Adapting to the Evolving Digital Landscape: Development and Validation of the VirtHuLab Self Efficacy Scale.

Measuring people's self-efficacy in navigating the digital world has become essential in an age where the Internet permeates every aspect of life. This paper describes the creation and validation of the VISES (Virthulab Internet Self-Efficacy Scale), an instrument designed for the modern Internet environment. The way we work, communicate, and access information is changing as a result of the digital revolution, and VISES encapsulates the abilities and self-assurance needed to succeed in this Web 4.

Abdominal Acupuncture for Non-Responding TMD Patients: a Retrospective Observational Study in General Practice.

Background: Pain related to Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) is severe, negatively affecting patients' quality of life, and often resistant to conventional treatments. Abdominal Acupuncture (AA) is known to be particularly effective for pain, especially chronic and musculoskeletal pain, but it is still poorly studied and never investigated in TMD patients.

Objectives: To analyze the efficacy of AA for the treatment of patients with subacute and chronic pain related to TMD and non-responding to previous conventional therapies (occlusal splint, medications, physical therapy).

Development and Validation of the Digital Life Balance (DLB) Scale: A Brand-New Measure for Both Harmonic and Disharmonic Use of ICTs.

The use of new technologies and information communication technology services (ICTs) has greatly increased, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an irrevocable change in people's work-life balance (WLB). Despite the thriving literature on the dysfunctional use of new technologies, a functional use of ICTs also seems to be possible. Inspired by the theory of psychology of harmony and referring to behavioral addiction models and substance use models, we defined the construct of digital life balance to indicate a harmonic balance between digital life and real life.

The Long-COVID Experience Changed People's Vaccine Hesitancy but Not Their Vaccination Fear.

Starting in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible, worldwide, for millions of deaths and patients with long-COVID syndrome. In an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, the blanket administration of COVID-19 vaccines proved to be the most effective measure, yet the existence and availability of functional vaccines did not and, still, do not ensure the willingness and intent of people to be vaccinated. This study assessed the similarities and differences in vaccine fears and vaccine hesitancy through between clusters of subjects: people that were not infected with COVID-19, people that had COVID but did not develop long-lasting symptoms, and people that were infected with COVID and developed long-COVID syndrome.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Types and Social Media: Are Social Media Important and Impactful for OCD People?

Social media (SM) are the new standard for social interaction and people with OCD use such platforms like everyone else. However, the research on these individuals provides limited, sporadic, and difficult-to-generalize data outside of social-media evidence for one specific context concerning how SM is experienced by people with OCD. Our cross-sectional study involved 660 participants (71.