N Businaro

Pain and emotions reported after childbirth and recalled 6 months later: The role of controllability

The aim of this longitudinal study was twofold: to investigate the relationship between subjectively evaluated control, positive and negative emotional feelings, and pain intensity during childbirth; to assess the recall of these aspects of childbirth experience 6 months after delivery. Participants were 123 women who delivered naturally and spoke fluent Italian. Results showed that both immediately after delivery and 6 months later, higher subjective controllability was related to less severe reported pain, more intense positive emotions and less intense negative emotions. Furthermore, although there was no significant bias in the vividness of the recall, 6 months after delivery women reported higher subjective controllability, more intense positive emotions, less intense negative emotions and less intense pain. It is concluded that in preparing women for childbirth, two aspects deserve particular attention: the enhancement of subjectively perceived controllability and the possibility to work on both negative and positive emotions.

Metacognitive reflection in online environments and self-study in university courses

The metacognitive processes of critical thinking, regulation and guiding of cognitive mechanisms are fundamental in promoting self-regulated learning, which, in turn, is crucial for academic success. ICT offers significant possibilities for supporting these capacities. We describe two different experiences in which tools for metacognitive reflection have been implemented in online environments in order to sustain self-regulation in university study. In both cases the students participated in online units – one on educational psychology, the other on study methodology – followed by discussions for stimulating metacognitive reflection. In both experiences, the proposed tools promoted advanced epistemic activation and better awareness of personal self-regulation skills in study processes.