Barbara Barcaccia

Interpersonal Vicious Cycles in Anxiety Disorders

In this chapter we intend to illustrate, on the basis of the clinical work carried out at the Outpatient Clinic of Psychotherapy APC1–SPC2 in Rome, some of the most frequent interpersonal vicious cycles that occur in anxiety disorders.

Forgiveness and religious practice: a study on a sample of Italian preadolescents

Abstract In this study we examined the gender differences in self-reported forgiving behaviours in a sample of Italian preadolescents (aged 11 to 14 years), who were either involved or not involved in religious practises. Were asked 289 Catholic, Italian preadolescent students were asked about their involvement in the religious practises. They also completed measures of forgiveness, avoidance and revenge motivations. The results showed that forgiveness was negatively correlated to avoidance and revenge, as expected, given that these constructs represent two different forms of non-forgiveness. Avoidance and revenge motivations were positively inter-correlated, highlighting how these forms of non-forgiveness are two distinct, but related pathways, leading away from forgiveness. Regarding age, younger participants reported higher degrees of forgiveness than their older counterparts. Lastly, regarding the association between involvement in one’s faith and gender as predictors of forgiving behaviours, only girls actively practising their faith emerged as significantly more forgiving than the other participants.

Dysfunctional eating behaviors, anxiety, and depression in Italian boys and girls: the role of mass media

Objective: Extensive research has implicated identification with characters in mass media in the emergence of disordered eating behavior in adolescents. We explored the possible influence of the models offered by television (TV) on adolescents’ body image, body uneasiness, eating-disordered behavior, depression, and anxiety. Methods: Three hundred and one adolescents (aged 14-19) from southern Italy participated. They completed a questionnaire on media exposure and body dissatisfaction, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Body Uneasiness Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Form Y. Results: The main factors contributing to females’ eating-disordered behaviors were their own desires to be similar to TV characters, the amount of reality and entertainment TV they watched, and the discrepancy between their perceptions of their bodies and those of TV characters. Friends’ desire to be similar to TV characters contributed most to depression, anxiety, body uneasiness, and eating disorders for both males and females. Conclusion: Our data confirm that extensive watching of reality and entertainment TV correlates with eating-disordered behavior among females. Moreover, the well-known negative effects of the media on adolescents’ eating-disordered behaviors may also be indirectly transmitted by friends who share identification with TV characters.

The Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Child Version (OCI-CV): Further Evidence on Confirmatory Factor Analytic Structure, Incremental and Criterion Validity in Italian Community Children and Adolescents ☆

ABSTRACT Obsessive Compulsive Inventory‐Child Version (OCI‐CV) assesses six dimensions of OCD symptoms in childhood and adolescence. The current study used confirmatory methods to assess factor structure and reliability of the Italian OCI‐CV in community children and adolescents. 1408 community children and adolescents completed the OCI‐CV and a subgroup (n = 855) completed measures of other anxiety and depression symptoms. A six correlated factor structure showed good fit. Reliability was excellent for total OCI‐CV and for the other scales ranged from good to acceptable. The OCI‐CV confirmed good properties in terms of factor structure and reliability.

A Meeting of the Minds: John Bowlby Encounters Jean Piaget

John Bowlby has several times asserted the complementarity between the theory of attachment and both ethology and Jean Piagets theory. However, it remains unclear why the contribution of ethology and psychoanalysis on Bowlbys thought has been underlined by numerous authors, whereas the influence of Jean Piaget has been systematically neglected. In this article, we focus on the points of contact between these 2 outstanding scholars. To this purpose, 80 of Bowlbys writings have been perused (books, book chapters, and articles). Subsequently, the writings in which explicit references to Piagets work appear have been selected. In particular, evidence of the influences of Piaget over Bowlbys thinking has been tracked down through the numerous quotes Bowlby made of Piaget and also analyzing the participation of both of them in an important interdisciplinary group during the 50s, the International Interdisciplinary Meetings on Child Psychology, convened by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, we have analyzed the Piagetian concepts which Bowlby used in his theory, such as object permanence and egocentrism, and the conceptual similarities between the 2 authors. Finally, we have highlighted the analogy between the Bowlbian concept of Internal Working Model and the Piagetian concepts of the development of knowledge through the processes of assimilation and accommodation.