Reliability and Validity of the Italian Translation of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale in a Sample of Consecutively Admitted Psychotherapy Patients

The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Italian translation of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P) in a clinical sample of 268 consecutively admitted psychotherapy patients (43.3% male; mean age = 40.48 (SD = 12.52); 38.8% inpatient). The Italian UPPS-P replicated the internal consistency coefficients of the original UPPS-P (0.84 to 0.92 across the five subscales). Moreover, confirmatory factor analyses evidenced an adequate fit for the a-priori five-factor model of the scale (WLSMV CFA χ2(1642) = 2833.06, p .10; CFI = .90; TLI = .90). Furthermore, the UPPS-P scales were significantly related to the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 total score (rs = 0.23 to 0.60 across the five scales). Finally, the five UPPS-P scales showed distinct associations with domain scores and interview-based dimensional scores of personality disorders. These findings suggest that the Italian version of the UPPS-P can be considered a valid and reliable alternative to the original UPPS-P and can be a useful diagnostic tool in a clinical sample

Post Traumatic Reactions as Individual Differences: Latent Structure Analysis of the International Trauma Questionnaire in Italian Trauma-Exposed and Non-Trauma Exposed Adults

To evaluate the internal consistency and factor structure of the Italian translation of the 12-item International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), 382 trauma-exposed and 366 non-trauma exposed Italian community-dwelling Italian adults from a total group of 748 volunteers completed the ITQ. The ITQ Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Disorder of Self-Organization scales showed adequate Cronbach’s as in both trauma-exposed and non-trauma-exposed participants. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the a priori model of item-to-scale assignment of the ITQ items was consistently reproduced in both trauma-exposed and non-trauma-exposed participants, even when measurement invariance was formally assessed. Finally, taxometric analyses showed that the latent distribution of the six ITQ PTSD symptom items should be conceived as a latent dimension rather than a categorical latent construct. As a whole, our findings supported to the cross-cultural validity of the ITQ while extending its clinical usefulness

Understanding Barriers Impacting upon Patient Wellbeing: A Nationwide Italian Survey and Expert Opinion of Dermatologists Treating Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis

A nationwide cross-sectional online survey was administered to dermatologists managing patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis across Italy to obtain real-world dermatologists' perspectives on the impact of psoriasis and its treatment on patients' daily lives and quality of life (QoL). A total of 91 dermatologists (aged 39.1 +/- 11.2 years) completed a 31-question survey and workshop sessions were undertaken in order to identify the best management approach to achieve patient wellbeing. Social (4.2 +/- 0.1), physical (4.26 +/- 0.2) and mental components (4.1 +/- 0.3) were rated by dermatologists as contributing to patient wellbeing to similar extents. While a high proportion (85.4%; rating of 4.3 out of 5) of dermatologists felt that they considered the QoL of patients, a lower proportion (69.6%; rating of 3.7 out of 5) felt that patients were satisfied in this regard. The psoriasis area and severity index and body surface area were the instruments most frequently used to assess the physical domain, while interviews/questions and the dermatology life quality index were used to assess social and mental domains, with only 60% of dermatologists following up on these aspects. The importance of investigating the presence of comorbidities was recognized but not always carried out by many dermatologists, (>70%), particularly for obesity and anxiety/depression. This survey identified key components contributing to barriers impacting on the QoL of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis from the perspective of the dermatologist

Sentirsi in diritto di prevaricare gli altri: caratteristiche narcisistiche di personalità, ragionamento morale e aggressività in un campione non clinico di adolescenti

Esaminare le relazioni tra le dimensioni proattiva e reattiva dell’aggressività, le manifestazioni overt e covert del narcisismo e gli stili di moral reasoning. Metodo: Ad un campione di 674 studenti medi superiori italiani (età media 15.5 anni DS = 2.1) sono state somministrate le versioni italiane delle seguenti misure: Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, Prosocial Reasoning Objective Measure. Le relazioni tra le variabili di interesse sono state analizzate attraverso analisi di correlazione, regressione lineare e modelli di mediazione. Risultati: NPI ha presentato correlazioni significative e rilevanti sia con l’Aggressività Reattiva, sia con l’Aggressività Proattiva. Anche HSNS ha mostrato correlazioni significative, anche se meno robuste, sia con l’Aggressività Reattiva sia con l’Aggressività Proattiva. Il ragionamento morale di tipo Edonistico è risultato significativamente correlato con entrambe le manifestazioni di aggressività e con gli aspetti overt del narcisismo. Inoltre, la relazione tra ragionamento morale Edonistico e aggressività è risultata mediata dal narcisismo di tipo overt. Conclusioni: Nel complesso, i risultati ottenuti suggeriscono un legame significativo tra aggressività e caratteristiche narcisistiche di personalità, indicando come il ragionamento morale Edonistico, se parte di una inclinazione narcisistica più ampia, possa rappresentare un fattore di rischio in adolescenza per entrambe le dimensioni dell’aggressività

Thinking about feelings: Affective State Mentalization, Attachment Styles, and Borderline Personality Disorder Features Among Italian Nonclinical Adolescents

In order to Test Fonagy's (Fonagy & Bateman, 2008) hypotheses on the relationships among borderline personality disorder (BPD), mentalization, and attachment, nonclinical adolescents were assigned to a high-BPD group (n = 29), an average- BPD group (n = 31) and a low-BPD group (n = 29). Participants in the three groups were administered the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RET), the Lack of Emotional Clarity Scale from the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). High-BPD adolescents scored significantly lower than low-BPD adolescents on the RET (d= -0.66), and significantly higher than both other groups on the DERS LEC. When the effect of the ASQ scales was controlled for, the high-BPD group did not show any significant difference from the other groups on mentalization measures. These findings were consistent with Fonagy's (Fonagy & Bateman, 2008) model of BPD

Does mindfulness mediate the association between attachment dimensions and borderline personality disorder features? A study of Italian non-clinical adolescents

The aim of this study was to assess whether mindfulness mediates the association between attachment dimensions and features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in a sample of 501 Italian high-school students. Low scores on Confidence and high scores on Need for Approval and Preoccupation with Relationships attachment scales was significantly related to the number of BPD features (adjusted R = .21, p < .001). Further, mindfulness scores were negatively associated with Need for Approval and Relationships as Secondary attachment scales (adjusted R = .14, p < .001). Finally, mindfulness scores were negatively associated with the number of BPD features (adjusted R = .15, p < .001). Mediation analyses showed that the relationship between Need for Approval and BPD was completely mediated by the mindfulness effects. Our results in non-clinical adolescents are consistent with Bateman and Fonagy's (2004) hypothesis that the link between attachment disturbances and BPD features may be mediated by deficits in mentalization, at least as these are operationalized by low mindfulness

Predicting borderline personality disorder features from personality traits, identity orientation, and attachment styles in Italian nonclinical adults: Issues of consistency across age ranges

The aims of this study were to assess whether Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) features could be predicted by Big Five traits, impulsivity, identity orientation, and adult attachment patterns in a sample of 1,192 adult nonclinical participants, and to evaluate the consistency of these regression models across four age groups (50 years, respectively). In the full sample, measures of neuroticism (N), impulsivity, and anxious insecure attachment were substantial predictors of BPD features (adjusted R =.38,