Sara Alfieri

Overall and unique similarities between parents’ values and adolescent or emerging adult children’s values

The transmission of values between generations has gained more and more research interest over the last few years. One important outcome of the process of value transmission is the degree of similarity between parents and their children, that may vary across childs developmental stages. This study aimed to estimate the cultural stereotype effect on parent-child value similarity in adolescence and in emerging adulthood. Participants were 423 Italian fathers, mothers, and their adolescent (56.7%) or emerging adult (43.3%) children, who were asked to fill out the Portrait Values Questionnaire. Parent-child value similarity was small in size among families with adolescents, and significantly higher among families with emerging adults. Nevertheless, after removing stereotype effects, this difference disappeared, suggesting that the higher parent-emerging adult value similarity was to a great extent socially derived. Implications of this finding were discussed.

Young Italian NEETs (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) and the Influence of Their Family Background.

This work investigates the relationship between family variables (parents’ educational level, relationship quality, intrusiveness, support, and autonomy) and young Italians’ status as NEETs (Not in Employment, Education, or Training). We used data from a representative sample of 9,087 young Italians. Each participant filled out an anonymous online questionnaire that contained several scales to measure the variables mentioned above. The results reveal that parents’ educational level and support have a protective effect on the risk of becoming a NEET for both genders. Autonomy has a specific negative impact for males while intrusiveness has a positive impact mainly for females.

The morality of men convicted of domestic violence: how it supports the maintenance of the moral self-concept

The phenomenon of abuse toward women is a prevalent social problem in most societies. In the present work, we take into consideration the abusive man’s point of view with particular reference to the sphere of their morality and set as aims: (a) to show that high levels of self-deception are mediating between an extreme moral worldview, called moral absolutism, and a functional high moral self-concept, (b) to analyze the relation of the five moral foundations (Harm, Fairness, Ingroup, Authority, and Purity) with this moral absolutism, and (c) to test a comprehensive model of the relationships between the individuated variables in the preceding hypotheses. Participants are 264 men convicted of domestic violence offenses, who, having begun court-mandated psychological treatment lasting 12 weeks, have filled out a self-report questionnaire during the second meeting. The results reveal that (a) self-deception is as a full mediator between moral absolutism and moral self-concept in men convicted of domestic violence and in such a way that the more they felt right about their moral beliefs, the more they deceived themselves, and the more they felt good about themselves, (b) the moral foundations could be explaining moral absolutism understood as a rigid moral vision of the world, and (c) the tested model produces satisfying fit indices. Finally, we discuss the applied implications, for example, a key role can be played by the family and the school: Moral socialization begins within the family and there finds the first push that will accompany it the rest of life.

Patterns of Alcohol Use in Italian Emerging Adults: A Latent Class Analysis Study

Aims The goals of the current study were to identify latent classes of alcohol users among Italian emerging adults (18-33 years), examine differences in the class solution based on socio-demographic characteristics, and examine whether differences exist across classes in experiencing different types of alcohol-related negative consequences. Methods Participants (N = 5955; 62.72% female; mean age 27.19 years) were drawn from a pre-recruited Web panel designed to be representative of the Italian young adults (18-33 years) population. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify common patterns of alcohol use. Results Four classes of drinking patterns were identified: (a) Current Nondrinkers (15%); (b) Weekend Non-Risky Drinkers (51%); (c) Weekend Risky Drinkers (20%); and (d) Daily Drinkers (13%). The number and type of classes did not differ across several demographic variables, although proportions within classes varied by sex, age, occupation status and geographic area. Weekend Risky Drinkers experienced the greatest number of alcohol-related negative consequences. Conclusions The great majority of the sample displayed drinking patterns with relatively infrequent involvement in risky drinking. Preventive interventions should, instead, target those who drink alcohol on weekends only, but show the greatest negative consequences. Short Summary Four classes of drinking patterns were identified in a large representative sample of Italian young adults. The great majority of the sample displayed drinking patterns with relatively little involvement in risky drinking, though those misusing alcohol at weekends were at greatest risk to experience alcohol-related negative consequences.

Authority Relationship From a Societal Perspective: Social Representations of Obedience and Disobedience in Austrian Young Adults

Obedience and disobedience have always been salient issues for both civil society and social psychologists. Since Milgram’s first studies on destructive obedience there has not been a bottom-up definition of what obedience and disobedience mean. The current study aimed at investigating the social representations young adults use to define and to co-construct knowledge about obedience and disobedience in Austria. One hundred fifty four (106 females, 68.8%) Austrian young adults (Mean age = 22.9; SD = 3.5) completed a mixed-method questionnaire comprising open-ended questions and free word associations. Overall obedience and disobedience are respectively defined as conformity and non-conformity to regulations, ranging from implicit social norms to explicit formal laws. Authority is multi-faceted and has a central role in orienting obedience and disobedience. Further fundamental determinants of the authority relationship and relevant application of the results are discussed in this paper.

If It Helps, I'll Carry On: Factors Supporting the Participation of Native and Immigrant Youth in Belgium and Germany

ABSTRACT In this article we propose looking into some factors for Civic Participation and the intention to continue to participate among local (Study I) and immigrant (Study II) young people living in Belgium and Germany. In Study I, 1,079 young people (Mage = 19.23, 44.9% males) completed a self-report questionnaire asking about their Civic Participation. Multiple linear regressions reveal (a) evidence of a pool of variables significantly linked to Civic Participation: Institutional Trust, Collective-Efficacy, Parents’ and Peers’ Support, Political Interest, Motivations and (b) that Civic Participation, along with the mediation of the Participations Efficacy, explains the Intention to Continue to Participate. An explanatory model was constructed on participation and the Intention to Continue to Participate on behalf of the native youth. This model is invariant between the two countries. In Study II, 276 young Turkish immigrants (Mage = 20.80, 49.3% males) recruited in Belgium and Germany filled out the same questionnaire as in Study I. The same analysis was conducted as for Study I, and they provided the same results as the native group, highlighting the invariance of the model between natives and immigrants. Applicative repercussions are discussed.

Sibling Relation, Ethnic Prejudice, Direct and Indirect Contact: There is a Connection?

The literature on the socialisation of prejudice has concentrated on “vertical” processes (from parents to children), ignoring siblings’ contribution. This work aims to investigate the effect of contact (direct or indirect) with the outgroup that young people experience a) directly or b) indirectly through older or younger siblings’ friendships. Our hypotheses are a) that young people with friends in the outgroup will report lower prejudice levels (direct contact), as will young people who have older or younger siblings with friends in the outgroup (indirect contact); b) that other forms of contact such as having classmates/coworkers, neighbours, or employees are not effective in reducing either direct or indirect prejudice. 88 sibling dyads were administered the blatant and subtle prejudice questionnaire (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995) and some ad hoc items aimed at investigating the typology of the contact experienced. The analysis of mixed ANOVA reveals that the first hypothesis was partially confirmed in that prejudice (subtle for the younger sibling and blatant for the older one) decreases in a statistically significant way only when there is the co-presence of direct and indirect contact. The second hypothesis is fully confirmed as no statistically significant differences emerged between the groups.

(Dis)Obedience in U.S. American Young Adults: A New Way to Describe Authority Relationships

The present research aims to investigate the psychosocial phenomena of obedience and disobedience in young adults residing in the United States, as a replication of a previous study by Pozzi, Fattori, Bocchiaro, and Alfieri (2014). We utilize social representation theory as a means to better understand and define (dis)obedience, a behavioral dimension of the concept of authority. The analysis was conducted using a concurrent mixed methods design. One hundred and fifty-one participants completed a self-report online questionnaire. The results indicate that participants see both obedience and disobedience as related to an authority. Obedience was mostly perceived as an ability to be responsive to laws, social norms, or physical authorities, as well as a positive social object. Disobedience, instead, was defined as a failure of a negative line of conduct. These results differ from previous research, contributing meaningfully and pragmatically to the theoretical debate on (dis)obedience. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Italian version of the Value of Children questionnaire: Factorial structure and measurement invariance across gender and generations

The Value of Children (VOC) questionnaire has been widely used to measure the value of children, that is, the reasons for wanting to have a child and expected benefits from becoming a parent. In this study we aim at analyzing the factorial structure of the Italian version of the VOC questionnaire. Data from 1,027 Italian participants were submitted to confirmatory factor analysis to test three models (a two-factor solution, a three-factor solution, and a four-factor solution), reflecting alternative representations of VOC dimensionality presented in the literature, and to investigate the measurement invariance of the best factor model across gender and family generations. The results indicated that the four-factor model (Economic-normative VOC, Emotional VOC, Family VOC, and Old-age security VOC) presented the best fit and parameters that were cross-group invariant. Implications for theory, assessment, and future research are discussed.

Somiglianze e differenze nel pregiudizio di genere di genitori e figli: l’effetto dell’intreccio tra famiglia e cultura

Few studies have investigated the similarities and differences in gender prejudice between parents and their offspring. This work is divided into two phases: our goal in Phase I was to investigate whether any similarity exists in the prejudice response profiles of parents and their young adult offspring. Phase II sought to uncover the levels of unique similarity between parents and child in gender prejudice (cultural stereotype effect). Participants were 293 Italian families (young adult child, mother and father, for a total of 879 people). Each participants completed the Ambivalent Sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996) and Ambivalence toward Men (Glick & Fiske, 1999) scales. As our research included family data, specific analysis were used, such dyadic indexes (Kenny, Kashy & Cook, 2006). Results reveal that (1) the response profiles of parents and offspring are dissimilar, and (2) the slight shared variance between them is determined by the cultural stereotype effect.