Adriano Zamperini’s research while affiliated with University-Hospital of Padova and other places

Dear Colleagues, Environmental disasters and climate change pose one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century, with significant implications for the psychosocial well-being of affected populations. This special issue explores the impact of psychosocial stress resulting from extreme events such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and heatwaves, as well as the long-term consequences of environmental pollution and instability. We welcome original contributions, empirical studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses that examine psychological and social responses to these crises, coping strategies, the role of individual and community resilience, and the responses of healthcare institutions. Interdisciplinary approaches integrating psychological, social, environmental, and epidemiological perspectives are particularly encouraged. We invite scholars and researchers to contribute their studies to enhance our understanding of these phenomena and support the development of mitigation and intervention strategies. Prof. Adriano Zamperini Dr. Marialuisa Menegatto Guest Editors Manuscript Submission Information Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI. Keywords • environmental disaster • climate change • psychosocial stress • health and well-being • community resilience • individual resilience • hazard • traumatic event • crisis • disaster recovery Website: https://www.mdpi.com/si/230509

The ever-worsening climate crisis necessitates a shift toward sustainable energy systems that prioritise citizen participation. Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) present a unique opportunity to enhance local resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and foster climate mitigation and adaptation through participatory governance. This exploratory study investigates the psychosocial predictors of social acceptance for RECs, with a focus on Socio-political Control and Warm-glow Motivation as key determinants. To this end, we collected 107 questionnaires completed by residents of the metropolitan city of Padua, which is engaged in the EU’s 100 Climate-Neutral Cities by 2030 mission. The results indicate a generally favourable attitude toward RECs and reveal that Socio-political Control, defined as the perceived ability to influence societal and political systems, positively predicts community energy acceptance. Furthermore, Impure Altruism (Warm-glow Motivation) mediates this relationship, underscoring the importance of intrinsic emotional rewards in fostering support for sustainable energy projects. These findings highlight the interplay between individual agency and emotional satisfaction in promoting energy transitions. This study underscores the need for participatory governance and tailored communication strategies to enhance public engagement with RECs. Limitations and avenues for future research are discussed, emphasising the need for broader cross-cultural investigations and experimental designs.

L’articolo affronta il tema della violenza ambientale attraverso il caso del disastro ambientale causato dalle ecomafie in Campania, nella cosiddetta “Terra dei fuochi”. La prospettiva presentata dagli autori, psicologi sociali, mettendo in luce la complessa fenomenologia territoriale e umana che tali vicende ricoprono, mira ad ampliare la definizione di danno ambientale, ricondotto solitamente al campo biomedico, includendo i danni alla qualità della vita inferti alla collettività.

The article considers the social effort exerted by third-sector organizations in the context of alternative measures to detention, offering individuals who have committed criminal offenses an opportunity for social reintegration by welcoming them into the social fabric while they are still serving their sentences. Referencing legal provisions and the theoretical framework of restorative justice supporting this form of intervention, the project "You Can Count on Us" monitored the structures in the Veneto Region that support collaboration with the justice system and investigated the experiences, opinions, potentials, limits, and best practices of third-sector entities in the external criminal area. This involved engaging professionals, managers, and users within this context. The results of this investigative operation, conducted between 2021 and 2022, are then presented, revealing a positive impact on users manifested in an increased level of resilience and future orientation, acquisition of psychosocial skills, enhanced possibilities for rehabilitation, and re-education from a restorative perspective by valuing the uniqueness and dignity of each individual beneficiary's journey. Furthermore, the importance of collaborations and networks with institutions has emerged, allowing for the enhancement of practices capable of reducing the high rate of work-related stress and increasing operational effectiveness. The research was conducted using a mixed-method approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative tools. Keywords: Alternative measures to detention, External penal domain, Restorative justice, Third sector

Some communities in the Veneto Region (Italy) are facing a major technological disaster due to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) pollution. In response to this serious problem, a group of ordinary mothers exposed to PFAS contamination came together under the name MammeNoPfas (MothersNoPfas) to address this environmental disaster moving towards activism. They started to develop the epistemic capacity to understand these substances and disseminate this knowledge within their communities. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of these mothers as an epistemic community and a minority group, engaged in an accidental form of environmental activism. Based on in-depth narrative interviews, 23 mothers were involved in the study. A grounded theory and thematic analysis methods were used. Four major themes emerged: (1) health surveillance, (2) collective ignorance, (3) collective learning, (4) community practices. Nine sub-themes were associated with the emerging themes. This study demonstrated that the skills acquired by MammeNoPfas enabled significant participation in environmental and health issues. Social mobilisation, fighting for legal justice against those who poisoned their land and bodies and establishing themselves as an epistemic community are the three main dimensions characterising the struggle of MammeNoPfas.

This study investigated the relatively unexplored topic of the collective memory of environmental disasters from a psychosocial perspective. To achieve this, we conducted an exploratory case study on the Vaia storm, which hit the Italian Alps in October 2018, causing significant social and ecological damage. We carried out thirteen in-depth semi-structured interviews with members of the enunciatory community of Vaia as follows: groups of people who either experienced the disaster firsthand, studied it, or had a particular interest in it. Through a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, the four following key themes emerged that illustrate the forms taken by the collective memory of the disaster: (1) a sensory dimension; (2) an emotional dimension; (3) a narrative dimension; and (4) a material dimension. Our findings suggest a non-anthropocentric, hybrid understanding of collective memory, aligning with emerging concepts in the psychosocial literature on the emotional impacts of environmental disasters. We also advance potential future research questions at the intersection of memory studies, resilience, and sustainability and stress the practical implications of collective memory in fostering sustainable practices and enhancing climate resilience.

Dramatic consequences related to borders, such as migrants' deaths, disappearances and human rights violations, have increased since the 1990s. Several migration policies contribute to border violence, leading to traumatic mental health effects on migrants, their families and activists. The literature has overlooked the psychological, cultural and religious/spiritual experience of activists sharing the burden of migrants and their families' grief and struggles. To explore the experiences of activists while in the act, the research adopted a sociocultural approach and conducted twenty-five semi-structured interviews with border activists. The qualitative thematic analysis revealed five themes, encompassing how activists dynamically make sense of their experiences: rehumanising vocation; endless feelings; empathic-epistemic experiential ambivalence; personal coping strategies and liberation transformative actions. These themes offer a transitional model, progressing from acknowledging States' responsibilities to developing transnational, cross-cultural and inter-faith forms of human solidarity. Finally, this model fuels ethically inspired community struggles towards social equality, justice and transformation.

Multilevel and decentralised governance approaches involving different social actors are increasingly relevant to collectively tackling climate-induced vulnerabilities. Among emergent governance experimentations, citizen science (CS) is a transversal scientific practice characterised by the involvement of citizens in various phases of the scientific process. We performed a PRISMA systematic review of the scientific literature in order to conceptualise the interface between CS and climate governance. The included 44 studies were coded following the thematic analysis method. Information about temporal and geographical distribution, main research designs and methods, climate governance domains and levels of analysis was extracted. Among the most significant results, we stress the existence of a two-way link between CS and climate governance: CS beyond data gathering can facilitate climate change adaptation—namely, counteracting disaster risk, food insecurity and mental health distress due to changing climate, promoting health and wellbeing, and environmental conservation—until systemic changes are made. Conversely, inclusive governance structures and processes may provide support to initiate CS projects. We also discuss the role of psychosocial and justice issues—as well as digital CS—throughout the selected literature, and the implications for future lines of research and policy.

The article presents a qualitative study of the relational dimension of the social work practice with asylum seekers and refugees. The aim of the research is to explore how a group of social workers working with asylum seekers and refugees represent their relationship with users and how they construct this relational work. In Italy, the social workers' practice is performed by workers with different educational backgrounds, as it is not a juridically recognised job with its theoretical and operative background. In this study, 20 social workers working with asylum seekers and refugees employed in the asylum accommodation centres of the Extraordinary Reception Centres system and the Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Northern Italy participated in semi-structured interviews. From the results of the thematic analysis of the interviews, which applied a bottom-up coding strategy, it emerged that social workers describe their relationship with users as a means of intervention (goal-oriented relationship) but also as a source of information (needs-centred relationship), a negotiation process and a source of emotional strain (emotionally demanding relationship). Furthermore, the construction of relational work requires social workers to take into account normative obligations and organisational lines (contextual frame) to refer to their role but also, at the same time, to their biographical background and personal resources 1 Adriano Zamperini et al./

The Taliban restored their government in Afghanistan in August 2021, following an international agreement and a rapid offensive throughout the country. Consequently, many Afghans who collaborated with the United States-NATO coalition were forced to leave the country. Forced migration events expose people to a wide breadth of sudden stressful changes, conventionally assumed as trauma. This article proposes another point of view of forced migration considering the turning points to understand negative impact and resilience trajectories, exploring the life stories of 34 Afghan refugees who were evacuated from Afghanistan to Italy. Grounded theory and a thematic analysis method were used to infer themes. The results show three themes: the shock for the taking of Kabul, a tragic possibility, gaining a sense of mastery. The last theme, gaining a sense of mastery, displays a form of suffering but also various forms of resilience and new modes of engagement. Overall, our results foreground the deep role played by the social and historical bonds in forging both suffering and resilience in the identified turning points. From these insights, practical implications for community-based psychosocial interventions can be drawn.