Psychometric properties of the FertiQoL questionnaire in Italian infertile women in different stages of treatment

Background: Reliable Fertility-specific QoL measures can be obtained through the FertiQoL, a questionnaire with six-subscales that consider different core aspects of the person’s wellbeing and way of behaving during treatment. Objective: Examine the psychometric properties of all six-subscales of the Italian FertiQoL in a sample of infertile women and explore the effects of the ART treatment phases. Method: 323 women, in three different treatment stages (Diagnostic, Stimulation, Transfer), completed the FertiQoL. Raw data were subject to Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and a structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to validate the hypothesised model. Results: CFA shows a good fit of the data to the FertiQoL hierarchical model (chi-square/df = 1.989, CFI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.055). After the deletion of 2 items, all FertiQoL scales have good internal consistency. SEM showed that the ART treatment phase was positively associated with fertility-related QoL scores both in the Relational (β = 0.14, p < 0.05) and in the Tolerability (β = 0.17, p < 0.05) subscales. Conclusion: All scales of the Italian FertiQoL version maintain good psychometric characteristics; Tolerability and Relational subscales are sensitive to the treatment stage and thus providing relevant information for the medical staff

Homesickness Experience, Distress and Sleep Quality of First-Year University Students Dealing with Academic Environment

The literature shows that homesickness can have a negative impact on different areas of psychological functioning such as cognitive, emotional, behavioral, physical and social ones. The study, conducted on a sample of first-year university students, aimed to test a model hypothesizing that two distinct dimensions of homesickness, attachment to home and disliking university, could have both direct and indirect effects on their psychological distress and sleep difficulties. Two hundred and seventy-seven first-year students (70.4% Female) living away from home (mean age= 21.3, SD= 2.7) were included in the study and filled out questionnaires assessing homesickness, psychological distress and sleep difficulties. Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis confirmed that the two homesickness dimensions worked differently since only the one relating to new place adjustment difficulties (i.e. disliking the university) resulted having both direct and indirect effects on students’ sleep difficulties. Although female students reported higher levels of psychological distress compared to males, the multi-group SEM analysis showed that the pattern of multivariate relationships linking the two dimensions of homesickness, psychological distress and sleep difficulties, was invariant across gender. The results of the present study suggest that university counselling and guidance services should quickly screen students experiencing homesickness and offer effective counselling programs focusing on enhancing their capacities to deal with the new academic environment

Sonnolenza e incidentalità stradale notturna:uno studio sulle percezioni di rischio in giovani guidatori/ Sleepiness and nocturnal driving safety: a study on risk perception in young drivers

The present study is aimed to evaluate: 1) the factors that affect the risk perception of young people in nocturnal driving; 2) how the way of presenting information about the sleepiness-accident relationship influences attributions, goals and decisions about driver sleepiness. 572 young drivers answered to a questionnaires, composed according to the paradigms of study framing, on three decisional problems about sleepiness and nocturnal vehicle accidents. 285 answered to questionnaires with problems presented in a positive frame of and 287 in a negative frame. All subjects were requested to answer to questions on drive risk perception and nocturnal sleepiness, on nocturnal driving experience and on the adopted strategies to counterattack sleepiness. Results show that experiences of sleep attacks during driving and nocturnal driving frequency are factors that affect both the risk perception and the commitment in adopting preventive strategies. Furthermore, the manipulation on two out of the three problems (attributions and risk decisions frames) clearly affected the choices of responders. Present results can give useful suggestions about how to present information in educational programs aimed to the prevention of vehicle accidents among young peopl

Is the association between precarious employment and mental health mediated by economic difficulties in males? Results from two Italian studies

Flexible employment is increasing across Europe and recent studies show an association with poor mental health. The goal of the current study is to examine this association in the Italian population to assess the possible mediating role of financial strain. Methods: Data were obtained by two Italian cross-sectional studies (PASSI and HIS) aimed at monitoring the general population health status, health behaviours and determinants. Mental health status was assessed using alternatively two validated questionnaires (the PHQ-2 and the MCS-12 score) and Poisson regression models were performed to assess if precarious work was associated with poor mental health. A formal mediation analysis was conducted to evaluate if the association between precarious work and mental health was mediated by financial strain. Results: The analyses were performed on 31,948 subjects in PASSI and on 21,894 subjects in HIS. A nearly two-fold risk of depression and poor mental health was found among precarious workers, compared to workers with a permanent contract, which was strongly mediated by financial strain. Conclusions: Even with the limitations of a cross-sectional design, this research supports that precarious employment contributes through financial strain to reduce the mental health related quality of life and to increase mental disorders such as symptoms of depression or dysthymia. This suggests that when stability in work cannot be guaranteed, it would be appropriate to intervene on the wages of precarious jobs and to provide social safety nets for ensuring adequate income

The correct authorship and type locality of Melanocorypha leucoptera (Aves: Passeriformes, Alaudidae)

Mlíkovský (2013) proposed replacing the widely-used Melanocorypha leucoptera (Pallas, 1811) with Melanocorypha leucoptera (Hablizl, 1785) as the correct name for the White-winged Lark, with consequent shift in type locality from the Irtyš River-Baraba steppe region in south Siberia to the Crimea. This action breaches Art. 80.9 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999), hereafter "the Code". That article states that "no ruling given by the Commission in relation to a particular work, name, or nomenclatural act is to be set aside without the consent of the Commission". Melanocorypha leucoptera of Pallas (1811), as published in his Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica, was conserved explicitly in Opinion 403 of the Commission (ICZN 1956), and no consent to Mlíkovský's findings has been given since

Transitional Care for Patients with Congenital Colorectal Diseases: An EUPSA Network Office, ERNICA, and eUROGEN Joint Venture

Background: Transition of care (TOC; from childhood into adulthood) of patients with anorectal malformations (ARM) and Hirschsprung disease (HD) ensures continuation of care for these patients. The aim of this international study was to assess the current status of TOC and adult care (AC) programs for patients with ARM and HD. Methods: A survey was developed by members of EUPSA, ERN eUROGEN, and ERNICA, including patient representatives (ePAGs), comprising of four domains: general information, general questions about transition to adulthood, and disease-specific questions regarding TOC and AC programs. Recruitment of centres was done by the ERNs and EUPSA, using mailing lists and social media accounts. Only descriptive statistics were reported. Results: In total, 82 centres from 21 different countries entered the survey. Approximately half of them were ERN network members. Seventy-two centres (87.8%) had a self-reported area of expertise for both ARM and HD. Specific TOC programs were installed in 44% of the centres and AC programs in 31% of these centres. When comparing centres, wide variation was observed in the content of the programs. Conclusion: Despite the awareness of the importance of TOC and AC programs, these programs were installed in less than 50% of the participating centres. Various transition and AC programs were applied, with considerable heterogeneity in implementation, content and responsible caregivers involved. Sharing best practice examples and taking into account local and National Health Care Programs might lead to a better continuation of care in the future. Level of Evidence: III