Antonino Costanzo

• Università degli Studi di Enna Kore

This article advances a theoretical framework for understanding the role of affect in processes of meaning-making, grounded in Heidegger’s notion of projectivity and informed by post-Kleinian and intersubjective/relational psychoanalytic models. We propose that nonlinear, non-smooth dynamic systems—marked by abrupt phase transitions and bifurcation...

Research shows that insecure attachment styles and failures in mentalizing are associated with increased problematic social media use (PSMU). This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of failures in mentalizing in the relationships between attachment styles and PSMU within a large sample of individuals from the community. The study involve...

This article explores the relationship between developmental trauma, dissociation, and substance abuse within the framework of the self-medication hypothesis. By means of presenting a clinical vignette, the article illustrates how substance abuse can serve as a maladaptive coping strategy for managing overwhelming emotions that stem from traumatic...

Background: Research has found that parental failures of care during childhood and insecure attachment styles are positively associated with problematic gaming. From a developmental framework, it is possible to hypothesize that attachment styles mediate the relationship between parental bonding and problematic gaming. Methods: This hypothesis was...

Insecure attachment is linked to mentalizing difficulties and psychopathology. The current study aimed to examine if failures in mentalization, as observed in the form of uncertainty about mental states, mediated the relationship between attachment styles and global psychopathology in a group of 812 adults (66.5% females) from the community. Partic...

Maladaptive daydreaming describes excessive fantasy activity that interferes with an individual's life. Surprisingly, the precursors of maladaptive daydreaming and its role in excessive involvement in virtual worlds have been scarcely investigated. In the current study, we examined the relationships among attachment styles, maladaptive daydreaming,...

Even though positive associations among problematic Internet use (PIU), maladaptive personality traits, insecure attachment styles, and dissociation have been frequently observed in research, a need exists to examine the interrelationships among these factors in young adults. Two hundred fifty-three young adults (52% females) aged between 18 and 25...

Consistent evidence supports the view that childhood trauma is linked with insecure attachment styles and psychopathology. However, it is a matter of debate how different forms of child maltreatment may relate with dimensions of anxiety and avoidance in attachment relationships and may foster specific configurations of clinical symptoms. Accordingl...

Introduzione Con "utilizzo problematico di internet" (PIU) si fa riferimento ad una condizione che racchiude al proprio interno una vasta gamma di attività svolte in rete (come, ad esempio, lo shopping on-line, l'utilizzo della pornografia, il gioco on-line, l'utilizzo di social network) che vengono messe in atto in maniera disfunzionale dal sogget...

Introduction: Since it was proposed by DSM-5, several research were conducted on Internet Gaming Disorder. Findings suggest that specific configurations of personality traits, dissociation experiences, insecure attachment style and alexithymia are linked to IGD. The purpose of this research is to include, in exploration of these configurations, the...

Background: Emotion dysregulation has been linked to the development of several disorders. Accordingly, a need exists to better understand the specific domains of emotion dysregulation and their reciprocal interactions. In the current study, we examined the structure of the relationships among different domains of emotion dysregulation by applying...

Objective: Symptoms of problematic Internet use (PIU) may be increased in people who display an excessive involvement in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). Notably, impulsivity and alexithymia have not been investigated together in the literature addressing the predictors of PIU among gamers, despite evidence that these per...

Introduzione: Il presente contributo di ricerca è volto a indagare quali differenze intercorrono tra donne con diagnosi di tumore al seno, donne con diagnosi di sclerosi multipla e donne senza diagnosi medica rispetto a psicopatologia generale, esposizione ad esperienze potenzialmente traumatiche nel corso della vita e tratti alessitimici. Metodo:...

Introduzione: Il presente contributo di ricerca è volto a indagare quali differenze intercorrono tra donne con diagnosi di tumore al seno, donne con diagnosi di sclerosi multipla e donne senza diagnosi medica rispetto a psicopatologia generale, esposizione ad esperienze potenzialmente traumatiche nel corso della vita e tratti alessitimici. Metodo:...

Who am I: The Tale of Dorothy (WAI) is the first videogame ever that addresses the treatment of an individual suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID). WAI describes the life and internal experience of a 14-year-old girl named Dorothy who suffers from DID. The goal of this videogame is to integrate all Dorothy's dissociated identities. N...

Objective: Emotion dysregulation is considered as a critical variable for the development of different disorder, including somatic symptom disorder. However, emotional dysregulation is a multifaceted construct, and its different components may have differential effects on the development of somatic symptoms.The objectives of this study were twofold...

Background: Extensive research has demonstrated the positive associations among the exposure to traumatic experiences, the levels of dissociation, and the severity of psychiatric symptoms in adults. However, it has been hypothesized in clinical literature that an excessive activation of the dissociative processes following multiple traumatic experi...

This study investigates the relationship between malingering and personality characteristics in a sample of imprisoned male offenders (N=34). Participants completed measures on malingering, DSM-5 maladaptive personality traits, dark triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), alexithymia, and dissociation. Malingering scores were...

Purpose of Review In this study, we present a systematic review of empirical studies that have addressed the relationship between Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and personality in the last 10 years (2007–2016). A systematic search of scientific literature identified 27 peer-reviewed empirical studies that examined the relationship between IGD and p...