STUDY ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM, COPING AND CLINICAL SYMPTOMS IN A GROUP OF YOUNG ADULTS: A BRIEF REPORT

The aim of this research is to analyze how the experiences and representations of self-esteem correlate with clinical symptoms, as well as specific non-functional coping strategies in order to overcome difficulties in the development of autonomy and decision-making.Data show that the coping resources of individuals are directed more towards the Self than towards the social, sometimes even in terms of preoccupation with the Self and social isolation. Low self-esteem has correlations with somatization. It is especially in the female gender and is related to an image of Self that is not positive

Objects as Communicative Mediators in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

In recent years, the socio-material perspective has informed an important interdisciplinary debate concerning the role of the physical world (i.e., the objects) in human psychological development. Several studies in the field of developmental psychology showed positive achievements in explaining the relationship between the subject and the social context through a socio-material approach, in particular in the early development. The importance of objects was also recognized in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), showing that these children are characterized by alterations in the use of the objects from early development. Some studies highlighted that objects could be a facilitator in the interactions between children with ASD and peers. However, the role of objects was not sufficiently investigated in interactions between children with ASD and adults. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate in children with ASD the communicative function that the activities with objects assume in the interactions with adults, highlighting the mediator role of objects in these interactions. More generally, this study also aims to highlight the relevance of adopting a socio-material perspective to explore some neglected aspects of the psychological activity of children with ASD. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an extensive exploratory study, collecting data from a sample of 3-year-old (N = 18; F = 3) and 4-year-old (N = 26; F = 3) with ASD. Children were observed in a free-play situation with an adult. They were free to choose an object from a predefined set. Through quantitative data, we have described the general characteristics of the manipulation of objects; through qualitative data, we aimed to capture and describe, in microgenetic sequences, some characteristics of children\u2019s activities, defined as socio-material. The analysis of the socio-material activities suggested the role of objects as mediator of the interactions between children with ASD and adults

Editorial: Sociomateriality in Children With Typical and/or Atypical Development.

L'idea di sociomaterialità ha origine principalmente dalla vasta area di prospettive sullo sviluppo psicologico legate all'empirismo. In termini semplici, si potrebbe dire che la sociomaterialità sottolinea il contributo dell'esperienza individuale e collettiva ponendo maggiormente l'accento sul ruolo che la corporeità, i contesti fisici e gli oggetti giocano nello sviluppo o nell'emergere di funzioni psicologiche. Purtroppo, come ogni semplificazione, anche questa ha dei limiti oggettivi. Ciò che rende difficile stabilire un quadro unificato per definire la sociomaterialità, e soprattutto per determinare la sua relazione con lo sviluppo psicologico, è prima di tutto una questione epistemologica che è ancora oggetto di un ampio dibattito in diverse aree scientifiche, tra cui la filosofia (Searle, 2007) archeologia e culture materiali (Malafouris, 2013), ergonomia (Geslin, 2017), antropologia e sociologia (Latour, 2005), scienze cognitive (Clark, 2008), psicoterapia (Searles, 1960), psicologia dello sviluppo (Iannaccone et al. 2018; Moro e Rodríguez, 1998; Moro, 2016) e l'apprendimento stesso (Engeström, 2015; Iannaccone, 2017; Cattaruzza et al., 2019). Nella misura limitata di questa introduzione al variegato Topic ospitato da Frontiers in Psychology, possiamo identificare il cuore del problema epistemologico in due domande fondamentali: (a) quali sono i confini della mente rispetto alla corporeità e al contesto in cui opera? e (b) quale potrebbe essere il contributo reale che gli artefatti danno allo sviluppo delle funzioni psicologiche, in particolare l'apprendimento?The idea of sociomateriality mainly originates from the vast area of perspectives on psychological development related to empiricism. In simple terms, it could be said that sociomateriality stresses the contribution of individual and collective experience by putting more emphasis on the role that corporeity, physical contexts, and objects play in the development or emergence of psychological functions. Unfortunately, like any simplification, this one has objective limits. What makes it difficult to establish a unified framework to define sociomateriality, and above all to determine its relationship to psychological development, is, first of all, an epistemological question that is still the subject of a wide debate in several scientific areas, including philosophy (Searle, 2007) archaeology and material cultures (Malafouris, 2013), ergonomics (Geslin, 2017), anthropology and sociology (Latour, 2005), cognitive sciences (Clark, 2008), psychotherapy (Searles, 1960), developmental psychology (Iannaccone et al. 2018; Moro and Rodríguez, 1998; Moro, 2016) and learning itself (Engeström, 2015; Iannaccone, 2017; Cattaruzza et al., 2019). Within the limited extent of this introduction to the variegated Topic hosted by Frontiers in Psychology, we can identify the heart of the epistemological problem in two fundamental questions: (a) what are the boundaries of the mind with respect to corporeity and the context in which it operates? and (b) what could be the real contribution that artefacts give to the development of psychological functions, particularly learning

Interazioni conversazionali, manipolazioni linguistiche e emergenza di abilità logiche in attività matematiche

In this paper, according to the Vygot-skian perspective and focusing on some aspects of mathematical logic, a reflection is presented based on some studies exploring the relation-ships between language and development of log-ical skills. We describe the design/implementa-tion of an educational device, consisting of linguistic-manipulative activities carried out in 4th grade school classes. The activities are based on the construction and manipulation of a sym-bolic language, socially shared, created to make a “child-robot” move in a room. The qualitative analysis of the social exchanges and of the con-tent of the explicitation interviews allowed to highlight how, through the comparison among different points of view, children carry out a dy-namic process of construction and negotiation of mathematical meanings. In particular, some main topics emerging from the interviews are presented, showing the ways in which children process activities, linked to inter-individual and intra-individual aspects

perceived social support and clinical symptomatology in italian university students

Social support can influence the perceptions of individual and social well-being for university students. We sought to verify whether the perceptions of social support correlate with the manifestation of clinical symptoms in young university students. A total of 26 participants, 58% female and 42% male, between the ages of 19 and 27 were included. The following tests were administered: SCL-90-R – scale for the self-evaluation of general psychopathology and MSPSS – self-assessment scale for the perception of social support. The students who perceived low levels of social support had high levels of clinical symptomatology (especially for internalised disorders). The index for a high intensity of symptoms Positive Symptom Total is correlated with a low level of perceived social support. Keywords: Clinical symptomatology, perceived social support, university students

The cognitive and behavioural profile of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Application of the consensus criteria

Abstract. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to assess the spectrum of cognitive and behavioural disorders in patients affected by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) according to the recent consensus criteri

High Risk of Secondary Infections Following Thrombotic Complications in Patients With COVID-19

Background. This study’s primary aim was to evaluate the impact of thrombotic complications on the development of secondary infections. The secondary aim was to compare the etiology of secondary infections in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Methods. This was a cohort study (NCT04318366) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients hospitalized at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital between February 25 and June 30, 2020. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated by univariable Poisson regression as the number of cases per 1000 person-days of follow-up (PDFU) with 95% confidence intervals. The cumulative incidence functions of secondary infections according to thrombotic complications were compared with Gray’s method accounting for competing risk of death. A multivariable Fine-Gray model was applied to assess factors associated with risk of secondary infections. Results. Overall, 109/904 patients had 176 secondary infections (IR, 10.0; 95% CI, 8.8–11.5; per 1000-PDFU). The IRs of secondary infections among patients with or without thrombotic complications were 15.0 (95% CI, 10.7–21.0) and 9.3 (95% CI, 7.9–11.0) per 1000-PDFU, respectively (P = .017). At multivariable analysis, thrombotic complications were associated with the development of secondary infections (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.788; 95% CI, 1.018–3.140; P = .043). The etiology of secondary infections was similar in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Conclusions. In patients with COVID-19, thrombotic complications were associated with a high risk of secondary infections

Sociomateriality in Children with Typical and/or Atypical Development

The idea of sociomateriality mainly originates from the vast area of perspectives on psychological development related to empiricism. In simple terms, it could be said that sociomateriality stresses the contribution of individual and collective experience by putting more emphasis on the role that corporeity, physical contexts, and objects play in the development or emergence of psychological functions. Unfortunately, like any simplification, this one has objective limits. What makes it difficult to establish a unified framework to define sociomateriality, and above all to determine its relationship to psychological development, is first of all an epistemological question that is still the subject of a wide debate in several scientific areas, including philosophy (Searle, 2007) archaeology and material cultures (Malafouris, 2013), ergonomics (Geslin, 2017), anthropology and sociology (Latour, 2005), cognitive sciences (Clark, 2008), psychotherapy (Searles, 1960), developmental psychology (Moro and Rodr\uedguez, 1998; Moro, 2016; Iannaccone et al., 2018) and learning itself (Engestr\uf6m, 2015; Iannaccone, 2017; Cattaruzza et al., 2019). Within the limited extent of this introduction to the variegated Topic hosted by Frontiers in Psychology, we can identify the heart of the epistemological problem in two fundamental questions: (a) what are the boundaries of the mind with respect to corporeity and the context in which it operates? and (b) what could be the real contribution that artifacts give to the development of psychological functions, particularly learning? Of course, these two problems not only have an abstract philosophical meaning, but also constitute a real methodological puzzle, because they question the notions of \u201cobject of analysis\u201d and \u201cunity of analysis.\u201d To these important problems, researchers have given varied answers that are arranged along an axis with what we could define as \u201cstrong sociomateriality\u201d on the one end and \u201cweak sociomateriality\u201d on the other. Concerning the explanations of psychological phenomena, this continuum depends substantially on the more or less decisive role that researchers assign to both the physical characteristics (materialities) of objects or contexts and to the communicative and semiotic interactions between humans and non-humans (social and cultural mediations). Even within this Topic, which is specifically dedicated to the role of objects in psychological development (affective, cognitive, and social), the contributions collected do not refer to a single notion of sociomateriality. On the positive side, these contributions present a rich landscape of theoretical and empirical positions requiring the reader to seriously reconsider sociomateriality in psychology. In summarizing the 14 contributions, we identified some common general aspects of the Topic that can help the reader organize his or her \u201cjourney\u201d: Mental activities are not considered as decontextualized and isolated, but are interwoven in the interactions among individuals on one hand and the physical and social worlds on the other; and objects seem to actively contribute to typical and atypical psychological development (cognitive, affective, and social), influencing to several degrees the way that people experience the world. The contributions to the Topic are briefly presented below, organized according to their contribution to the issue of sociomateriality in psychology

TACIT KNOWLEDGE AND OPAQUE ACTION IN THE PROCESSES OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

In the history of psychology, between the "classic" constructs proposed to account for the different forms of opacity in the way of access to the control of behavior by the individual: the classic Freudian unconscious and psychological automatism, up to the more recent notion of "cognitive automatism" (Perruchet, 1988). This contribution could also be included in the well-known field of study which investigated the role of the processes of grasp of consciousness of what is real by the subject. According to Piaget (1974), awareness constitutes a conceptualization of reality that moves from empirical abstraction (which has to do with the material properties of the objects that are manipulated) to reflective abstraction that is the final stage of a process of a real awareness of the relationships that are established between the subject and the reality in the form of logical-mathematical relations. Moreover, the ways in which the subject becomes aware of the way in which he builds his knowledge and uses it is the central object of the phenomenological perspective and the so-called "Psychophenomenologie" (Vermersch, 2012), which makes a specific use of "elicitation interview techniques," as we try to show in this work, the grasp of consciousness may lead to, in a professional context (and especially in the teaching professions), a reflective process that enhances the awareness of the actors involved in the learning/teaching dynamics and, therefore, can help them identify the errors and distortions that characterise their strategies to solve problems

L’Identité professionnelle des enseignants face au changement: analyses empiriques dans le contexte italien

The aim of this article is to propose a psychosocial explanation for the elaboration of the professional identity of teachers in a situation of change based on a certain number of empirical data collected in the Italian educational context. We shall highlight the essential role (and articulation) of biographical items, social representations and educational practices in the identity adaptation process required by changes which characterise the educational context from an institutional, social and individual point of view (new migration processes, introduction of new technologies at school, several reforms of the education act and the organisation of teaching). Two studies were carried out in the Campania region of Southern Italy using a semi-structured narrative interview (Bruner, 1992; Vermersch, 1994) with two groups of teachers (52 and 43 respectively). The results enable us to describe a certain number of points with regard to identity in the teaching profession (representations, biographies, practices) which seem to play an important role in the process of adapting to the changes in question