Patrizia Velotti

Sapienza University of Rome | la sapienza · Department of Dynamic Clinical Psychology and Health Studies

Numerous studies have demonstrated that empathy and compassion are significant predictors of pro-environmental and sustainable behaviors. Nevertheless, these studies do not clarify how the relationship between empathy and compassion and consequent pro-social behavior develops. How can feeling the emotion of nature’s suffering move compassion and ac...

Objectives This study aimed to explore possible gender differences in the relationship between emotion dysregulation, mindfulness, and pro-environmental behaviors. Specifically, it aimed to investigate whether mindfulness mediated the association between emotion dysregulation and pro-environmental behaviors, and if there were any gender differences...

We conducted a comprehensive umbrella review including all published meta-analyses and systematic reviews on suicide-related outcomes among adults in custody. Eligible studies were searched for in major scientific databases following the PRISMA method up to February 2023. The quality of each study was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 protocol. Twenty st...

Lo studio della regolazione delle emozioni è stato applicato con successo in molti ambiti della ricerca e della pratica clinica. Tuttavia, ad oggi sembra opportuno riesaminare questa ricca produzione in termini di definizione degli oggetti di indagine, appropriatezza dei modelli teorici di riferimento e grado di rilevanza sociale degli studi prodot...

The construct of emotion dysregulation has been especially useful to explain how and when adverse relational events lead to psychopathological outcomes. This chapter summarizes current empirical and theoretical knowledge regarding the role of emotion (dys)regulation in the pathways linking emotional and physical abuse to psychopathology addressing...

Objective Several theoretical and clinical observations lead to the hypothesis that pathological narcissism could be associated with suicide ideation due to the difficulty in regulating shame in a functional way. The present study investigated the roles of guilt, shame and rivalry in the relationship between pathological narcissism and suicidal ide...

A new measure for assessing an individual's perception of the dyadic difficulties in emotion regulation with a romantic partner is tested. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale–Dyadic (DERS‐D) was obtained by adapting some items of the previous Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) to the dyadic context. The scale was administered...

Emotional factors in leaders have been found to be important in practicing sustainable leadership. Recent studies have highlighted that leaders with adaptive emotional regulation tend to exhibit sustainable leadership more frequently. However, it is not clear why emotional regulation can enable leaders to act sustainably with their followers. We ai...

Despite the number of empirical contributions on the topic, scientists have offered contrasting perspectives on the role of adaptive versus maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies in suicidality. Moreover, suicidal attempts and suicidal ideation are likely to be differentially related to single ER strategies. To provide more systematic knowl...

Background The study of romantic relationships is based on attachment theory and the Current Relationship Interview (CRI) is a powerful tool that allows the optimal investigation of attachment representations toward romantic partners. However, evidence in this field is still unsatisfactory and further research is needed. This study aims to examine...

To date, little is known about the psychological functioning of polyamorous individuals about the variables explaining positive attitudes towards polyamory. This study aims to investigate the constructs of attachment, emotion regulation and sexual satisfaction in polyamory. Self-report questionnaires were administered to a sample of adults reportin...

Objective: Non suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation are reliable antecedent events of suicide risk. To date, it remains unclear what implicit emotion regulation mechanisms are involved in these aspects and what is their role in the link between NSSI and suicidal ideation. The purpose of our study is to present evidence on the associat...

Background: The affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of impulsivity involved in suicide-related outcomes can be investigated through the UPPS model, which conceptualizes these facets in multidimensional terms related to negative and positive urgency, lack of premeditation and perseverance, and sensation seeking. This systematic review and...

Background Some empirical data suggest that Facebook Addiction (FA) is underlined by difficulties in emotion regulation. We aimed to investigate the role played by personality disorder traits, interpersonal problems and emotion dysregulation in FA. Methods We administered to a sample of community participants (N = 270; 78.5% females; Mage = 41 yea...

Despite a tight link has been hypothesized between sadistic and grandiose narcissism, to date, little is known about the variables accounting for such relationship. The aim of this contribution is to bridge such gap by investigating the topic among a very large sample of Italian adults. In addition, we aimed to contribute to advancing the field thr...

The role of metacognitive beliefs towards positive and negative emotions has been stressed by several theoretical models. The Emotion Belief Questionnaire (EBQ) has been developed to assess these metacognitive beliefs. We administrated the Italian version of the EBQ, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the DERS-Positive and the sho...

Objective: Despite the well-documented relationship between emotion dysregulation and both post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder symptoms, no studies investigated this issue in the context of the outbreak. Moreover, additional research investigating the role of mediators intervening in these pathways is required. Dissociat...

Background: Personality dysfunctions and deficits in the capacity to cope with negative emotional states have been related to internet addictions. However, in relation to Facebook addiction, this issue remains poorly investigated. Specifically, few studies explored the role played by grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in Facebook addiction. Furth...

Introduction Few is known regarding the intervening variables between pathological narcissism and sadism personality. Specifically, envy is a psychoanalytical construct that appears especially promising in illuminating such relationships. Objectives To extend the knowledge regarding the nomological network of pathological narcissism. Methods We a...

Introduction The sense of agency concerns the experience of controlling our actions, referring both to superior and lower levels of psychological functioning that are also related to the physical dimension of agency. Diverse clinical conditions affect the awareness of being a bodily and agentive self. Objectives The aim of this systematic review w...

Introduction Despite the growing number of studies focusing on the relationship between appearance evaluation and personality dimension, few is known regarding the role of depressive personality and malignant self-regard regarding this topic. Moreover, there is a lack of studies investigating the potential role of both clarity of self-concept and i...

Introduction Few studies investigated the role of psychological variables underlying polylove. Objectives To extend the knowledge regarding the psychological profile of polylovers. Methods We administered to a sample of individuals reporting to be polylovers and a sample of participants reporting to not be polylovers a battery of self-report ques...

Introduction Background: Recently, a new instrument, the Guilt And Shame Proneness Scale has been developed and showed promising psychometric properties. However, the Italian version of the Instrument has not still been validated. In addition, despite the growing number of studies on the topic, the knowledge regarding the role played by guilt, sham...

Purpose To clarify the relevance of emotion dysregulation and dissociation for aggressive tendencies, the present study examined bivariate, unique, mediating, and moderating effects of each on physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. Methods Self-report measures of the key constructs were administered to a sample of male adult...

Background: Flow has been pointed out as a relevant variable explaining gambling disorder. However, in other fields, flow has also been described as an adaptive psychological process. Research on the role of this psychological experience in gaming on smartphone devices is still nuclear. Methods: We administered to a sample of 236 Italian adults (M...

Background: A growing number of studies investigated the nature of the relationship involved in the subjective experience of romantic relationships also delineating new constructs as such as Love addiction. The distinction between romantic passion and pathological love (i.e., love addiction) is still not established and an ongoing matter of debate....

Background: Even though gaming addiction received a growing interest from the scientific community in the last years, few is known regarding the role of protective factors played in excessive gaming as well as their link with different gaming contexts. Considering the relationship between gaming disorder and interpersonal problems, positive emotion...

Emotion dysregulation is considered a central feature of gambling disorder. However, research has mainly focused on the examination of the role played by negative emotional states, neglecting processes related to positive emotionality. Recently, some authors developed a useful tool to measure dysregulation of positive emotions, the Difficulties in...

Background Although the negative outcomes related to traumatic events are well documented, people who experience traumatic events is able to manage the consequences in an adaptive way. This study aims to understand if perception of nature relatedness and perceived potential of restorativeness related to own house, explain Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is responsible for loss of lives and significant psychological, financial, and social costs. Research into therapeutic effectiveness show inconsistent results irrespective of therapeutic orientation. The capacity to understand one's own mental states as subjective and distinct from others is an important factor in th...

Objective: Attachment theory is a useful framework for understanding the phenomenon of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimisation. Many studies have examined the relationship between attachment and IPV victimisation. The need to examine the nature of this relationship through a meta-analytic approach arises from an awareness of the amount of con...

Background and aims: Gambling Disorder (GD) entails maladaptive patterns of decision-making. Neurophysiological research points out the effect of parasympathetic arousal, including phasic changes in heart rate variability (HRV), and interoceptive accuracy (IA, i.e., the ability to track changes in bodily signals), on decision-making. Nevertheless,...

Purpose To extend current knowledge on the role of emotion regulation in psychopathy, the present study sought to examine relationships between maladaptive (Attack Self, Attack Others, Avoidance, Withdrawal) and adaptive shame coping styles and psychopathic traits (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, antisocial) in incarcerated violent offenders....

Several studies highlight the role of communication in couple’s functioning, specifically showing the need to examine communication during conflicts. The Communication Patterns Questionnaire (CPQ; Christensen & Sullaway, Communication patterns questionnaire. University of California, 1984; Christensen, Understanding major mental disorder: The contr...

Dysfunctions in emotion regulation appear to be a central feature of Gambling Disorder (GD). Theoretical literature asserted that dissocia-tion is a core process of Gambling Disorder used to defensively regulate emotional arousal induced by traumatic experiences memories. However, few is known on the relationship between emotion regulation capaciti...

Current Western societies are characterized by a deep anthropological and socio-institutional crisis. The many signs of this turmoil indicate a creeping affectivization of the public sphere. Psychoanalysis can play a pivotal role in understanding the current socio-institutional scenario beyond a reductionist splitting between individual and society...

Suicide behaviors are peculiar aspects of several cluster B disorders, including Narcissistic Personality Disorder. To date, it is still unclear which facet of narcissism is more related to the desire to die and which other factors are involved in this relationship. This study aims to offer preliminary empirical evidences concerning the relationshi...

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the role of emotion (dys)regulation in gambling disorder (GD). PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed were systematically searched for articles published until November 3, 2020. Forty-nine studies were considered for the sys...

Background: Recent empirical research showed that pathological narcissism is related to Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI). However, both narcissistic vulnerability and narcissistic grandiosity were resulted related to NSSI and the differences between them and their role in NSSI remains unclear. Some authors underlined the potential role of shame in t...

Introduction Suicide attempts and suicidal ideation are peculiar aspects of several cluster b disorders, including Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Similarly, difficulty in regulating negative affects can play a role in the relationship between narcissist features and suicidal ideation. To date, it is still unclear which facet of narcissism is mo...

Introduction Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and behavior than others, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder is no different. Very intense feelings of shame, intolerable for the individual, are often found in patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and may have a role in suicidal...

Introduction The Covid-19 outbreak has shown to negatively impact on mental health. Several anecdotical and theoretical evidences argued that lockdown measures would have increased subjective feelings of loneliness and addictions’ proneness. Objectives In addition, preliminary data underlined a possible increase in the frequency of gaming and soci...

Introduction Assessing mentalizing abilities is a complex issue. Only recently an instrument assessing mentalizing capacity as a whole, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ), has been developed. Objectives To reach the purpose of our study, we investigated the psychometric proprieties of the Italian version of the RFQ. Methods The study...

Impairments in mentalizing abilities are thought to account for the high aggressive tendencies observed among individuals with pathological personality. However, the question of whether mentalizing impairments may mediate the pathways by which pathological personality leads to aggression has not yet been answered. This study first investigated the...

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is currently putting a strain on the mental health resilience of the world's population. Specifically, it is likely to elicit an intense response to fear and to act as a risk factor for the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some individuals may be more at risk than others, wi...

The COVID-19 outbreak has been shown to have had a negative impact on mental health: Furthermore, lockdown measures may have increased levels of loneliness and addiction. Preliminary studies indicated an increased frequency of gaming and social media use during this time and augmented levels of loneliness likely account for the increase in gaming a...

Objective: Multilevel consequences related to gambling disorder (GD) are glaring enough to make gambling a worldwide public health issue. Dissociation has been pointed out in clinical, empirical, and theoretical contributions as a key variable accounting for the development and maintenance of GD. However, we still lack a systematization of availab...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is responsible for significant social, psychological, and financial costs. The challenges in developing approaches that result in long-term change has been well documented. Outcome research into perpetrator treatment often portray varying degrees of success or otherwise. Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy (MIT) offe...

Background: Our study aimed to test the hypotheses that an increased level of loneliness experienced during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confinement was predictive of internalizing symptoms and that this pathway was mediated by emotion dysregulation levels. Methods: To reach this aim, we performed an online longitudinal survey recruiting 1,3...

Background: Spitefulness is the inclination to inflict harm to someone else even at one's own expenses. The development of a self-report measure (the Spitefulness Scale [SS]) has fostered the investigation of the relationships between spitefulness and aggression-related variables. Objective: The present study aims to investigate the construct of...

Introduction In recent literature, abnormalities in the metacognitive domain have been pointed out as psychological variables that may account for a wide range of psychopathologies, including gambling disorder (GD). Considering the growing but scattered nature of the research concerning the relationship between metacognition and GD, a systematic re...

Objective The attachment theory is a useful framework for interpreting the phenomenon of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Although several studies have examined the relationship between attachment and IPV perpetration, a meta-analysis of these results has yet to be conducted. Method After a search on five databases (PsycINFO, PsycARTI...

Research has demonstrated that individuals suffering from Gambling Disorder (GD) are characterized by abnormal responses to pleasant stimuli and a proneness to act rashly in response to positive emotions. However, psychological impairments that may explain these results remain unexplored. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals with GD wou...

Literature mainly focuses on the role of dysregulation of negative emotions whereas the topic of dysregulation of positive emotions has been widely neglected. This study aims to explore levels of dysregulation of positive emotions across community, clinical and forensic samples. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Positive (DERS-Positive...

Gambling addiction (GA) is now considered a worldwide health issue. Although the topic of disorder awareness is a central issue in clinical practice, there are few studies examining this dimension in relation to GA. To bridge this gap, we conducted a qualitative study, administering interviews focused on awareness of GA and eliciting narratives of...

Emotional dysfunctions have long been associated with psychopathy. Yet, the extent to which these dysfunctions include problems in emotion regulation (ER) has only recently become clearer. In this study, we first reviewed theoretical and empirical literature on psychopathy and ER, and then examined associations between ER and psychopathy in four di...

Purpose: Few prior studies address relationships between anger expression and psychopathic traits. Emotion deficit perspectives suggest that anger expression is negatively related or unrelated to psychopathic traits or positively associated only with lifestyle-antisocial components of psychopathy. The affect regulation theory of psychopathy suggest...

The importance of psychopathy in the forensic and criminal justice domains is largely due to its robust associations with aggression and violent behavior. Hence, investigators have increasingly been interested in elucidating potential mechanisms linking psychopathy and aggression. Recent research highlighted previously overlooked associations betwe...

Background: The Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II) is a self-report questionnaire that measures dissociative experiences such as derealization, depersonalization, absorption and amnesia. The DES-II has been prevalently used as a screening tool in patients suffering from psychotic disorders or schizophrenia. However, dissociative experience...

The explanation of violent behaviors often involved the role of narcissistic personality traits. Recently, some evidences suggest that difficulties in the regulation of shame might account for aggressions. However, there is still a lack of studies exploring the complex pattern of relationships between pathological narcissism, emotional dysregulatio...

Patients who have experienced adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can show some psychological problems both pre-existing than consequently the reactions. Anxiety, depression, somatization, as well as a minor capability of expressing emotions, have been demonstrated in some of these subjects. Nevertheless, a negative expectation toward a new drug administ...

A number of researches showed high prevalence of personality disorders among addicted gamblers. However, there are still few studies investigating the role of pathological personality facets in Gambling Disorder (GD). Moreover, the nature of the relationship between GD and pathological personality is not clear. We administered to a group of addicte...

Individuals with personality disorders experience worry and repetitive thoughts regarding interpersonal scenarios. Mainstream mindfulness-based approaches may be insufficient to soothe these individual's distress due to difficulties in letting thoughts go and refocusing attention to the present moment. For this reason, we devised an adapted form of...

Recent years have witnessed an increase of research on socio‐affective factors that can explain individual differences in aggressive tendencies across community and offender populations. Specifically, mindfulness and emotion regulation have emerged as important factors, which could also constitute important prevention and treatment targets. Yet, re...

Summary. Firesetting, which is the action to set fire intentionally, is a complex issue for clinical assessment and because of its impact on individual, social and environmental levels. From a psychopathological perspective, firesetting is thought to be related to the antisocial domain or to be a manifestation of Pyromania. The present study aims t...

Impulsivity seems closely related to both narcissism and spitefulness as a potential common pathway by which these pathological personality traits lead to violence. We administered the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), the Pathological Narcissism Inventory, the Spitefulness Scale, and the Impulsive Behavior Scale Short Form to a sample of individuals...

The Dark Triad is a constellation of three socially undesirable personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Previous research has shown that men tend to score higher than women on Dark Triad scales, but the validity of these results is questionable as there is no evidence that the scales used exhibit measurement invariance ac...

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) has long been described focusing exclusively on behavioral features, like aggression. Although the role of mentalizing for aggression is well established, research on the role of mentalizing in ASPD remains limited. The present study examined the independent and interactive effects of mentalizing abilities and...

Although emotional suppression has usually been considered to be associated to psychopathological symptoms and aggression, different studies yielded controversial findings and highlighted possible gender differences in these relationships. In an attempt to cast light on this issue, we administered to a sample of 380 community-dwelling individuals t...

A number of studies have suggested that depressive mood might lead to the development and/or maintenance of a gambling disorder (GD). The pathways by which such relationships are fostered may involve deficits in emotional regulation capacity and dysfunctional coping styles. This study aims to explore the role played by depressive symptomatology and...

Gambling Disorder (GD) is a complex psychopathology involving a numbers of cognitive, behavioral, emotional and neurobiological determinants. Previous research suggests that GD may frequently co-occur with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. However, there is still a lack of study investigating Pathological Narcissism (PN) in both its vulnerable and...