Alessia Passanisi

• Professor (Full) at Università degli Studi di Enna Kore

Purpose The present study was intended to investigate the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy, sentiments and concerns toward disability and burnout in pre-service special education teachers. Design/methodology/approach Three hundred seventy-two special education teachers participated in the study. Participants were administered the follo...

Fake news and misinformation on social media platforms are two of the biggest problems of the last few years. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of memory is of fundamental importance to develop specific intervention programs. In this study, 324 white-collar workers viewed Facebook posts focused on coronavirus disease-2019 prevention norms in...

Leadership is one of the most studied features of virtual teams. Among the various characteristics analyzed by recent literature, leadership self-sacrifice is one of the most important, as it represents a predictor of many positive characteristics of teams’ functioning. In this study, we (a) analyze the relationship between leader self-sacrifice an...

The present study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the role of pre-service special education teachers’ attachment styles and empathy dimensions in sentiments, attitudes, and concerns towards disability. Participants were 536 pre-service special education teachers (78.4% females and 21.6% males), Results of the path analysis showed...

The aim of this study is to investigate the role played by mindfulness in the relationship between cognitive styles and gambling disorders in a sample of female young adults. Participants in this study (125 women; Mage = 18.64 years; SD = 1.7) were recruited in betting or bingo halls. They completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Child and Ado...

In the present study, we explored the relationships between attachment styles, reflective functioning, and dimensions of emotion regulation in mothers of children diagnosed with combined type of ADHD. Participants were 336 mothers, 168 with children diagnosed with ADHD and 168 with children without any diagnosis. Preliminary results showed that mot...

Research on special education teachers has increased in recent years. However, few studies have investigated factors related to teachers’ preference for a specific style in inclusive education. For this reason, the aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the mediating role of autonomous motivation in the relationship between teachers’ e...

The present study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the antecedents of teaching styles in multicultural classrooms. In particular, research has investigated whether teachers’ attitudes towards multicultural education played a mediating role in the relationships among teachers’ efficacy for inclusive practices and motivating teaching style...

Minority characteristic generic statements such as ducks lay eggs are judged to be generally true of the class, despite being true of a minority of cases, such as healthy female ducks of egg-laying age. Five studies explored the factors responsible for the acceptance of minority generic statements about biological kinds. Studies 1 and 2 found that...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of problem-solving coping strategies in the relationship between thinking styles (legislative, executive, and judicial) and teachers’ attitudes towards distance education (difficulties related to distance education and efficacy in distance education). The study sample consisted of 556...

Problem gambling is a gambling disorder often described as continued gambling in the face of increasing losses. In this article, we explored problem gambling behaviour and its psychological determinants. We considered the assumption of stability in risky preferences, anticipated by both normative and descriptive theories of decision making, as well...

Intertemporal choices are very prevalent in daily life, ranging from simple, mundane decisions to highly consequential decisions. In this context, thinking about the future and making sound decisions are crucial to promoting mental and physical health, as well as a financially sustainable lifestyle. In the present study, we set out to investigate s...

The present study aimed to explore the unique and common role that some cognitive, personality and relational characteristics play in male adolescents' regular gambling behavior. Participants were 273 male adolescents and young adults aged 15-19 recruited in sports betting centers. They completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Narcissistic Adm...

Researchers have shown a significant effect of using social networking sites (SNSs) on romantic relationships. Surveillance is one of the motives for social network use. Social networking surveillance is related to controlling a romantic partner's online behaviours. The purpose of the study was to search for antecedents of electronic surveillance (...

The purpose of this research was to explore the cognitive and personality characteristics of male adolescent gamblers. Participants were 273 teenage males (M = 18.04, SD = 2.10) attending betting centers in Sicily, who completed self-report questionnaires on gambling, creativity, perceived social self-efficacy, hypercompetitiveness, and coping stra...

Objective The study investigated the relationship between psychological parental control and muscle dysmorphia in adolescence, as form of exercise dependence, focusing also on the role of pathological worry. Methods Participants were 312 adolescents (140 boys and 172 girls) aged 16 to 18 years (M = 17.05; SD = 0.85) and completed the Muscle Dysmor...

Previous research has shown significant and positive associations between social anxiety of parents and their adolescent offspring. The main aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in the social media (SM) context. We tested one hundred and fifty-two couples comprising mothers and their adolescent offspring (12–14 years old) on their...

In the last few decades, the relationship between physical conditions and mental health in the elderly has increasingly attracted the interest of researchers and professionals. Evidence shows that physical activity is a protective factor as it determines enormous benefits on both cognitive functioning and well-being. Based on these premises, the pr...

The 14-item Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) is one of the most frequently internationally adapted psychometric instruments developed to assess generalized problematic Internet use. Multiple adaptations of this instrument have led to versions in different languages (e.g., Arabic and French), and different numbers of items (e.g., from 5 to 16 it...

Authors aimed to examine an explanatory model of risk that started with dysfunctional personality trait domains, passed through low levels of mindfulness, and culminated with problem gambling. For individuals with problem gambling, mindfulness may provide a significant avenue to prevent them from engaging in addictive behaviors and lead them to an...

The Dark Triad represents a collection of three socially aversive traits, namely Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. In this study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Italian translation of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD) in a sample of 799 adults, and we explored the associations among Dark Triad traits, theory of mind, em...

The present study sought to explore, in a group of adolescent regular gamblers, a risk model in which the predictive function of maladaptive personality-trait domains can be mediated by maladaptive thinking styles and moderated by adaptive thinking styles on problem gambling. We assessed 325 adolescent regular gamblers ranging in age from 15 to 17...

Introduction: The phenomenon of hate is becoming common among adolescents, but is little investigated by literature. Typically the haters leave their insults on the victim's social pages to denigrate another person, famous or not. In the literature, to date, there are no scientific studies that have explored psychological variables linked to these...

The study focused on the transition from middle school to high school and aimed to verify the mediating role that perceived peer support may play in the relationship between family functioning in middle school and school satisfaction in high school. In middle school (Wave 1), participants were 208 adolescents (106 boys and 102 girls) aged 12–13 yea...

The prevalence of mobile phone use across the world has increased greatly over the past two decades. Problematic Mobile Phone Use (PMPU) has been studied in relation to public health and comprises various behaviours, including dangerous, prohibited, and dependent use. These types of problematic mobile phone behaviours are typically assessed with th...

In the present study, the relation between the tendency to seek supernatural connections between external events and one's own thoughts, words, and actions and gambling among late adolescents has been studied. Psychologists have called this tendency magical thinking. The principal aim of the present study was to test the fit of an explanatory model...

Background and aims: Despite many positive benefits, mobile phone use can be associated with harmful and detrimental behaviors. The aim of this study was twofold: to examine (a) cross-cultural patterns of perceived dependence on mobile phones in ten European countries, first, grouped in four different regions (North: Finland and UK; South: Spain an...

The purpose of this study is to verify the existence of an explanatory model of risk that starts with dysfunctional impulsivity, passes through maladaptive decision-making strategies, and culminates with pathological gambling. Self-reporting measures concerning impulsivity, decision making, and gambling were administered to 222 Caucasian young adul...

The association between traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and substance abuse is well established. Less is known about the role of traumatic experiences and alexithymia in the onset and maintenance of Internet-related disorders. In the present study, self-report measures on traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and problematic Internet use were...

Objective: Differences between the self-image of persons with typical development and the image they have of their brother or sister with disabilities have been hypothesized in literature, but no specific patterns have been detected with reference to intellectual disability associated or not with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The aim of the study...

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences and similarities between Italy and Spain in regard to emerging adults’ perceptions of identity status, autonomy, attachment, and life satisfaction. The goal was to verify whether a Mediterranean model of transitions from adolescence to adulthood exists. Three hundred and forty undergraduate s...

Introduction: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder which affects around 3%-7% of school-aged children, more often boys than girls. The present research aims to explore the relationship between ADD symptoms, Emotional Intelligence and Self-Image and how different levels of ADD affect emotional intelligence and...

Concepts are represented in the mind through knowledge of their extensions (the class of items to which the concept applies) and intensions (features that distinguish that class of items). A common assumption among theories of concepts is that the 2 aspects are intimately related. Hence if there is systematic individual variation in concept represe...

Generic statements assert default properties of a kind. They reflect the relevant features of our concepts and are considered by people generally true of the entire class despite the existence of counterexamples (e.g. birds fly). We report three experiments which explore the factors that lead to the acceptance of generic statements. In particular w...

In line with scientific literature, there is a growing interest in building-block play. In fact, through this kind of play, children acquire both the abilities for abstract thought and symbolic representation and an understanding of rules—all of which are fundamental for mathematical understanding. This study explores the relationship between const...

Background Forming one’s identity is thought to be the key developmental task of adolescence, but profound changes in personality traits also occur in this period. The negotiation of complex social settings, the creation of an integrated identity, and career choice are major tasks of adolescence. The adolescent, having to make choices for his or he...

Objective: the main purpose of this study is to investigate the emotional and temperamental characteristics associated with gambling in Italy and to compare different groups of people on the basis of their risk of gambling: low-risk gamblers, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Particularly, we examined the possible discriminant functions...

The perception of the self is one of the fundamental constructs in the psychology of personality together with shame, guilt and self-efficacy, one's perception of ability to influence a situation. This study investigated the possible link between the psychological components of guilt and shame and the self-efficacy beliefs. 228 middle school studen...

Individuals affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are impaired in the domains of social interaction and communication. This paper aims at reviewing the pertinent literature to offer a better understanding of the theoretical debate on the social and linguistic impairments experienced by individuals with autism. The available literature was revi...

Developing creativity and interpersonal relationships at school is an essential element in teaching activities. This study was conducted to determine whether participation in a group musical activity would enhance interpersonal relationships and creativity in 9-year-old students to a significantly greater degree than no participation in musical act...

Attachment styles are critical to the organization and representation of self and for regulating emotions. 209students between the ages of 19 and 24 completed three self-report measures on attachment styles, self-esteem and feelings of shame. Males showed higher self-esteem and lower feelings of shame. In the entire sample, securely attached studen...

Parental bonding is a relevant predictor that helps in understanding the parent-child relationship which plays an important role in the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) and in organizing judgments towards the self. Subjects were 140, aged between 19 and 25, 69 of whom local Italians and 71 immigrants recruited from the Reception Centre for Asylu...

Considering sensation seeking as a personality trait has led to the driving of a series of studies on the biological and temperamental characteristics of sensation seekers. Conversely, from a bio-psychosocial perspective, personality factors are believed to account for about half of the likelihood that an individual will engage in disadaptive and d...

A significant body of research underlines the link between the exposure to abuse in childhood and subsequent criminal behaviors. Research on the role played by childhood interpersonal trauma in the development of psychopathy, however, is still scant. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between childhood experiences of abuse and ps...

Abstract It has been demonstrated that psychopathy is a crucial construct for the understanding of criminal and violent behavior; however, research on psychopathic traits among child sexual abusers is still scant. In this study, the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) was used to assess psychopathy in a group of 87 Italian, male inmat...

This study used a mixed quantitative-qualitative methodology to investigate the relationship between attachment and psychopathy. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare 2003) was administered to 139 Italian offenders who were convicted of violent crimes (murder, rape, child sexual abuse, armed robbery, assault causing bodily harm). First, we...

Physical and psychological implications in a multiple and preterm caesarean section. A case report Cesarean section (CS) in Italy has continuously increasing rates. Due to the primary CS, the repeated CS have shown a superimposable trend. Consequently, a number of pathologies are related to such surgery among which placenta previa, dehiscence of pr...

Studies on the role played by attachment attitudes among late adolescents who show Problematic Internet Use (PIU) are still lacking. Three self-report measures concerning attachment attitudes, childhood experiences of abuse, and Internet addiction were administered to 310 students (49 % males) aged 18-19 attending the last year of high school. Stud...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of female urinary incontinence (UI) on quality of life. The method of research is based on a literature search on PubMed, Cochrane library and relevant articles from 1977 to 2012. Forty-eight works were found. Literature showed that UI affects a large percentage of the aged out patients. Women...

Background. The attitude and practice towards patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are of ongoing interest, particularly since these infections have had an increasing worldwide distribution over the years. Methods. Big five questionnaire (BFQ), Rosenberg self-esteem (RSE) and Experience of shame scale (ESS) were administered to women...

The modifier effect is the reduction in perceived likelihood of a generic property sentence, when the head noun is modified. We investigated the prediction that the modifier effect would be stronger for mutable than for central properties, without finding evidence for this predicted interaction over the course of five experiments. However Experimen...

The modifier effect is the reduction in judged likelihood of a generic statement (Apples are sweet) when the subject is modified (Chinese apples are sweet). Connolly, Fodor, Gleitman and Gleitman, (2007) argued that this effect undermines the principle of default property inheritance in conceptual combination. In a series of studies, we replicated...