Publications by authors named "C Novara"

Background: Despite the extensive literature on the association between perfectionism and disordered eating (DE), only scant attention has been given to the underlying processes that may mediate this relationship. The present study aimed to contribute to existing literature by investigating the direct and indirect relations between perfectionism and DE through obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and obsessive beliefs, among community adults from three different countries and cultural backgrounds (i.e.

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Background: Empirical evidence has shown that virtual reality (VR) scenarios can increase the effects of relaxation techniques, reducing anxiety by enabling people to experience emotional conditions in more vivid settings.

Objective: This pilot randomized controlled study aims to investigate whether the progressive muscle relaxation technique (PMRT) associated with a personalized scenario in VR promotes psychological well-being and facilitates the recall of relaxing images more than the standard complementary intervention that involves the integration of PMRT and guided imagery (GI).

Methods: On the basis of a longitudinal, between-subject design, 72 university students were randomly exposed to one of two experimental conditions: (1) standard complementary procedure (PMRT and GI exposure) and (2) experimental procedure (PMRT and personalized VR exposure).

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Being immersed in a natural context has a beneficial and pervasive impact on well-being. Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that can help expose people to naturalistic scenarios virtually, overcoming obstacles that prevent them from visiting real natural environments. VR could also increase engagement and relaxation in older adults with and without cognitive impairment.

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Background: Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a relatively new potential eating disorder characterized by an intense fixation on one's eating habits and the imposition of rigid and inflexible rules on oneself. Psychological factors such as obsessive-compulsive tendencies, perfectionism and self-esteem may interact in complex ways and contribute to the development and maintenance of ON.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 977 participants from Italy, Lebanon, and Poland.

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Perfectionism is considered a transdiagnostic construct that characterises eating disorders (EDs) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and that could also depict orthorexia nervosa (ON). The principal aim of this study was to investigate what dimensions of perfectionism mostly represent ON. Moreover, it was evaluated if dieting impacted the presence of orthorexic features and perfectionistic behaviour.

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