What does the intention to be a volunteer for a student with autism predict? the role of cognitive brain types and emotion and behavior characteristics

The study was designed to verify which cognitive brain types and behaviors in classroom predicted the intention to volunteer to become a peer buddy for a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Five hundred and sixteen adolescents attending the first grade of public high schools were enrolled. Gender-related differences were discussed according to the empathizing-systemizing theory. As expected, empathy and prosocial behavior predicted volunteering in ASD intervention. We conclude that the selection of peers as intervention agents should require more informative sources. Clinical and research implications are discussedEste estudio se diseñó para verificar qué tipos de cerebro cognitivo y comportamientos en el aula predecían la intención de ofrecerse voluntario a acompañar a un alumno con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA). Se apuntaron 516 adolescentes de primer curso de enseñanza secundaria. Se abordaron las diferencias relativas al género de acuerdo a la teoría empatía-sistematización. Según lo esperado, la empatía y el comportamiento prosocial predecían la voluntariedad para intervenir en el TEA. Se concluye que la elección de compañeros como agentes de intervención necesitaría de más fuentes de información. Se comentan las implicaciones clínicas y de investigació

Hemodynamic profiles of functional and dysfunctional forms of repetitive thinking

Background: The ability of the human brain to escape the here and now (mind wandering) can take functional (problem solving) and dysfunctional (perseverative cognition) routes. Although it has been proposed that only the latter may act as a mediator of the relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease, both functional and dysfunctional forms of repetitive thinking have been associated with blood pressure (BP) reactivity of the same magnitude. However, a similar BP reactivity may be caused by different physiological determinants, which may differ in their risk for cardiovascular pathology. Purpose: To examine the way (hemodynamic profile) and the extent (compensation deficit) to which total peripheral resistance and cardiac output compensate for each other in determining BP reactivity during functional and dysfunctional types of repetitive thinking. Methods: Fifty-six healthy participants randomly underwent a perseverative cognition, a mind wandering, and a problem solving induction, each followed by a 5-min recovery period while their cardiovascular parameters were continuously monitored. Results: Perseverative cognition and problem solving (but not mind wandering) elicited BP increases of similar magnitude. However, perseverative cognition was characterized by a more vascular (versus myocardial) profile compared to mind wandering and problem solving. As a consequence, BP recovery was impaired after perseverative cognition compared to the other two conditions. Conclusions: Given that high vascular resistance and delayed recovery are the hallmarks of hypertension the results suggest a potential mechanism through which perseverative cognition may act as a mediator in the relationship between stress and risk for developing precursors to cardiovascular disease

Sibling relationships and family functioning in siblings of early adolescents, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder

The purpose of the study was to investigate how family functioning (defined as the ability that family members hold to manage stressful events, and intimate and social relationships), the degree to which family members feel happy and fulfilled with each other (called family satisfaction), and the demographical characteristics of siblings (age and gender) impacted on sibling relationships. The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and Behavioral Systems constituted the theoretical frameworks that guided our study. Eighty-six typically developing adolescents and young adults having a sister or a brother with autism spectrum disorder were enrolled. Results indicated that the youngest age group (early adolescents) reported to engage more frequently in negative behaviors with their siblings with ASD than the two older age groups (middle adolescents and young adults). No significant differences were found among the three age groups regarding behaviors derived from attachment, caregiving and affiliative systems. Family satisfaction and age significantly predicted behaviors during sibling interactions. Suggestions on prevention and intervention programs were discussed in order to prevent parentification among typically developing siblings and decrease episodes of quarrels and overt conflicts between brothers and sisters with and without AS

Evaluating the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale in Italian Young Children: An Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach

The study analyzed the factorial and concurrent validity of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) using an Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) approach. Participants were 368 Italian children aged 3 to 6 (M = 4.60, SD = 0.98). The three-factor ESEM solution fit the data better than the classical confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model and the measurement invariance of the scale was confirmed across sex and age (3-4 vs. 5-6 years) groups. The concurrent validity of the STRS was investigated within the ESEM approach using children’s social behaviors as validity criteria. Findings supported the goodness of ESEM over CFA and attested to the validity of the STRS to understanding the teacher-child relationship quality in young children

Narrative and persuasive texts written by pupils across primary school

The study was designed to compare syntactic properties and mental state language (MSL) used in narrative stories and persuasive essays written by 162 children attending the third and the fifth grades of the Italian elementary schools. Results showed as children used a higher number of total words and total propositions, independent and coordinate propositions in narrative writing compared to persuasive writing. Conversely, in persuasive essays, a major number of subordinate propositions and MSL was used. If emotional and volitional terms prevailed in narrative stories, moral terms best characterized persuasive essays. Results on age differences revealed that older children outperformed younger children on independent propositions and overall linguistic measures. Conversely, younger children used more coordinate propositions. Despite delimitations of the study, these preliminary results encourage to consider persuasive and narrative texts as valid and ecological tools to assess and promote the use of different forms of complex language during middle childhoo

Il ruolo della regolazione emotiva e dell'empatia nelle condotte sociali

Introduzione. Studi longitudinali e trasversali hanno ampiamente dimostrato che la regolazione emotiva (RE) gioca un ruolo importante nella promozione del benessere e del buon funzionamento sociale (Blair et al., 2015). In particolare, le ricerche si sono focalizzate su 2 strategie di RE: la ristrutturazione cognitiva (RC) e la soppressione espressiva (SE). Mentre c'è grande consenso tra i ricercatori sulla relazione tra la SE e le condotte sociali, non si può affermare lo stesso per la RC. L'obiettivo dello studio è verificare se l'utilizzo delle due strategie di RE abbia un impatto differente sull'empatia, considerando sia la componente affettiva sia cognitiva, e sulle condotte sociali, distinte in comportamenti internalizzanti, esternalizzanti e prosociali. Metodo. Il gruppo che ha preso parte alla ricerca è composto da 219 studenti (M=137 e F=82; età media=14.69; DS=.82; range=14-17). La versione italiana dell'Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Albiero et al., 2006) è stata utilizzata per la valutazione dell'empatia. Le condotte sociali sono state ricavate dalla somministrazione dello Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ–Ita; Goodman et al.,1998), mentre le abilità di regolazione emotiva sono state valutate con l'Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003). Risultati. Il genere (Variabile dummy, 0=M e 1=F) correla positivamente con l'empatia affettiva (r =.15, p<.05), la SE (r =.14, p<.05), i comportamenti prosociali (r =15, p<.05) e internalizzanti (r =.20, p<.05). L'età non correla con nessuna delle variabili oggetto di studio. La RC è associata positivamente con i comportamenti prosociali (r =.14, p<.05) e negativamente con le condotte esternalizzanti (r =-.17, p<.05) e internalizzanti (r =-.13, p<.05). La SE correla positivamente con i comportamenti internalizzanti (r =.23, p<.01) e negativamente con la prosocialità (r =-.14, p<.05). Il modello di Path Analysis utilizzato per verificare l’obiettivo dello studio ha ottenuto un buon fit, MLR: χ2 (2)=1.70, p =.43, RMSEA=.000; CFI=1.00, NNFI=1.02. La RC ha un effetto positivo suentrambe le componenti dell'empatia e negativo sui comportamenti internalizzanti. La SE predice negativamente i comportamenti prosociali, e positivamente i comportamenti internalizzanti. Entambe le componenti dell'empatia predicono positivamente i comportamenti prosociali, mentre solo l'empatia cognitiva predice negativamente i comportamenti esternalizzanti. Il genere ha un impatto positivo su empatia affettiva e comportamenti internalizzanti. In generale, il modello spiega una significativa porzione di varianza dei comportamenti prosociali (R2 =.20, p<.05), internalizzanti (R2 =.13, p<.05), ed esternalizzanti (R2 = .11, p < .05). Conclusioni. I risultati dello studio aiutano a comprendere il diverso peso che le strategie di regolazione emotiva hanno sulle capacità empatiche e sulle condotte sociali

Exploring the relationship between identity status development and alcohol consumption among Italian adolescents

The main aim of this study was to explore the relationship between identity statuses and alcohol use and misuse in adolescence. A sample of 440 Italian students completed the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status–Version 2 (EOM– EIS– II; Adams, Bennion, & Huh, 1989), and the Alcohol Addiction Scale of the Shorter Promis Questionnaire (SPQ– ALC; Christo, et al., 2003; Haylett, Stephenson, & Lefever, 2004). The results suggested that problematic alcohol use during early and middle adolescence is associated with developmentally less sophisticated identity development. Foreclosed and diffused adolescents were classified as binge drinkers and heavy drinkers. The latter reported a higher mean dependence score than other identity groups. The risk and mediating factors about alcohol misuse and dependence are provided

Theory of mind, affective empathy, and persuasive strategies in school‐aged children

Understanding that other people hold different mental states and that they may be changed is the core of persuasion. Thus, theory of mind (ToM) abilities are fundamental to generate persuasive arguments. To date, only the relation between false belief and false belief-emotion understanding and persuasion has been investigated, ignoring other advanced aspects of ToM. Moreover, the role of affective empathy in the engagement of persuasion strategies remains unknown. The aim of this study was to overcome such limitations. Elementary children (N=142) were enrolled. An advanced ToM test, measures of affective empathy and verbal ability, and an assessment of persuasion, differentiated in self-oriented and hetero-oriented strategies, were administered to children. Results show that only ToM is a significant predictor of children's persuasive approach, after controlling for gender, age, and verbal ability. Affective empathy has a very marginal role in interaction with ToM only in the engagement of self-oriented strategies. Limitations of the study and educational implications in school contexts are discusse

Adolescent online friendships: The poor get poorer, or the rich get richer?

This chapter is devoted to theory and research on the effects of electronic communication on the friendships and other peer relationships of adolescents, especially those who are introverted, shy, socially withdrawn and/or socially anxious. It reviews some of the mass media warnings made about the harms caused to young people via online communication, including impairment to offline interpersonal relationships. The chapter also reviews prominent work by Turkle, which is often quoted in the popular media and helps to perpetuate the notion that online communication diminishes intimacy in offline friendships. It presents two competing hypotheses in the literature–the rich-get-richer versus the compensation hypotheses–in terms of findings and quality of research, contrasting these findings with common concerns expressed in the media. The authors identify some high-quality, longitudinal research in the field, but conclude that most studies rely on self-reports and fail to convey the nature of friendships as a shared dyadic phenomenon. In line with the chapter, the authors suggest moving away from the good vs. bad dichotomy in terms of researching online communication, and instead explore how it can be used well to satisfy the need for close and rewarding interpersonal connections