Carlo Tomasetto

Assessing quality of life in children and adolescents: development and validation of the Italian version of the EQ-5D-Y

Background : Although assessment of Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in paediatric populations is gaining interest, it is not sufficiently assessed. While a number of specific paediatric instruments have been developed, some users appear to prefer generic tools such as the EQ-5D, which is a widely used and recommended tool to describe and value health across many different adult populations. We adapted the EQ-5D generic instrument into the EQ-5D-Y(youth) for the assessment of HRQoL in children and adolescents, and investigated the feasibility, acceptability, validity and reliability of this new version of the tool. Methods : The Italian version of the EQ-5D-Y was administered to 415 children and adolescents from a general population aged between 8 and 15, and to 25 paediatric patients diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). Results : The Italian version of the EQ-5D-Y was found to be feasible and acceptable for self-completion in the target age-group, with less than 1% refusing to complete it and no invalid answers given. Convergent and divergent validity tested with a child specific standard instrument was satisfactory overall. The test-retest reliability was moderate to good in all the domains of the descriptive system, and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) showed optimal levels of reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient = 0.82). As regards known-group validity, compared with the youths from general population, the ALL patients reported more difficulties in four of the five domains of the descriptive system and, on average, had a lower VAS score. Conclusions :The Italian version of the EQ-5D-Y shows to be a promising tool for assessing HRQoL in children and adolescents from 8 to 15 years of age. Future studies should further investigate and optimize its applicability to clinical research and carry out economic evaluations within the health system.

Teacher judgments and pupils’ causal explanations: Social valorization of effort-based explanations in school context

Achievement evaluation in school contexts may be considered as a kind of social judgment, which is affected by social and moral determinants since it is not merely an estimation of pupils’ accomplishment (Dompnier, Pansu, & Bressoux, 2006; Weiner, 2003). Teachers’ judgments have been investigated starting from the analysis of two theoretical approaches: the norm of internality (Dubois, 2003), and the attributional approach to social motivation (Weiner, 2006). In order to study the social valorization of internal explanations referring to effort in school context, an empirical research has been conducted. Our study investigates how teachers evaluate fictitious pupils, which are supposed to explain events by means of different types of causal explanations. According to our results, pupils providing effort-based explanations receive more positive judgments. Findings are discussed by considering effort as a key principle of school environments.RésuméLe jugement scolaire peut être considéré comme un jugement social influencé par des déterminants sociaux et moraux puisqu’il n’est pas seulement une estimation des résultats des élèves (Dompnier, Pansu, & Bressoux, 2006; Weiner, 2003). Le jugement des enseignants a été investigué à partir de l’analyse de deux approches théorique: la norme d’internalité (Dubois, 2003) et l’approche attributionnelle de la motivation sociale (Weiner, 2006). Le but de cet article est de tester l’hypothèse de la valorisation sociale des explications internes en appelant à l’effort dans le contexte scolaire. L’étude, basée sur la méthode des juges, a été conduite, en Italie, auprès de 121 enseignants. Les enseignants étaient invités à évaluer des élèves (fictifs) connus par leur niveau scolaire (fort ou faible) et par leurs réponses à un questionnaire d’internalité (évoquant majoritairement des explications soit internes en termes d’habileté, soit internes en termes d’effort, soit externes). Les résultats montrent que les élèves connus pour avoir donné des réponses internes en termes d’effort sont mieux jugés que les autres et font l’objet d’un meilleur pronostic. Les résultats sont discutés en considérant les explications internes en termes d’effort comme un principe clé du contexte scolaire.

Influence style and students’ orientation toward extra-curricular activities: An application of the correspondence hypothesis

A recently formulated corespondence hypothesis states that influence style effectiveness depends on how it fits in with the communication contract activated in the context of influence: almost symmetrical relationships require respectful styles, while authoritarian styles are more effective when the social distance between the influence source and its targets is higher. The hypothesis was applied here to the negotiation of innovative practices in educational settings. In a 2 (message style: authoritarian vs. democratic) x 2 (targets position: not orientated vs. already orientated toward the suggested activity) experimental design, 129 university students were presented with a bogus request, attributed to their Faculty teaching staff, to participate in an extra-curricular activity. Dependent measures included direct agreement on the usefulness of the activity, and a change in the declared intention to participate in it. Results partially confirm the hypothesis, as a democratic style induces more direct agreement with the source than the authoritarian one, when the targets were already orientated toward the activity; a complementary effect emerges, that is the authoritarian style, more than the democratic one, increases the intention to participate in the activity by students who were not previously orientated in this direction.RésuméL’hypothèse de correspondance suggère que l’efficacité persuasive des styles d’influence varie en fonction de leur adaptation aux contrats de communication activés dans différents contextes d’influence: des relations plutôt symétriques demanderaient une approche flexible de la part des sources, alors qu’une approche autoritaire s’adapterait davantage à des relations caractérisées par une distance plus évidente entre la source et les cibles. L’hypothèse est ici appliquée à la négociation d’une pratique innovatrice dans un contexte éducationnel. Dans un plan expérimental 2 (style du message: autoritaire vs. démocratique) x 2 (position des cibles: non orientés vs. déjà orientés en faveur de l’activité proposée) on a présenté à des étudiants universitaires (N=129) une prétendue requête d’engagement dans une activité extra-curriculaire, attribuée aux professeurs de leur Faculté. L’accord manifeste avec les arguments de la source et le changement dans l’intention de s’engager dans l’activité constituaient les variables dépendantes. Les résultats confirment en partie les hypothèses. Comme attendu, le style démocratique induit davantage d’accord avec la source lorsque les sujets sont déjà orientés positivement vers l’activité proposée. L’effet inverse attendu chez les étudiants qui ne sont pas orientés positivement à son égard n’atteint pas la significativité. L’intention de comportement est par contre davantage influencée chez ces mêmes sujets par le style autoritaire.

How is anxiety related to math performance in young students? A longitudinal study of Grade 2 to Grade 3 children

ABSTRACT Both general and math-specific anxiety are related to proficiency in mathematics. However, it is not clear when math anxiety arises in young children, nor how it relates to early math performance. This study therefore investigated the early association between math anxiety and math performance in Grades 2 and 3, by accounting for general anxiety and by further inspecting the prevalent directionality of the anxiety–performance link. Results revealed that this link was significant in Grade 3, with a prevalent direction from math anxiety to performance, rather than the reverse. Longitudinal analyses also showed an indirect effect of math anxiety in Grade 2 on subsequent math performance in Grade 3. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of monitoring anxiety from the early stages of schooling in order to promote proficient academic performance.

The interplay between affective and cognitive factors in shaping early proficiency in mathematics

Abstract Background Literature that investigates the factors underlining arithmetic problem-solving achievement extensively evaluates the cognitive components, such as Working Memory (WM) and Processing Speed, at the basis of this acquisition. Recently, studies have shown that also the emotional factors, such as Math Anxiety (MA), could play a crucial role for arithmetic problem-solving. However, the interplay between cognitive and emotional factors is still poorly explored, especially in young students. Aims and method In this study, we tested 145 fourth-grade students to evaluate the possible combined effect of cognitive (i.e., WM, Processing Speed) and emotional (i.e., Math Anxiety) factors in untimed arithmetical problem-solving achievement. We further compared the cognitive profile of the children classified according to their MA level. Results Regression analysis showed that MA significantly contributed to explain arithmetic problem-solving achievement even after having accounted for the cognitive abilities (WM and Processing Speed). In addition, the comparison between high-MA and low- MA children showed that the former had decreased performance in arithmetical problem-solving and WM tasks. Conclusion On the whole, data seem to corroborate the findings concerning the crucial role of math anxiety on math achievement even in untimed math tasks and, crucially, already in young student. Findings are discussed in terms of math educational context and underline the need to include the emotional factors when developing interventions on poor math achievement.

Children’s sense of reality: The development of orbitofrontal reality filtering

ABSTRACT Orbitofrontal reality filtering denotes a memory control mechanism necessary to keep thought and behavior in phase with reality. In adults, it is mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex and subcortical connections and its failure induces reality confusion, confabulations, and disorientation. Here we investigated for the first time the development of this mechanism in 83 children from ages 7 to 11 years and 20 adults. We used an adapted version of a continuous recognition task composed of two runs with the same picture set but arranged in different order. The first run measures storage and recognition capacity (item memory), the second run measures reality filtering. We found that accuracy and reaction times in response to all stimulus types of the task improved in parallel across ages. Importantly, at no age was there a notable performance drop in the second run. This means that reality filtering was already efficacious at age 7 and then steadily improved as item memory became stronger. At the age of 11 years, reality filtering dissociated from item memory, similar to the pattern observed in adults. However, performance in 11-year-olds was still inferior as compared to adults. The study shows that reality filtering develops early in childhood and becomes more efficacious as memory capacity increases. For the time being, it remains unresolved, however, whether this function already depends on the orbitofrontal cortex, as it does in adults, or on different brain structures in the developing brains of children.

Editorial: Mathematical and Statistics Anxiety: Educational, Social, Developmental and Cognitive Perspectives.

Mathematical anxiety (MA) is a feeling of apprehension and fear related to mathematics (e.g., Ashcraft, 2002). High levels of MA have serious implications for a persons life prospects, as they can lead to an avoidance of elective maths courses, which, in turn, affects peoples career opportunities (e.g., Hembree, 1990). The societal importance of MA is also underlined by the fact that, according to the latest report of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, on average 30.6% of adolescents get very nervous when they have to do maths problems (OECD, 2015). Research in this area has shown an exponential growth in recent years, with the number of papers dealing with MA increasing from 60 in the year 2000 to 330 papers published in 2015 (based on Scopus statistics accessed on 20/06/2016). Over half of these papers have reported research carried out in North America, mostly in the United States, whereas less than 20% of this work was conducted in Europe. The majority of these papers appeared in educational journals, with a smaller proportion published in cognitive or developmental journals, and even fewer in neuroscience journals or in specialist journals on emotion or stress. Against this backdrop, it is easier to see the contribution of this collection of papers to the literature. Most of the contributors are from European countries, and many papers deal with relatively less-investigated issues, including the relationship between MA and social influences, the measurement of MA, the physiological correlates of MA, and MA outside the classroom. The Topic also includes a number of review papers that, besides summarizing existing findings, highlight some important gaps in our current knowledge and make recommendations for future investigations. Finally, some papers present methodological innovations.

Does weight stigma reduce working memory? Evidence of stereotype threat susceptibility in adults with obesity

BackgroundObesity is a highly stigmatizing condition, and reduced cognitive functioning is a stereotypical trait ascribed to individuals with obesity. In the present work, we tested the hypothesis that stereotype threat (i.e., a depletion of working memory resources due to the fear of confirming a negative self-relevant stereotype when a stereotype-related ability is assessed) contributes to cognitive deficits in individuals with obesity.MethodsComputerized tests of (a) working memory and (b) probabilistic learning—an ability unrelated with working memory—were administered to a community sample of 131 adults. Stereotype threat was manipulated by altering the alleged nature of the tasks; the tasks were alternatively labeled as intelligence tests (high stereotype threat condition), memory and learning tests (standard instructions condition), or distraction games (low stereotype threat condition).ResultsA negative relation between body mass index (BMI) and working memory emerged in both the high stereotype threat (95% CIs = −0.872, −0.175, p = 0.003) and the standard instructions conditions (95% CIs = −0.974, −0.153, p = 0.007), but not in the low stereotype threat condition (95% CIs = −0.266, 0.430, p = 0.643). No effect emerged on probabilistic learning.ConclusionStereotype threat is associated with impaired working memory of individuals with obesity. Implications for researchers and clinicians are discussed.

Il peso dello stigma: gli effetti di stereotipi e pregiudizio sulla salute delle persone obese

Le persone obese costituiscono una delle categorie sociali piu colpite da stereotipi, pregiudizi e discriminazioni. In questa rassegna gli autori descrivono gli studi che, in particolare negli ultimi dieci anni, hanno documentato l’impatto negativo dello stigma legato al peso sulla salute e sul benessere psico- fisico delle persone obese. Verranno illustrati lavori correlazionali e sperimentali che evidenziano come, a parita di sovrappeso, le esperienze di stigmatizzazione e di discriminazione percepita riducano il benessere psicologico, incrementino il rischio di patologie organiche correlate all’obesita e riducano la probabilita di adottare comportamenti alimentari corretti e un livello di esercizio fisico adeguato. Verranno inoltre discussi i lavori che individuano negli atteggiamenti negativi e nei comportamenti discriminatori (o percepiti come tali) del personale medico un possibile ostacolo alla fruizione dei servizi sanitari da parte delle persone obese. L’insieme dei risultati suggerisce l’importanza di prevedere, nella progettazione di interventi di prevenzione e riduzione del sovrappeso, azioni di contrasto allo stigma e di supporto psico-sociale per le persone che ne sono colpite.

PIH14 DETECTION OF SEMANTIC AMBIGUITY IN THE ITALIAN CHILD-FRIENDLY EQ-5D VERSION

(0.018; 90%CI). The oneand two-period lagged PAT_AP (0.451 & 0.297; 99%CI) and LIFEXP65 (0.018; 99%CI) were highly significant and PHARM_R&D (0.166; 90%CI) was marginally significant. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to effects in HCE in previous studies there is an ageing effect (pull factor) causing rising EPD as well as for pharmaceutical innovations. Additionally, we found a push factor, namely R&D expenditures of pharmaceutical industry causing increasing EPD and innovations. Increasing doctors’ consultations lead to decreasing EPD maybe caused by successful application of lower medical therapies or by additional following non-medical therapies which are not affecting EPD.