Branding (EB) di un'azienda ipotetica. Attraverso la distribuzione di cinque varianti di un opuscolo, l’azienda è stata presentata a due campioni di studenti universitari (n=167; n=112) in cinque diversi scenari comunicativi della CSR. È stato somministrato un questionario con scale che misurano l’attrattività dell'azienda, il prestigio percepito dell'azienda, la disponibilità dei soggetti a entrare in contatto con l'azienda e l’impegno prospettico sul lavoro. È stata anche indagata la percezione della brand personality e della comunicazione della CSR. Le analisi confermano che tutti e cinque gli scenari sono caratterizzati da alti livelli delle dimensioni dell’EB, però lo specifico dialogo di CSR adottato può generare differenti percezioni della brand personality dell'azienda.Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) is an effective marketing lever, and its effectiveness is mediated by the strategies companies use to communicate their CRS activities to stakeholders. The present research aims at assessing the effect of five CSR communicative strategies, ranked according to an increasing involvement level of stakeholders, on a fictional company’s Employer Branding (EB). The company was presented to two samples of university students (n=167; n=112) via the administration of five different versions of a brochure, corresponding to five different communicative scenarios of CSR. A self-report questionnaire was administrated, with scales measuring the company’s attractiveness, perceived prestige, intention to contact the company, and prospective engagement, as well as the company’s perceived brand personality and CSR communication. Analyses report high levels of the EB dimensions in all five communicative scenarios, which however produce different perceptions of the company’s brand personality

Binge Drinking and Internalised Sexual Stigma among Italian Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young Adults

BACKGROUND - Literature has studied the relation between youth alcohol consumption and sexual orientation, showing that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people are at increased risk to develop alcohol-related problems compared to heterosexuals. AIM - Our study aims to describe alcohol use patterns in relation to alcohol expectancies, internalised sexual stigma and sensation seeking and to highlight the specific risk factors that sexual minority subgroups face. DESIGN - A survey was administered in order to examine drinking habits, background information and levels of internalised sexual stigma and of sensation seeking in 468 LGB youths. According to the alcohol consumption, the sample was divided into three groups: social, binge and heavy drinkers. RESULTS - Data showed that bisexual youths were at most risk of heavy drinking compared to lesbian and gay participants. Moreover, LGB heavy drinkers reported higher levels of sensation seeking, earlier age of first alcohol consumption and more positive drinking expectancies compared to binge and social drinkers. Bisexual male heavy drinkers also showed more social confidence alcohol expectancies while bisexual female heavy drinkers showed more sensation seeking. CONCLUSION - Bisexual youths are at most risk of alcohol abuse. It is conceivable that these findings are related to the peculiar discrimination to which bisexual people are subject. Practical implications for the present study are discussed. \ua9 2016 Valera Verrastro et al., published by De Gruyter Open 2016

Factor Structure and Criterion Validity of an Enlarged Version of the Parental Bonding Instrument

Factorial structure and criterion validity of an enlarged version of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI-E) were evaluated in a community sample of young adults. This enlarged version was obtained by adding parental favouritism (FAV) and put-down/shaming (PUT_D) to the original care and overprotection (OV) scales as recalled by the offspring. Factor analysis suggested a five factor model as the best solution, identifying CARE, FAV and PUT_D and splitting the overprotection items into two factors, denial of psychological autonomy (DPA) and discouragement of behavioural freedom, (DBF) with Cronbach's alphas ranging from .77 to .92. These five scales were correlated with depression and anxiety of the offspring, measured by BDI and STAI. Both of them correlated negatively with care and positively with the other parental scales, as expected by Parker's theory on the role of affectionless control for the psychopathological vulnerability of the children. A series of hierarchical regression analyses, including CARE, DPA and DBF at the first step and FAV and PUT_D at the second step, showed that the latter enhanced the predictive power of the instrument. Overall these findings: (1) suggest a five factor structure for the PBI-E and (2) confirm the criterion validity of the PBI scales in respect to children's depression and anxiety, providing also compelling evidence for the incremental validity of Gilbert's scales

Social-Emotional and Cognitive Risk Factors Connected With Recidivism in Sexual Offenders: An Explorative Study

The literature suggests that sex offenders are more at risk of relapse and how much treatment pathways are needed to prevent it. Furthermore, the picture of predisposing factors connected to relapse appears complex. Therefore, the aim of this work is to verify the framework of social-cognitive risk factors connected to relapse in sex offenders. Participants in the study are 128 male sex offenders. The age range of the participants goes from 21 to 75 years (M = 41.74; SD = 13.45). Participants were given self-report questionnaires to evaluate cognitive distortions towards children and towards the right to sexuality, the Hanson Sex Attitude Questionnaire; cognitive distortions towards women, the Vindictive Rape Attitude Questionnaire; the mechanisms of moral disengagement, the Moral Disengagement Scale; furthermore, based on the grid of De Leo and colleagues, any adverse conditions (abuse, mistreatment, poverty, substance abuse, institutionalization) during childhood and/or adolescence were identified. Recidivism, on the other hand, was examined by asking participants if they had been convicted several times of the same crime and verifying this information through their files. The results showed that institutionalization, abuse, cognitive distortions towards women, and the mechanism of attributing blame to the victim can be relevant risk factors associated with relapse. The picture that emerged could suggest how the occurrence in a context of institutionalization during childhood could evidently represent an adverse condition during individual development that acts as a predisposing factor for the risk of relapse; in fact, it is possible to hypothesize that this condition may be linked to experiences of neglect. In the direction, the cognitive distortions towards women and the mechanism of attributing guilt to the victim represented the fulcrum of the deviant cognitive scheme capable of legitimizing the activation of violent and abusive behavior

Green Breaks: The Restorative Effect of the School Environment’s Green Areas on Children’s Cognitive Performance

Restoration involves individuals’ physical, psychological, and social resources, which have diminished over the years in the process of meeting the demands of everyday life. Psychological restoration can be provided by specific environments, in particular by natural environments. Studies report a restorative effect of nature on human beings, specifically in terms of the psychological recovery from attention fatigue and restored mental resources that were previously spent in activities that require attention. Two field studies in two Italian primary schools tested the hypothesized positive effect of recess time spent in a natural (vs. built) environment on pupils’ cognitive performance and their perceived restorativeness, using standardized tests. In Study 1, children’s psychological restoration was assessed by measuring sustained and selective attention, working memory, and impulse control, before and after the morning recess time. Team standardized playtime was conducted in a natural (vs. built) environment, and the perceived restorativeness was measured after each recess time. Results showed a greater increase in sustained and selective attention, concentration, and perceived restorativeness from pretest to posttest after the natural environment condition. In Study 2, the positive effect of free play recess time in a natural (vs. built) environment was assessed during the afternoon school time on sustained and selective attention and perceived restorativeness. Results showed an increase in sustained and selective attention after the natural environment condition (vs. built) and a decrease after the built environment break. Higher scores in perceived restorativeness were registered after the natural (vs. built) environment condition. Team standardized playtime and individual free play recess in a natural environment (vs. built) support pupils’ attention restoration during both morning and afternoon school times, as well as their perceived restorativeness of the recess environment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in terms of nature’s role both for the school ground design or redesign and for the organization of the school’s activities

Food reputation and food preferences:Application of the Food Reputation Map (FRM) in Italy, USA, and China

Given the food challenges that society is facing, we draw upon recent developments in the study of how food reputation affects food preferences and food choices, providing here a starting standard point for measuring every aspect of food reputation in different cultural contexts across the world. Specifically, while previous attempts focused either on specific aspects of food or on measures of food features validated in one language only, the present research validates the Food Reputation Map (FRM) in Italian, English and Chinese over 2,250 participants worldwide. Here we successfully measure food reputation across 23 specific indicators, further grouped into six synthetic indicators of food reputation. Critically, results show that: (a) the specific measurement tool of food reputation can vary across cultural contexts, and that (b) people's reputation of food products or categories changes significantly across different cultural contexts. Therefore, in order to understand people's food preferences and consumption, it is important to take into account the repertoire of cultural differences that underlies the contexts of analysis: the three context-specific versions of the FRM presented here effectively deal with this issue and provide reliable context-specific insights on stakeholders' interests, perspectives, attitudes and behaviors related to food perceptions, assessment, and consumption, which can be effectively leveraged to foster food sustainability

Group psychological counseling to contrast academic burnout: a research protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Academic burnout is a condition characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, a distant attitude toward studying, and diminished self-efficacy in academic activities. Preliminary scientific findings indicate that interventions designed to alleviate work burnout also hold promise for mitigating academic burnout, however clear evidence based on randomized controlled trials is still missing. This research protocol describes a randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating the efficacy of an online group psychological intervention to contrast academic burnout. Participants with high levels of burnout will be assigned to a psychological counseling group or a waiting list control group. The research comprises several phases: (T0) Screening, Recruitment, and Randomization; (T1) Baseline assessment (pre-intervention); (T2) Outcome Assessment (post-intervention); and (T3) Follow-up Assessment (3 months post-intervention). The primary outcomes include burnout symptoms, general wellbeing, and academic achievement. Additionally, secondary variables such as effort-reward imbalances, satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs, intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation, coping strategies, and social support will be examined. The psychological intervention strategies will encompass psychoeducation, self-awareness enhancement, cognitive restructuring, and promotion of social support. This research protocol is an initial step toward evidence-based psychological interventions to treat academic burnout

L’autore e il contesto socioculturale

Rassegna critica sulle ipotesi eziologiche della pedofilia e in particolar modo dell'abusante