Publications by authors named "Daniela Caso"

Despite population-based cancer screening programmes effectively decreasing mortality, participation rates are unsatisfactory for both cervical and breast screening. This research tested an integrated theory of planned behaviour model applied to cervical cancer screening (CCS; Study 1) and breast cancer screening (BCS; Study 2) attendance. Women residing in Campania (Italy) and belonging to each screening target population joined two independent surveys (Study 1:  = 332,  = 41.

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Despite the effectiveness of cancer screening (CS) in providing timely diagnoses and early treatments, the participation of citizens remains very low in particular in Southern Italy. This study aims to investigate the meanings that intervene in the relationship between the individual and their active participation in CSs within public healthcare. A total of 101 ad hoc semi-structured interviews were collected with CS users in public service of Campania Region, Italy.

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Vaccine hesitancy represents a major barrier to achieving Covid-19 vaccination coverage, including in Italy, where the vaccination rates suggest that Covid-19 vaccination has not been fully integrated into people's routine immunization schedules. While quantitative studies have generated ample data on factors influencing vaccination decisions, rarely was an overall picture of people's actual views and experiences with Covid-19 vaccines provided. To address this gap, this qualitative study aimed to explore, from a psychosocial perspective, the relationships between perceptions of Covid-19 vaccines, traditional vaccines, and general approaches to prevention.

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Background: Disgust, embarrassment, and fear can hinder the attendance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. However, individuals can respond to these emotions differently. The present study tested whether reappraising a negative stimulus versus avoiding a negative stimulus is associated with age; whether these two emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal and situation selection) moderate the effects of disgust, embarrassment and fear on CRC screening intention; and the efficacy of a message based on participants' preferred emotion regulation strategy.

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Vaccine hesitancy poses a significant threat to the health of individuals across all age groups, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cross-sectional study, an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was applied to investigate psychosocial variables predicting intention to vaccinate children under 12 against COVID-19 in a sample of 420 Italian parents (Mean age = 40.4, = 5.

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Following the One Health approach, designing multidimensional strategies to orient healthcare in promoting health and preventive processes has become paramount. In particular, in the prevention domain, cancer screening attendance is still unsatisfactory in many populations and requires specific consideration. To this end, following a research-intervention logic, this study aims to investigate the experiences and meanings that users of public cancer screening services associate with prevention, particularly participation in the screenings.

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Background: Mass vaccination against Covid-19 has been recognised as the most effective strategy for overcoming the pandemic emergency and remains crucial in the ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of the virus. The present study aimed to test the efficacy of an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model in predicting vaccination intention in three different phases of the pandemic. Understanding how psychological drivers of vaccine acceptance may have changed throughout the pandemic is essential for informing public health strategies and addressing vaccine hesitancy, even in the current post-pandemic context.

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Emotional forecasting, meaning how a person anticipates feeling as a consequence of their choices, drives healthcare decision-making. Research, however, suggests that people often do not fully anticipate or otherwise grasp the future emotional impacts of their decisions. Emotional reappraisal strategies, such as putting emotions into words and sharing emotions with others, may mitigate potential undesirable effects of emotions on decision-making.

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Despite the evidence that mothers' food purchasing behavior impacts the quality of children's diet, few studies have explored psycho-social factors influencing how mothers choose the food to buy for their children. To fill this gap, this study tested an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to predict mothers' tendency to seek information on food labels before purchasing food for children. Participants included 311 Italian mothers who completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their information-seeking behavior, TPB variables, anticipated regret and healthy-eater identity.

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The Mediterranean diet (MD) is one of the healthiest and most sustainable food regimes. Nevertheless, MD diffusion is still limited, emphasizing the need to understand the psychosocial factors that could predict and promote its adoption. Starting from an integrated model of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the present randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of manipulating motivation (autonomous vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the psychosocial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the experiences of 21 Italian women during the perinatal period, highlighting a lack of research in this area.
  • Findings show that social support was crucial in helping women cope with uncertainties related to childbirth, including concerns about intrapartum care and Covid-19.
  • The study suggests the need for evidence-based policies to enhance women's wellbeing during pregnancy, emphasizing the importance of consistent healthcare and support systems.
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Research has identified a wide range of psychosocial factors associated to choosing to engage in ongoing cancer screenings. Nevertheless, a systematic review of the theoretical frameworks and constructs underpinning studies on breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening participation has yet to be conducted. As part of the action-research project "Miriade," the present study aims to identifying the main theoretical frameworks and constructs adopted in the literature over the past five years to explain cancer screening participation.

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Previous research investigating antecedents of online self-disclosure pointed out two perspectives: social compensation and enhancement hypotheses, showing controversial findings. Furthermore, most contributions have focused on social networking sites (SNSs) considered mainstream, like Facebook and Instagram, and such results are often considered universally valid for all SNSs. Tumblr is a less-studied SNS with peculiar features—such as anonymity, higher control over the presentation of personal aspects, supportive communities—that could particularly lead individuals to self-disclose.

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Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many conspiracy theories have spread widely, which has the potential to reduce adherence to recommended preventive measures. Specifically, anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs can have a strong negative impact on COVID-19 vaccination attitude and intention. The present study aimed to clarify how such beliefs can reduce vaccination intention, exploring the possible mediating roles of attitude toward vaccination, trust in science, and trust in government, among a sample of 822 unvaccinated Italian adults (Women = 67.

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Cancer screening programs are public health interventions beneficial to early diagnoses and timely treatments. Despite the investment of health policies in this area, many people in the recommended age groups do not participate. While the literature is mainly focused on obstacles and factors enabling access to health services, a gap from the point of view of the target population concerns healthcare providers.

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Objective: The present study aims at systematically reviewing research conducted on factors promoting breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings participation.

Methods: A literature search in MEDLINE/PubMed and PsycInfo from January 2017 to October 2021 was performed. Data extraction, researchers' full agreement and the inclusion criteria produced 102 eligible studies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding the factors that influence people's intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is crucial for effective vaccination campaigns.
  • An experimental study with 484 Italian adults tested the impact of messages that combined cognitive attitudes with emotional reactions (positive pride or negative regret).
  • Results indicated that participants exposed to the message with positive affect had a stronger intention to get vaccinated, highlighting the importance of targeting both cognitive beliefs and positive emotions in future vaccination campaigns.
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With the COVID-19 outbreak, structural constraints and social psychological factors changed the dietary habits of many people. This two-wave longitudinal study performed in Italy aimed to explore people's perceptions of changes in healthy and unhealthy food consumption before and during the first lockdown and the possible persistence of such changes after its official end, as a function of the number of people cohabiting, negative emotion activation, and individual eating styles. A total of 728 Italian adults completed self-reported food consumption measures and related psychological variables at both time points.

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Objective: This study aimed to identify the psychosocial factors involved in Italian parents' intentions not to vaccinate their children. For this purpose, we used an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which included both proximal and distal factors influencing intention not to vaccinate children.

Design: Participants included 447 Italian parents, each completed an online questionnaire, which measured intention not to vaccinate children, attitude toward not vaccinating, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, anticipated regret, negative attitude toward vaccines, risk perception, trust in healthcare institutions, trust in science and religious morality.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Results indicated that academic stress led to an increase in unhealthy food intake for Italian students but decreased junk food consumption for French students.
  • * Additionally, negative emotional eating and BMI influenced the relationship between stress and specific types of food consumption, while restrained eating did not show a significant moderating effect.
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Background: This study aimed to test the efficacy of a messaging intervention targeting psychological or physical benefits plus goal setting and self-monitoring strategies to promote walking activity in the university context.

Methods: Two hundred and thirty university students from the University of Naples Federico II were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: physical health messages + self-monitoring, psychological health (well-being) messages + self-monitoring, self-monitoring, and no messages. All three intervention conditions were exposed to goal setting (doing at least 7,000 steps a day) and participants were required to monitor their daily progress through the specific step counting app.

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The present study focused on an environmental scandal that occurred in Italy, the toxic waste scandal, which caused consumer concerns related to the safety of food produced in the affected region, as well as massive market reduction in products associated with the polluted area. Based on a representative sample of Italian households ( = 1134), this study applied an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to analyze consumer purchases of regional food products after this environmental hazard. In addition to attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, the model included risk perception, trust, and actual purchases.

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The present research focused on water intake (WI) in young adults. Study 1 (N = 272) was a correlational study and showed affective attitude, perceived behavioural control, past behaviour and anticipated negative affective reactions (ANAR) to predict WI intentions. It also showed intentions, instrumental attitude, perceived behavioural control, and past behaviour to predict WI prospectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • The research investigated whether sending affective or instrumental text messages could boost fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) among adolescents compared to a control group that received no messages.
  • A total of 1,065 teenagers from a high school in Southern Italy participated, with 634 completing the study by receiving daily messages for two weeks, aimed at either emotional or practical benefits of eating fruits and vegetables.
  • Results indicated that both types of messages improved FVI, but affective messages were especially effective, influencing attitudes and intentions toward healthy eating more than instrumental messages.
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