About
44
Publications
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469
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Additional affiliations
September 2019 - present
May 2016 - June 2019
March 2014 - December 2014
Education
November 2012 - December 2015
Field of study
- Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Educational Research
January 2008 - November 2011
Field of study
- Psychology of Development, Educational Research and Well-being
October 2004 - October 2007
Publications
Publications (44)
Assessing the validity of a psychometric test is fundamental to ensure a reliable interpretation of its outcomes. Few attempts have been made recently to complement classical approaches (e.g., factor models) with a novel technique based on network analysis. The objective of the current study is to carry out a network-based validation of the Eating...
Introduction
The multidimensional jealousy scale (MJS) is among the most internationally used instruments for the assessment of jealousy in its three dimensions: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. This study aimed to replicate the Italian validation process of the shortened MJS in order to confirm its psychometric properties and measurement inva...
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted individual’s life and society, and such an emergency has increased the likelihood of recurring conspiratorial thinking. There is much research on broader conspiratorial thinking and studies on COVID-19-related conspiratorial thinking has been growing worldwide, moreover, the negative consequences of COVID-...
Excessive Internet use has demonstrated comorbidity with other psychological symptoms and psychiatric disorders, as well as impairments in the management of daily life, relationships and emotional stability. Recent findings in the literature have consistently supported the relationship between impulsivity and Internet addiction. The present study h...
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in young adults has increased dramatically in recent decades. The unhealthy eating habits that develop at this time can often lead to negative health consequences in the future. It is therefore important to learn about self-regulation and self-control strategies and help young adults to have healthy eating b...
Background:
This study aimed to investigate differences in adolescents' social relationships with classmates of diverse gender, socioeconomic status, immigrant background, and academic achievement.
Methods:
A population of 10th-grade students (N = 406,783; males = 50.3%; Mage = 15.57 years, SDage = 0.75) completed the Classmates Social Isolation...
This contribution presents a study conducted on a sample of Italian adolescents (n = 411) in the period of the first COVID-19 lockdown. The study investigated the role and predictive weight of the impulsivity and depressive brooding variables on Internet addiction, using a hierarchical regression analysis. The participants were administered the Uso...
Background
The mental health of university students is significantly affected when faced with public health emergencies and requires specific interventions to help support and prevent any long-lasting effects that the pandemic may have on their mental health status. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an online individual counseling intervent...
/*Free access to the article before April 2022. Share link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1egxChNfKvcMs
ABSTRACT: School absenteeism is a serious problem among very-low-income students, with long-term consequences for well-being. Unfortunately, most acknowledged risk factors are difficult to modify through school-based interventions. However it i...
Background:
Motivation to engage in physical activity plays a central role in ensuring the health of the population. The present study investigated the psychometric properties and validity in Italy of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3), a widely used instrument for assessing individuals' motivation to exercise based on se...
Young people's mental health problems are a matter of concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. Counselling services for university students by means of telemental support can help them to deal with psychological issues that they may be facing due to the pandemic. The present study investigated the effects of four once-weekly online counselling session...
Background
Very-low-income students are a population at a high risk of perpetrating and suffering bullying at school, and at the same time the peer group at school is often one of the few sources of support for these minors.
Objective
This two-wave study is aimed to disambiguate the two different roles of peer acceptance and friendship on bullying...
The psychological well-being at school of immigrant students living in poverty is currently an understudied topic in developmental psychology. This is an important shortcoming because this population, which is rapidly increasing in many western countries, is in a double minority condition and has a greater risk of experiencing psychological distres...
Background: In many countries, physical distancing is seen as one of the crucial preventive measures for limiting the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is likely to be very difficult to ensure that adolescents keep apart from one another since peer interactions are extremely significant for them. Aims: We examined the utility of the Theory of Planned...
This study aims to evaluate the effects of an innovative mind-body practice named the brain wave modulation technique (BWM-T) on stress, anxiety, global distress, and affect. The technique was administered online through a web-based video conferencing platform. The intervention started on week four of the first quarantine in Italy (week commencing...
Several studies have highlighted the key role of chronic inflammation in breast cancer development, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic outcome. These processes are mediated through a variety of cytokines and hormones that exert their biological actions either locally or distantly via systemic circulation. Recent findings suggest that positive...
Objective
Physical distancing behavior (PDB) is a key disease prevention strategy for limiting the spread of COVID-19. In order to effectively encourage it among adolescents, it is necessary to understand the associated mental mechanisms. Health behavior theories suggest that emotions, personality, motivation, and moral disengagement could all play...
Immigrant children are exposed to high levels of psychological distress, leading to an increased risk of mental and physical health problems. In the present study we investigated the impact of first and second generation immigrant children’s proficiency in the host country language on their psychological well-being one year later. The effects of ge...
The present study, based on data concerning 2328 immigrant children attending a representative sample of 561 schools, investigates the impact of various group, family and individual characteristics as well as proficiency in the national language on acceptance and friendship among classmates, while controlling for measurement errors by means of a st...
PurposeThe physical self-concept (PSC) refers to the knowledge, feelings, memories, and experiences a person refers to his/her body and it is one of the crucial constructs aimed at describing a person’s subjective perception of his/her own fitness, health, appearance, and physical activity (PA). This study had a threefold purpose: (1) to assess the...
This study is aimed at evaluating the outcomes of mind–body transformation therapy (MBT-T), previously known as the creative psychosocial genomic healing experience© (CPGHE). The intervention was aimed at reducing the perceived level of stress in two non-clinical groups of students with different educational levels and different expertise in the do...
Introduction
This study describes the implementation of a mind–body intervention to reduce the perceived level of stress in a nonclinical group of university students. We used a novel approach including a single session of a mind–body technique known as the brain wave modulation (BWM) as an adjunct to a single information session on stress manageme...
The main aim of this research was to test the factorial validity and measurement invariance across genders and countries of a set of instruments designed to assess high-school students’ attitudes, self-regulatory efficacy, and moral disengagement with regard to doping. A second aim was to examine the criterion and predictive validity of these scale...
Objectives
This research aims to investigate the relationship between coming out to family and coming out in sports for lesbian and gay athletes and to examine the internalization of sexual prejudice as a potential mediator of this relationship.
Methods
For this purpose, disclosure of sexual orientation to family, coming out in sports and internal...
Studies have shown that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, as defined by Self- Determination Theory, has a great impact on adolescents’ well-being, prosocial behavior and academic success. In the present study, we aim to validate a brief scale for adolescents measuring the satisfaction of the three basic needs for autonomy, competence,...
Introduction:
During adolescence, experiencing positive emotions at school is important for motivation as well as for academic success and psychological well-being. In the present study, on the basis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), we investigated the relationships between sociocultural factors (gender, immigrant and socioeconomic background),...
It is widely acknowledged that the social relationships of adolescents with their class- mates can have a significant impact on their adjustment to the school environment and their psychological well-being. This study, based on a random sample of 36,712 students, investigates the psychometric properties and the validity of the Classmates Social Iso...
In the last few decades, several studies have investigated the role of personality traits and attitudes toward traffic safety in predicting driving behaviors in diverse types of drivers across several countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies so far have investigated the possible moderating role played by age in relation to predi...
Dendrogram of the hierarchical cluster analysis.
Centers for the three clusters and distances between the final cluster centers.
The aim of the present study was to identify sub-types of moped riders based on a cluster analysis of specific personality characteristics (i.e., driving anger, anxiety, angry hostility, excitement-seeking, altruism, normlessness, and driving locus of control) within a large sample of Italian adolescents. The study had also the aim to compare the e...
Starting from 2011, year of the publication in Italy of Alain Berthoz's book on simplexity, an articulated theoretical reflection involved part of the Italian scientific community stimulating an inter-transdisciplinary debate that has generated "non-linear" trajectories of research within the educational field. In particular, the transposition of t...
Dropout rates in Italy are very high, particularly in freshmen students (Anvur, 2016). University students’ academic achievement has been found to prevent dropout. The present study tested a predicting model of academic achievement in first-year university students based on self-determination theory, through a longitudinal design with two points in...
Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the process that lead to academic adjustment of undergraduate students in the first year of higher education, by testing a predictive model based on self-determination theory with the inclusion of self-efficacy. The model posits that perceived autonomous forms of support from parents and teachers fo...
Physical activity and exercise have been identified as behaviors to preserve physical and mental health in older adults. The aim of the present study was to test the Integrated Behavior Change model in exercise and physical activity behaviors. The study evaluated two different samples of older adults: the first engaged in exercise class, the second...
Aim. The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of undergraduate students persistence and academic success in the first year of higher education, by developing and validating a predictive model of dropout intentions. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), the model posits that perceived autonomous forms of motivation decreas...
In the study, based on a representative sample of 26,670 Italian fifth-grade students, the authors examine the academic motivational profiles of immigrant and native students, as well as of boys and girls. To reliably estimate mean differences, the measurement invariance of a short version of the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire was first est...
Childhood overweight and obesity in both girls and boys is reaching epidemic proportions over the world, Italy included. Childhood obesity has been linked to deleterious health consequences. There is a need to develop theory based and cost-effective interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity with the aim to reduce obesity. The pu...
Childhood overweight and obesity in both girls and boys is reaching epidemic proportions over the world, Italy included. Childhood obesity has been linked to deleterious health consequences. There is a need to develop theory based and cost-effective interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity with the aim to reduce obesity. The pu...
The motivation and attitudes of students towards studying influence the way they learn, their performance at school and the objectives they set themselves. The study, based on a sample of 200 Italian eighth graders aims to explore students’ metaphors of study. An integrated approach was performed analysing the data with an inductive, data-based, qu...
A motivational model integrating self-determination theory, the theory of planned behaviour, and the health action process approach was tested in three samples in three behavioural contexts: fruit and vegetable, breakfast, and snack consumption. Perceived support for autonomous (self-determined) forms of motivation from parents and autonomous motiv...
Projects
Projects (3)
The physical self-concept (PSC) refers to the knowledge, feelings, memories, and experiences a person refers to his/her body and it is one of the crucial constructs aimed at describing a person’s subjective perception of his/her own fitness, health, appearance, and physical activity (PA). This study had a threefold purpose: (1) to assess the measurement invariance of the PSC across people with and without blindness, (2) to analyze the specific dimensions of the PSC related to global physical self and self-esteem, and (3) to evaluate the relationship between PA and PSC dimensions in participants with and without blindness.
The purpose of this project is to provide a better understanding of undergraduate students persistence and academic success in the first year of higher education, by developing and validating a predictive model of dropout intentions, based on self-determination theory (SDT).
