Patrizia Steca

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca | UNIMIB · Department of Psychology

Background: Although insect-based foods (IBFs) have been recently proposed as a way to face climate crisis and starvation, they encounter aversion from Western countries, which express fear, disgust, and high risk. The contribution of psychology research to food choices highlights how decisions are made, not only through reasoned attitudes and goal...

Background: Although insect-based foods (IBF) have been recently proposed as a way to face climate crisis and starvation, they encounter the aversion from Western countries which perceive fear, disgust, and high risk. The contribution of psychology research to food choices highlighted how decisions are taken not only through reasoned attitudes and...

Cardiovascular diseases represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and an unhealthy lifestyle notoriously accounts for a large percentage of their risk. Identifying resources to stimulate lifestyle changes is an essential goal of primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention. Self‐efficacy beliefs are among the major psyc...

The transition to higher education at University is a critical moment for young adults to acquire unhealthy habits regarding physical activity (PA) and adherence to a healthy diet. Negative behaviors might be maintained in the years to come with a major risk of suffering from a Non-Communicable Disease. This study aims to determine the relationship...

Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Arterial hypertension is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors. Despite this, individuals with hypertension often fail to follow medical advice to counteract cardiovascular risks. A physically active lifestyle is one of the most challenging beha...

Objetivo: Investigar los factores que promueven los resultados de salud cardiovascular es esencial para la prevención secundaria. En una muestra de pacientes con enfermedad coronaria, examinamos los efectos directos e indirectos de factores psicológicos seleccionados sobre el comportamiento de actividad física y la Calidad de Vida Relacionada a la...

The number of Italian citizens unaware of their risk of cardiovascular disease it is still very high. This study aimed to translate and preliminarily validate a brief Italian version of the Perception of Risk of Heart Disease Scale (PRHDS). PRHDS was culturally adapted to the Italian context. Then, the scale was administered to 772 healthy adults....

To date, at least 2.41 billion people with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are in need of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation care through innovative technologies is the ideal candidate to reach all people with NCDs in need. To obtain these innovative solutions available in the public health system calls for a rigorous multidimensional evaluation that,...

A considerable amount of research has illustrated that negative attitudes toward one’s own aging can directly hinder mental and physical well-being or lead to maladjustment in later stages of life (Swift et al. in Social Issues Policy Rev 11(1):195–231, https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12031, 2017). Research so far has focused on the analysis of indivi...

This study aimed to examine the role of resilience resources in patients' lifestyle changes after the first Acute Coronary event. 275 Italian patients (84.0% men; mean age = 57.5, SD = 7.9) participated in a longitudinal study. Resilience resources (Self-esteem, Dispositional Optimism, Sense of Coherence – SOC, General and Disease-specific Self-eff...

Purpose The present study examined the longitudinal trajectories, through hierarchical modeling, of quality of life among patients with head and neck cancer, specifically symptoms burden, during radiotherapy, and in the follow-up period (1, 3, 6, and 12 months after completion of radiotherapy), through the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Head and N...

Background Robot-assisted therapy (RAT) and virtual reality (VR)-based neuromotor rehabilitation have shown promising evidence in terms of patient’s neuromotor recovery, so far. However, still little is known on the perceived experience of use of robotic and VR devices and the related psychosocial impact. The present study outlines a study protocol...

Background In the field of neurorehabilitation, robot-assisted therapy (RAT) and virtual reality (VR) have so far shown promising evidence on multiple motor and functional outcomes. The related effectiveness on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been investigated across neurological populations but still remains unclear. The prese...

Promoting healthy behaviors throughout life is an essential prevention tool. Prior research showed that unhealthy behaviors tend to co-occur and interplay. However, which behaviors co-occur most frequently and which sociodemographic variables are associated with specific clusters of unhealthy behavior are still being determined. This study aimed to...

A key factor to successful secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is optimal patient adherence to treatment. However, unsatisfactory rates of adherence to treatment for CVD risk factors and CVD have been observed consistently over the last few decades. Hence, achieving optimal adherence to lifestyle measures and guideline-directed med...

This study aims to investigate table tennis players’ personality traits and motives in the frame of the Big Five personality model and the self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation. A total of 447 Italian table tennis players ranging in level of play between the regional and international levels participated in the study. They completed a self-...

COVID-19 has changed people’s routines and imposed new ways of living. This study investigated variations in lifestyles (namely, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking) between the prepandemic and the pandemic period in a sample of older adults with hypertension. Moreover, it investigated predictors of adherence to gove...

Objective: Although several studies suggest an association between psychological distress and increased morbidity and mortality in various cardiac populations, little is known about positive psychological resources, like Sense of Coherence (SOC), that may reduce distress. This longitudinal observational study aimed to test the hypothesis that a st...

Background The application of virtual reality (VR) and robotic devices in neuromotor rehabilitation has provided promising evidence in terms of efficacy, so far. Usability evaluations of these technologies have been conducted extensively, but no overviews on this topic have been reported yet. Methods A systematic review of the studies on patients'...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. A physically active lifestyle can improve the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with CVD. Nevertheless, adherence to a physically active lifestyle is poor. This study examined the longitudinal (pre-event, 6-, 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-ups) phys...

AimHealthy lifestyle behaviors and a good adherence to pharmacological treatments are important predictors of lower recurrence rates and better overall outcomes among patients with an established acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The present study sought to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of these behaviors years after the onset of an ACS.Su...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had clear and dramatic repercussions on health, the economy, and psychosocial well-being. Behavioral measures, such as wearing facemasks and maintaining distance from others, have proven crucial in fighting the contagion’s spread. This study aimed to investigate Type A personality traits and sociodemographic pre...

Academic self-efficacy beliefs influence students’ academic and career choices, as well as motivational factors and learning strategies promoting effective academic success. Nevertheless, few studies have focused on the academic self-efficacy of university students in comparison to students at other levels. Furthermore, extant measures present seve...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Promoting healthy behaviors throughout life is an essential prevention tool. This study investigated the associations among lifestyle profiles (including diet, alcohol consumption, physical activity, cigarette smoking, and cardiovascular screening), sociodemograp...

Despite widespread hearing problems among older adults, only a minority of them use hearing aids. The decision to rely on hearing aids is influenced by several psychosocial factors, which may include attitudes influenced by significant others, particularly caregivers and health professionals. The language used by professionals when approaching this...

COVID-19 has brought considerable changes and caused critical psychological responses, especially among frail populations. So far, researchers have explored the predictive effect of diverse factors on pandemic-related psychological distress, but none have focused on the impact of prior depression and anxiety symptomatology adopting an extended (10-...

Despite widespread hearing problems among older adults, only a minority uses hearing aids. The stigma associated with such aids represents a key factor modulated by language. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of different forms of media communication on both implicit and explicit attitudes toward hearing aids. A preliminary analysi...

Purpose Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients are likely to develop severe side effects, which may persist long after the end of treatment and may be responsible for decrease patient’s quality of life. The M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory- Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN) is a questionnaire developed to detect patient’s symptom burden. To conduct an It...

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of hospitalization and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Among the most important modifiable and well-known risk factors are an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Nevertheless, adherence to healthy lifestyle regimes is poor. The present study examined longitudinal tra...

Background: Engagement with physical activity mobile apps has been reported to be a core precondition for their effectiveness in digital behavior change interventions. However, to date, little attention has been paid to understanding the perspectives, needs, expectations, and experiences of potential users with physical activity mobile apps. Objec...

BACKGROUND Engagement with physical activity (PA) apps was evidenced to be a core precondition for effectiveness in digital behavior change interventions. However, little attention has been reserved to understand potential users’ perspective, needs, expectations, and experience so far. OBJECTIVE The aim of the current study is to investigate what...

This article describes the development of the “Time to Change Your Behavior” (TTCYB) study protocol, a theory-based, tailored print message intervention to improve compliance with the self-care regimen in patients with cardiovascular diseases. A design with a baseline measurement and two follow-ups at six and 12 months will be applied. At baseline...

Background: This study explored both the evolution of the information needs and the perceived relevance of different health information sources in patients with essential hypertension. It also investigated the relationships between information needs and the perceived relevance of information sources with socio-demographic and clinical variables....

Background: Self-efficacy plays a major role in the management of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The original Cardiovascular Management Self-efficacy Scale (CMSS) was developed in 2016 in Italian patients with CVD; however, no such scale exists for Iranian patients with CVD. Objective: We translated the CMSS into Persian and assessed its validity...

Recent research has shown that typically law-abiding people perceive the act of illegal downloading as less unethical than other illegal acts. A major thrust of today's digital piracy research is indeed to understand how emerging social norms influence consumer perceptions and lead to rationalisations that justify antinormative behaviour despite mo...

It is widely believed that intensive music training can boost cognitive and visuo-motor skills. However, this evidence is primarily based on retrospective studies; this makes it difficult to determine whether a cognitive advantage is caused by the intensive music training, or it is instead a factor influencing the choice of starting a music curricu...

Background The burden is high in caregivers of heart failure patients, but the literature on patient and caregiver predictors of caregiver burden is inconsistent. Also, it is unknown if caregiver contribution to heart failure self-care maintenance (i.e. helping patients to maintain heart failure stable) and self-care management (i.e. helping patien...

Objective: Goal setting is an effective strategy to promote physical activity. Commercial apps that tackle physical activity often include goal setting; however, it is unknown whether the implementation of the goal-setting components is congruent with the theory. This study evaluated the quality of goal setting in popular free and paid physical ac...

The practice of regular physical exercise is a protective factor against noncommunicable diseases and premature mortality. In spite of that, large part of the population does not meet physical activity guidelines and many individuals live a sedentary life. Recent technological progresses and the widespread adoption of mobile technology, such as sma...

Based on a multi-dimensional model of wellbeing in school that includes psychological, cognitive and social components, the aim of this investigation was to (a) analyse differences based on gender and school level (primary or middle school) in children’s subjective reports of their school wellbeing, (b) analyse correlates of subjective school wellb...

Background Although smartphone apps might support physical activity (PA), engagement with them tends to be low. Objective This study aimed to examine potential users’ needs and preferences regarding their engagement with PA apps during a first exposure to a never-used PA app and after 2 weeks’ usage. Methods A longitudinal, one-arm qualitative st...

Smoking is very common among adolescents; nowadays, young people start smoking very early, before being 15 years old. Effective primary prevention interventions are needed to contrast tobacco use in young age. For these reasons, the section of Milan of the Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer has developed Specchio Riflesso (SR), an innovati...

In this study, we examined loneliness and hope components as predictors of unhappy conditions (viz., anxious symptoms, depressive symptoms, & suicidal ideation) in young adults. The sample was comprised of 489 Hungarian college students. Results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that loneliness and hope pathways (but not hope...

Purpose It is well recognized that effective health communication is associated with better adherence to medical prescriptions, behavioral changes, and enhanced perception of control over the disease. However, there is limited knowledge about the variables on which to tailor health messages. This study examined whether coping strategies were relate...

Background Healthy lifestyles are modifiable risk factors for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) onset and recurrence. While unhealthy lifestyles tend to cluster together within the general healthy population, little is known about the prevalence and clustering of these behaviours in people with ACS before and after the first acute event. The aim of thi...

BACKGROUND Although smartphone applications (apps) may support physical activity (PA), engagement with them tends to be low. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine potential users’ needs and preferences regarding their engagement with PA apps. METHODS A longitudinal, one-arm, qualitative study was conducted with potential PA app users. At baseline...

Self-efficacy beliefs in emotion regulation were shown to foster well-being and psychosocial adaptation over time. In this study, we investigated their relationship with daily affect intensity among 199 adolescents aged 15–19. Participants completed the Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale measuring perceived capability to manage the experience...

Several studies report that the efficacy beliefs affect the choice of practicing and continue a particular sport, supporting the achievement of goals and the effort to reach them, even in front of failures, both for the athletes that for the team. The aim of this study is to present and evaluate psychometrically two new instruments developed to mea...

The present study investigates whether the Big Five personality traits are different among diverse sports populations. A sample of 881 male athletes and non-athletes completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their personality traits. The Exploratory Structure Equation Modeling (ESEM) approach is adopted to test measurement invariance and mean...

The present study examined the extent to which individual differences in personality that have been previously associated with aggression in non-clinical subjects (Caprara et al., European Journal of Personality, 27(3), 290–303, 2013, Caprara et al., Developmental Psychology, 50(1), 71–85, 2014) account for aggression among adolescents referred to...

The experience of sexual orientation stigma (e.g., homophobic discrimination and physical aggression) generates minority stress, a chronic form of psychosocial stress. Minority stress has been shown to have a negative effect on gay and bisexual men’s (GBM’s) mental and physical health, increasing the rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and HIV...

Sensation seeking and self-efficacy beliefs have been shown to be associated with participation and risk taking in risky sport. Little attention, however, has been given to their role in relation to performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether and how self-efficacy and sensation seeking predict sport performance in lower- and hi...

The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) measures dispositional optimism (DO) – an individual difference promoting physical and psychological well-being in healthy adults (HAs) as well as in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and healthcare providers (HPs). Controversy has arisen regarding the dimensionality of the LOT-R. Whereas DO was ori...

Background Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Lifestyle and health behavior changes play an important role in the primary and secondary prevention of ACS recurrence. Changes in unhealthy lifestyles after an acute coronary event have been analyzed by considering separate behaviors individually, even though res...

Dataset of the study. (SAV)

Background: A better understanding of caregiver burden and its determinants is essential to support caregivers. Many instruments have been developed to measure caregiver burden in various illness contexts, but few have been psychometrically tested for caregivers of heart failure patients. Aims: The aim of this study was to test the validity (fac...

Aim: To test an explanatory model of nurses' intention to report adverse drug reactions in hospital settings, based on the theory of planned behaviour. Background: Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions is an important problem among nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected with the adverse drug reporting nurse...

Objectives: Physical activity (PA) is a key factor in cardiovascular disease prevention. Through the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), the present study investigated the process of change in PA in coronary patients (CPs) and hypertensive patients (HPs). Design: Longitudinal survey study with two follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months on 188...

Background: Research has shown that the provision of pertinent health information to patients with cardiovascular disease is associated with better adherence to medical prescriptions, behavioral changes, and enhanced perception of control over the disease. Yet there is no clear knowledge on how to improve information pertinence. Identifying and me...

Physical activity (PA) is considered one of the most important factors for the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Mobile technologies offer several opportunities for supporting PA, especially if combined with psychological aspects, model-based reasoning systems and personalized human computer interaction. This still on-g...