Pio Enrico Ricci Bitti

A cognitive and an affective dimension of alexithymia in six languages and seven populations

The Dutch Bermond–Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) is translated into various languages. The aim of this research was to establish the factor structure of subscales on seven cultural groups. The BVAQ consists of five subscales of eight items each: Emotionalising, Fantasising, Analysing, Identifying, and Verbalising emotions. The BVAQ was administered to a group of Dutch students (n=375), a group of English students (n=175), a group of Australian students, university employees and visitors (n=216), a group of French speaking Belgian students (n=175), a group of Italian people (n=791; a mix of various clinical groups), a group of Polish people (n=427; also a mix of various clinical groups) and a group of Russian people (n=141; general population). The hypothesised two-factor structure of an affective alexithymia dimension (Emotionalising, Fantasising) and a cognitive alexithymia dimension (Insight and Verbalising), with “Analysing emotions” loading on both factors, was clearly supported by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Both orthogonal and oblique principal components analyses (PCA), without restriction concerning the number of factors, provided the same two-factor solution in all groups explaining between 55% and 64% of the variance. Oblique rotation further demonstrated that the correlations between these two factors were low in all populations. The combined CFA and PCA results, therefore, indicated that a model with two independent factors has to be preferred over the model assuming two correlated factors.

Comparison of cognitive-behavioural therapy and psychodynamic therapy in the treatment of anxiety among university students: an effectiveness study

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural (CBT) and psychodynamic (PDT) therapies in the treatment of anxiety among university students. To this aim, the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) was completed by 30 students assigned to CBT and by 24 students assigned to PDT, both at the beginning and at the end of treatment. The main problem presented by all patients was anxiety. Except for one sub-scale, we observed significant differences in the scores of all sub-scales and scales of SQ, with lower scores at the end of the therapy, indicating lower distress, regardless of the type of treatment. The present findings suggest that both therapies are effective in the treatment of anxiety among university students.

Effectiveness of Psychological Treatments Delivered at a Counseling Service for Students

This study adds to the international literature on the assessment of the effectiveness of psychotherapies delivered by university counseling centers. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of psychotherapy in 226 students (179 women, 47 men; M age = 24.8 yr., SD = 4.0) who started psychotherapy treatment at the counseling service of the University of Bologna, Italy, between January 2008 and October 2010. The Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) was completed twice, before and after the psychotherapeutic treatment. Significant improvements were observed after therapy in all the SQ dimensions scores, indicating the effectiveness of the therapy in reducing the students distress.

Short-term effectiveness of psychotherapy treatments delivered at a university counselling service

ABSTRACT This work aimed to evaluate the short-term effectiveness of psychotherapy delivered at the counselling service of the University of Bologna (Italy), by means of a single group longitudinal study including a 6-months follow-up. To this end, sixty-six students completed the 6-months follow-up and filled in the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) three times, during the first and the last session of the psychotherapy, and 6 months after its conclusion. The majority of students presented a problem concerning mood (nu2009=u200935; 53.03%); students completed a programme of psychodynamic therapy (nu2009=u200938, 57.58%) or cognitive-behavioural therapy (nu2009=u200928, 42.42%). With reference to 10 out of 12 SQ dimensions, significant improvements were observed both after therapy and at the 6-months follow-up, in comparison to pre-treatment; furthermore no significant differences were observed between the end of psychotherapy and the follow-up. The present data indicate the effectiveness of the therapy in reducing students’ distress at the end of treatment and also in the short-term.

Benessere sociale e prospettiva temporale in età anziana

La letteratura gerontologica contemporanea evidenzia nel mantenimento di una vita sociale attiva e partecipativa uno dei pilastri fondamentali dell’invecchiamento positivo (Rowe e Khan, 1997; Stevernik, Lindenberg, Slaets, 2005). Lo studio ha esaminato la relazione tra il benessere sociale, definito da Keyes (1998) come un costrutto formato da cinque dimensioni (integrazione sociale, accettazione sociale, attualizzazione sociale, contributo sociale, coerenza sociale) e la prospettiva temporale, definita da Zimbardo e Boyd come composta da cinque dimensioni (passato positivo, passato negativo, presente edonistico, presente fatalistico, futuro). Hanno partecipato allo studio 138 anziani (eta media 74,73 anni). I risultati evidenziano una relazione complessa tra la prospettiva temporale ed il benessere sociale. Il passato negativo ed il presente fatalistico influenzano negativamente quasi tutte le dimensioni del benessere sociale, mentre il futuro presenta una relazione positiva con le dimensioni dell’integrazione sociale e dell’attualizzazione sociale. Il presente edonistico esercita un’influenza positiva sul benessere sociale generale. Il genere, il livello di istruzione e la composizione del nucleo familiare influenzano anch’essi la prospettiva temporale ed il livello di benessere sociale percepito dagli anziani.

University counseling service for improving students’ mental health.

The main aims of this study were to provide an initial sociodemographic and clinical characterization of university students’ academic and psychological functioning and to investigate and compare the feasibility and clinical utility of psychotherapies (cognitive behavior vs. psychodynamic) delivered at a large University in Northern Italy for improving university students’ mental health, using self and observer-report measures. One hundred forty-9 students (102 women; MAge = 24.55, SD = 3.35) were consecutively interviewed and extensively assessed by independent clinicians of the Service before and after the intervention, using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation and the Global Assessment Scale. Patients were enrolled in an individual psychotherapy and allocated to cognitive behavior or psychodynamic approach according to specific criteria. Psychotherapists who were not involved in the assessment phase administered the treatment. The majority of students was female and the most severe conditions emerged among students enrolled in philosophy, arts, and communication and medical schools. At posttreatment, all students improved both in terms of well-being and distress, regardless of the type of psychotherapy received. This improvement emerged both by students’ self-report and clinicians’ evaluations. These findings point to the feasibility and clinical utility of psychotherapy in promoting well-being and reducing young adults’ distress. The importance of university counseling services for promoting students’ mental health, and a positive transition to adulthood is discussed.

Benessere psicologico e prospettiva temporale negli adolescenti e nei giovani

Lo studio ha analizzato la relazione tra il benessere psicologico e la prospettiva temporale in un gruppo di adolescenti (eta media 16,65 anni) ed un gruppo di giovani-adulti (eta media 22,57 anni). Gli adolescenti sono stati suddivisi in due gruppi, media adolescenza e tarda adolescenza. Nei giovani-adulti si osserva un punteggio piu alto nella dimensione del futuro rispetto ai due gruppi di adolescenti, mentre il presente riporta un punteggio piu basso rispetto sempre agli adolescenti. Il benessere psicologico presenta anch’esso un punteggio piu elevato nei giovani-adulti rispetto agli adolescenti di entrambe le fasce d’eta. Sono state condotte tre analisi correlazionali separate per i tre gruppi mentre l’analisi della covarianza ha verificato l’influenza dell’eta sulle relazioni tra prospettiva temporale e benessere nei tre gruppi. Negli adolescenti il presente e positivamente correlato con le Relazioni Positive con gli altri e negativamente con lo Scopo di Vita e con il Benessere Psicologico generale. Nei giovani-adulti esso correla negativamente con il benessere psicologico generale. Negli adolescenti il futuro e correlato positivamente con l’Autoaccettazione, le Relazioni Positive con gli Altri, lo Scopo di Vita, ed alla Crescita Personale. Nei giovaniadulti il futuro e correlato positivamente con lo Scopo di Vita, il Dominio Ambientale, la Crescita Personale, l’Autoaccettazione, ed il benessere psicologico globale. Lo studio evidenzia la rilevanza della prospettiva temporale centrata sul futuro per lo sviluppo e l’attualizzazione delle risorse e delle potenzialita nel passaggio dall’adolescenza all’eta di giovani-adulti e del tempo presente per la costruzione di relazioni significative unicamente nei due gruppi di adolescenti.

Sensibilità Chimica Multipla (SCM): componenti psicologiche nell’evoluzione del disturbo

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS): psychological factors in the developement of the disorder Introduction. - Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a disorder characterized by symptoms of unknown etiology that have been attributed by patients to multiple environmental exposures when other medical explanations have been excluded. Although the pathogenesis of MCS is unknown, both physical and psychological causes have been proposed. The present qualitative study aimed to explore patients’personal experience, opinions and beliefs about MCS. Methods. Psychological counselling and semi-structured interview-guide was employed to interview 40 adults, aged 32 to 78 years, self-identified with MCS. Results. The commonly reported symptoms are hypersensitivity to the smell of chemical, headache, lack of concentration, and memory difficulties. Patients with MCS complaints claim poor quality of life, depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Conclusion. This study suggests that MCS is a chronic and disabling condition, therefore strategies are needed to improve patients’ quality of life. Understanding the impact of illness on the global health condition is crucial to communicate with and treat persons with MCS. Key words: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), environmental illness, quality study, quality of life, anxiety, depression Parole chiave: Sensibilita Chimica Multipla (SCM), malattia ambientale, studio qualitativo, qualita della vita, ansia, depressione

Promuovere il benessere sociale in adolescenza: influenza dei fattori individuali e familiari sul senso di comunità

Promuovere il benessere sociale in adolescenza: influenza dei fattori individuali e familiari sul senso di comunita - Individual and familiar factors influencing sense of community in adolescence Adopting a systemic-interactionist perspective of human development, this study was aimed to investigate the role of individual and familiar factors on sense of community in adolescence, considered a relevant index of social well-being. 464 adolescents attending different secondary schools (261 males, 203 females; mean age 15.16 s.d. 0.65) took part in the study: they were administered several questionnaires concerning the following factors: sense of community, time perspective, organization of daily agenda, coping styles, involvement in psychosocial and health risks, perceived quality of communication with parents. The results show the existence of differences between boys and girls and between adolescents attending different types of school on sense of community. Boys were higher on sense of community than girls, while adolescents attending professionals schools have the highest sense of community. A step-wise regression model evidenced gender, future type perspective, coping styles, open communication with parents as factors predicting a higher sense of community. Key words: sense of community, adolescence, time perspective.