The efforts of a multidisciplinary approach in a rehabilitation institute for deaf children: a psychosocial intervention aimed at breaking the pattern of stalled productivity

Introduction The multidisciplinary approach for the treatment of hearing impaired children exposes the work group to several tasks: the group needs to integrate different competencies and techniques, to share common treatment goals, to manage the relational dynamics with the children and with their parents, to explore the families’ expectancies. These efforts can put the work group in stressful conditions and, consequently, can negatively affect the quality of the intervention to be carried out. Aim Our aim was to illustrate a psychosocial analysis performed in a religious Institute for hearing impaired children, aimed at breaking the stalled productivity of the Institute, at avoiding inefficient and fragmented treatments, at preventing unelaborated relational dynamics within the staff and between the staff and the children’s families. Methodology Through the Content Analysis of semi-structured interviews administered to staff-members and families we analyzed the quality of the teamwork, the relational arrangements towards the families and local services (25 interview with 5 staff members); the family-Institute relationship and the family’s representation and satisfaction of the Institute (7 interview with 13 hearing and hearing impaired parents). Results The institute action seems to be more characterized by the maintenance of the relationship with the families per se, than oriented to productive goals.The hearing parents seem to be more satisfied than the hearing-impaired parents, possibly because the first are more prepared to receive the Institute's help. Conclusions The stalled productivity can be overcome only with the elaboration of those relational/emotional dynamics which prevent staff members and children’s parents from focusing on productive goals. The staff-members’ training should be improved in order to develop specific competencies to perform an integrated, multidisciplinary approach in treatments, to negotiate with the families, and share with them, work program and objectives of the treatment

Which affects affect the use of new technologies? Italian adaptation of the Internet Motive Questionnaire for Adolescents (IMQ-A) and criterion validity with problematic use and body dissatisfaction

Given the negative role of problematic use of new technological devices (NTD) in behavioral and psychological domains, the aim of the study is the Italian adaptation and validation of the Internet Motive Questionnaire for Adolescents (IMQ-A) in order to understand the motivation for the use of NTD. A total of 769 students 10-19 aged (M = 13.22, SD = 1.56) completed the IMQ-A, the Collins Figures Rating Scale, and two measures regarding the problematic NTD use, focused on overuse during the night and during meals. The IMQ-A showed adequate internal consistency with regard to its four subscales: Coping (α = .84), Social (α = .80), Enhancement (α = .80), and Conformity (α = .68) motives. However, with regard to factorial structure, a threefactor model (excluding Conformity subscale) showed slightly better fit indices than the original model. Coping motive was correlated with problematic NTD use and succeeded in predicting higher scores in body dissatisfaction as evidence of criterion-related and external validity. The Italian adaptation of the IMQ-A can be useful in both research and clinical fields, in order to propose alternative strategies for coping to users and to improve emotion regulation facets

Kvalitet socijalne kompetentnosti učenika sa lakom intelektualnom ometenošću u školskom okruženju

In recent decades, the phenomenon of social competence, especially in people with intellectual disability, has attracted the attention of numerous researchers. The slow development and limitations in socialization of these people are one of the basic characteristics of the state of intellectual disability. The aim of this research was to determine the differences between students with mild intellectual disability and students of typical development in relation to achievements that reflect the level of development of their social competence. The sample included 50 students with mild intellectual disability, as an experimental group, and 50 students of typical development, as a control group. The respondents were of both genders, aged between seven and twelve (M=9.80, SD=1.34). The School Social Behavior Scale, Second Edition, Merrell, 2002 was used in the research. The results showed that students of typical development achieved a statistically significantly higher overall score on the Social Competence Scale (p=0.000), as well as on Peer Relations, Self-Management, and Academic Behavior subscales (p=0.000). Most (66%) students with mild intellectual disability had an average level of social competence, while the majority (56%) of typically developing students were in the category of highly functional behavior. The statistical significance of gender and social competence was determined only in relation to the skills of Self-management (p=0,047), while it was also determined in relation to the total score on the Scale (p=0.045), as well as to the skills in the field of Academic behavior (p= 0.026) in the control group. Girls were better than boys in both groups. With regard to age, a statistically significant difference was detected only on the Peer Relations subscale (p=0.029). The older respondents in the experimental group were better at interpersonal relationships than the younger ones. There was no statistically significant difference in achievements between the respondents of the typical development of different age groups. The obtained results confirm the importance of this problem in the population of people with intellectual disabilities and impose the need for further study, as well as providing support from the earliest age and appropriate intervention programs.Poslednjih decenija fenomen socijalne kompetencije, naročito kod osoba s intelektualnom ometenošću, privlači pažnju brojnih istraživača. Usporen razvoj i ograničenja u socijalizaciji ovih osoba predstavljaju jednu od bazičnih karakteristika stanja intelektualne ometenosti. Cilj istraživanja jeste utvrđivanje razlika između učenika s lakom intelektualnom ometenošću i učenika tipičnog razvoja u odnosu na postignuća koja odražavaju nivo razvijenosti njihove socijalne kompetencije. Uzorkom je obuhvaćeno 50 učenika sa lakom intelektualnom ometenošću koji su činili eksperimentalnu grupu i 50 učenika tipičnog razvoja, koji su činili kontrolnu grupu. Obuhvaćeni su ispitanici oba pola, kalendarskog uzrasta od sedam do dvanaest godina (AS=9,80, SD=1,34). U istraživanju je korišćena Skala socijalnog ponašanja u školi (School Social Behavior Scale, Second Edition, Merrell, 2002). Rezultati su pokazali da učenici tipičnog razvoja ostvaruju statistički značajno viši opšti skor na Skali socijalne kompetencije (p=0,000), kao i na subskalama Odnosi sa vršnjacima, Upravljanje sopstvenim ponašanjem i Akademsko ponašanje (p=0,000). Većina (66%) učenika s lakom intelektualnom ometenošću ima prosečno razvijenu socijalnu kompetenciju, dok se većina (56%) učenika tipičnog razvoja grupiše u kategoriji visoko funkcionalnog ponašanja. Statistička značajnost odnosa pola i socijalne kompetencije utvrđena je samo u odnosu na veštine Upravljanja sopstvenim ponašanjem (p=0,047), a u kontrolnoj grupi i u odnosu na ukupan skor na Skali (p=0,045), kao i na veštine u oblasti Akademskog ponašanja (p=0,026). Devojčice su bile bolje od dečaka u obe grupe. U odnosu na uzrast detektovana je statistički značajna razlika samo na subskali Odnosi sa vršnjacima (p=0,029). Stariji ispitanici u ekperimentalnoj grupi bili su bolji u interpersonalnim odnosima od mlađih. Između ispitanika tipičnog razvoja različitih uzrasnih grupa nije utvrđena statistički značajna razlika u postignućima. Dobijeni rezultati potvrđuju važnost ove problematike u populaciji osoba sa intelektualnom ometenošću i nameću potrebu za daljim proučavanjem, kao i pružanjem podrške od najranijeg doba i primenu odgovarajućih programa intervencije

Alexithymia and psychological distress affect perceived quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Backgrounds: Psychological factors may affect patients' ability to cope with chronic illness, which occur with a high incidence as they represent age related disorder. Anxiety, depression and alexithymia could specifically interfere with compliance and adherence leading to predictable consequences and predicting morbidity and mortality independently of several confounders. The present work aims at investigating the relationship between alexithymia and affective dimension such as anxiety and depression levels, and health related quality of life in T2DM patients. Particularly, alexithymia was analyzed in its three main facets and time since diagnosis was considered with also metabolic control. Methods: Forty seven patients with T2DM were consecutively enrolled and assessed with a gold standard interview and with a psycho-diagnostic evaluation. Clinical psychological exploration consisted of HAM-A, BECK-II, SF-36 and TAS-20 administration. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistical version 25. Data were analyzed anonymously. Results: 47 participants showed moderate depressive symptoms as confirmed by the mean BDI-II and HAMA-A score (15.14 ± 8.95 and 24.31 ± 6.95, respectively), suggesting a high prevalence of anxiety in the enrolled subjects. It was observed a lower perceived QoL as resulted by the MCS and PCS mean values (37.68 ± 9.41 and 39.31 ± 12.29, respectively) and TAS-20 highlighted considerable mean values of 60.53 ± 7.93 in the recruited participants with a prevalence in EOT values (27.51± 4.27), in comparison with mean DID and DDF values (17.26 ± 5.52 and 15.48 ± 3.84, respectively). Conclusions: Our study may suggest a predictive role of alexithymia in patients with T2DM. Moreover, lower PCS and MCS, revealing worst perceived QoL were associated to both higher anxiety and disease duration

Executive functions and bone health: a focus on cognitive impulsivity and bone mineral density

Background: It is known that cognitive impairment is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and that low BMD is also observed in elderly people with neurodegenerative diseases, in which executive functions (EF) could be decreased. A limited number of studies investigated the association between EF with BMD and fracture risk in elderly women. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the association between cognitive impulsivity, BMD and fall risk in a sample of postmenopausal women evaluated for osteoporosis. Methods: We consecutively recruited women who obtained a score ≥ 24 at the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Cognitive impulsivity was evaluated by the Stroop Colour and Word Test (SCWT). BMD was detected by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at lumbar spine and femoral neck. Results: Cognitive impulsivity, as evidenced by the greater number of errors at the SCWT, was significantly related with BMD values at lumbar spine and femoral neck (r= -0.39, p= 0.01 and r= 0.43, p= 0.008; respectively), suggesting a neuropsychological impairment in patients assessed for osteoporosis. Moreover, interference effect on response time was significantly associated with higher prevalence of falls (r= 0.342; p= 0.031). Discussion and Conclusions: Our findings suggested a potential involvement of cognitive impulsivity on BMD and risk of fall. This is a relevant issue in clinical practice for both clinical psychologists and physicians who evaluate postmenopausal women, to eventually predict risk of fracture

PROGRAM RANE INTERVENCIJE NAMENJEN RODITELJIMA PREVREMENO RODENE DECE”(EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR PARENTS OF PREMATURE INFANTS. EFFECTS OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT IN THE FIRST WEEKS OF LIFE ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT AT 6 AND 12 MONTHS)

Low birth weight preterm children are at-risk for developmental difficulties, cognitive and emotional disabilities. An intervention program, aimed to ameliorate parents–infant communication, involved 11 low birth weight infants, without birth complications, from low socio-cultural level families. The intervention consisted in: 1) psychological support to improve parents’ communication and caregiving during the first weeks of life; 2) follow-up assessment at 6 months on the parent-infant interaction; 3) follow-up assessment at 12/18 months on the Mother-Infant attachment. The general hypothesis was that ameliorating the quality of parents-newborn interaction in the first weeks of life, especially reinforcing the imitation, could predispose the newborn to develop a secure attachment bond. The mother-infant communication improved in all cases at first step, but only 3/11 children were secure-attached at 12/18 months. The same three children had the father regularly attending the encounters, supporting the mothers, thus indicating a good quality in the marital relationship. Early parent-infant communication can be improved with a psychological support, but the quality of the marital relationship seems to be more related to a long-term effect represented by the secure attachment