Publications by authors named "Ambra Gentile"

The advent of deepfake technology has raised significant concerns regarding its impact on individuals' cognitive processes and beliefs, considering the pervasive relationships between technology and human cognition. This study delves into the psychological literature surrounding deepfakes, focusing on people's public representation of this emerging technology and highlighting prevailing themes, opinions, and emotions. Under the media framing, the theoretical framework is crucial in shaping individuals' cognitive schemas regarding technology.

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(1) Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic was a source of stress for families, this study aimed to investigate the influence of dispositional factors, such as personality traits and sociodemographic variables, on parental burnout among Italian parents during two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the study assessed personality traits and sociodemographic variables as protective or risk factors for parental burnout levels. (2) Methods: The study consisted of two cross-sectional samples collected during the second and fourth waves of the Italian pandemic.

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Background: Parent vaccine hesitancy is a sensitive topic despite the benefits associated with children's vaccination. Especially regarding the COVID-19 vaccination, parents displayed concerns about children's vaccination, questioning their effectiveness and security. Although several studies were conducted on the general population, few studies investigated this relationship on parents' intentions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cancer patients often experience long-term sleep disorders, which can be alleviated through non-drug strategies like exercise.
  • This systematic review examined the effects of resistance training (RT) on sleep outcomes in cancer survivors, alongside existing evidence supporting aerobic training.
  • Results from 21 studies indicated significant improvements in sleep quality and insomnia among participants who engaged in combined aerobic and resistance exercises over a 12-week period.
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Introduction: Inclusive physical activity games at school can be useful for teachers dealing with students with disabilities. The use of inclusive strategies and games can be directly linked to teachers' self-efficacy and familiarity with the inclusive strategies, while it could be indirectly influenced by their attitude toward inclusion and, in a smaller part, by social desirability in their response. Moreover, teachers' responses could be different among the different school grades.

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The switching from traditional to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for students, determining an increase in physical and mental health problems. The current paper applied a two-step cluster analysis in a large sample of = 1028 university students (Mage = 21.10 years, SD = 2.

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Background. The limitations imposed by governments for containing the spread of COVID-19 have affected familial relationships, especially those of families dealing with children with special needs or chronic illness conditions. The current study aims to better understand what pathological/disability condition has impacted parental resources, sense of competence, and perception of children’s executive functioning the most.

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Background: Many research studies have investigated motor impairments and delayed development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). However, very few studies detected these features in adults with DS. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between motor coordination and global development in subjects with DS, including adults.

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The sports environment can be considered as a context characterized by interactions typical of social groups, where children have the chance to learn good values. Positive and negative behaviours in sports, also called prosocial and antisocial behaviours, have been studied according to a moral perspective, as has doping behaviour, taking into consideration the concept of moral disengagement. Moral disengagement in children has been associated with maladaptive behaviours later in life, even though it should disappear with growth.

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Background: This systematic review aims to identify the effects of exercise interventions in patients with breast cancer (BCP) and survivors (BCS) on selected variables of physical fitness.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Medline and Scopus. Randomized controlled trials with isolated exercise interventions in BCP and BCS women (< 5 years from therapy completion) were included.

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(1) Background: Psychological parameters are relevant in the practice of judo. Previous studies have shown that parameters such as anxiety or motivation can have a negative or positive impact on the athlete's performance and general well-being, depending on the athlete's perception. This systematic review aimed to summarize the studies examining the influence of various psychological parameters on well-being and performance in judo athletes; (2) Methods: We followed preferred reporting elements for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic situation with the lockdown of public life caused serious changes in people's everyday practices. The study evaluates the differences between Slovenia and Italy in health-related everyday practices induced by the restrictive measures during first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The cross-sectional cohort study examined changes through an online survey conducted in nine European countries from April 15-28, 2020.

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Aggression and interpersonal violence (IV) against children and youth are issues in contemporary society. The current study reports on the youth athletes' perception of the aggression and IV prevalence and its manifestation forms in a Serbian context. The sample included athletes ( = 2091) between the age of 11 and 18 years.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we conduct daily life, as well as sports training and sports competitions. Given the stress produced by COVID-19, and the "bubble" safety measures for the World Sambo Championship, held in Novi Sad, from the 6th to the 8th of November, 2020, athletes might have experienced more stress than athletes normally would in non-pandemic conditions. Therefore, the current study aimed to create a psychological profile of sambo athletes participating in the Sambo World Championship and living in this condition.

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Aging and menopause are associated with morphological and functional changes which may lead to loss of muscle mass and therefore quality of life. Resistance training (RT) is an effective training mode to increase muscle mass. We reviewed the existing literature to identify studies implementing RT protocols and evaluating muscle hypertrophy exclusively in healthy, postmenopausal and elderly women.

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Background: Rapid weight loss (RWL) is commonly practiced in combat sports. Both magnitude and methods used to induce RWL are largely similar among combat sports, but currently, there is no data on RWL methodology used by sambo athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine RWL procedures sambo athletes apply to lose weight rapidly.

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The aim of the current study is to examine gender, age. and cross-country differences in fear of COVID-19 and sense of loneliness during the lockdown, by comparing people from those countries with a high rate of infections and deaths (e.g.

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Background: The use of alcohol, drugs, inhalants, and smoking tobacco may lead to mood disorders such as depression. However, knowledge on the independent contributions of the use of these substances to the risk of depression is lacking.

Methods: The study cohort consisted of 24,564 men included in the Swedish national military conscription register who were conscripted in 1969-1970 and followed until 2017.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A comprehensive search yielded 16 eligible studies, which were analyzed using meta-analytic methods, revealing significant positive effects of stretching on heart rate and pulse wave velocity.
  • * Findings indicated that stretching reduces arterial stiffness and heart rate without adverse effects in individuals with cardiovascular issues, although there is a noted lack of research on vascular adaptations to stretching.
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Purpose: Besides the evident positive effect on body development, physical activity has proven to boost executive functions, especially if the exercises are enriched with cognitive stimuli. Previous studies have shown that introducing challenging exercises in the physical activity routine can also enhance motivation. Therefore, enriching a physical education program with cognitively challenging exercises may also foster children's motivation during physical education classes, where the motivation is high at the beginning of the school year and low at the end of it.

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Dual-task (DT) consists of the performance of two tasks simultaneously. An index of DT difficulty has been linked to decreased postural control. Because a wide range of DT is employed, this study aimed to evaluate its effects in static balance in older adults.

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Background: The extreme social circumstances caused by declared COVID-19 pandemic deeply intervene people's everyday life and should not be neglected but seen through the view of social reality pinpointing the 'ordinary' people. In this article, authors explored basic segments of everyday and their subjective perception to what extent sleeping habits, physical inactivity, physical activity, nutritional habits and smoking have changed.

Methods: The online survey was conducted in nine European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo*, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain) in 4108 participants, aged 15-82 years.

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Purpose: The effects of physical exercise on executive functions (EFs) are well-documented. EFs are involved in daily activities, and their development determines the quality of people's future life, both in terms of mental health and quality of life. The purpose of the current paper is to evaluate the effects of a physical education program, elaborated within the Enriched Sports Activity Program (ESA Program), an Erasmus + Project, on EFs, namely, visuospatial working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and task switching.

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