ADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS IN YOUNG CHILDREN: A UNIQUE CULTURAL COMPARISON IN ITALY.

On account of a series of unique historical events, the present-day denizens of South Tyrol inhabit a cultural, political, and linguistic autonomous region that intercalates Italians and Austrian/German Italians. We compared contemporary Italian and Austrian/German Italian girls' and boys' adaptive behaviors in everyday activities in this region. Using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, we first interviewed mothers about their children's communication, daily living, socialization, and motor skills.

Recognition of facial expressions of mixed emotions in school-age children exposed to terrorism.

This exploratory study aims at investigating the effects of terrorism on children's ability to recognize emotions. A sample of 101 exposed and 102 nonexposed children (mean age = 11 years), balanced for age and gender, were assessed 20 months after a terrorist attack in Beslan, Russia. Two trials controlled for children's ability to match a facial emotional stimulus with an emotional label and their ability to match an emotional label with an emotional context.

Validation of the Parent Health Locus of Control Scales in an Italian sample.

Aim: This study examined the psychometric properties and the replicability of De Vellis's (1993) Parent Health Locus of Control (PHLOC) scales in an Italian sample.

Method: The Italian version of PHLOC was administered to 470 mothers of birth to 3-year-old children.

Results: Varimax rotated confirmatory factor analysis identified the six original subscales, namely Child, Divine, Fate, Media, Parental, and Professional influences over child health.

Attention and memory in school-age children surviving the terrorist attack in Beslan, Russia.

Little is known about the impact of terrorism on children's cognitive functioning and school learning. The primary purpose of this study was to report on cognitive functioning among school-age children 20 months after a terrorist attack against their school. Participants included 203 directly and indirectly exposed children from Beslan and 100 nonexposed children from another town of the Russian Federation.

Psychological adjustment of adolescents 18 months after the terrorist attack in Beslan, Russia: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Children exposed to terrorism are at high risk for developing emotional and behavioral problems, but only a few studies have examined adolescents' long-term psychological adjustment after a terrorist attack. We aimed to assess psychological distress, problem behaviors, and coping in adolescents who survived the terrorist attack on School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia.

Narratives from caregivers of children surviving the terrorist attack in Beslan: issues of health, culture, and resilience.

Acts of terrorism have an extremely negative impact on the mental health of children and families. The school siege in Beslan, Russia, in 2004, represents a particularly traumatizing event as it was directed specifically at children and involved the entire community. This qualitative study aims to: (a) examine caregiver reactions to the terrorist attack in Beslan as reported 3 months after the traumatic event; (b) determine the extent to which indigenous cultural values and religious belief systems play a role in Beslan's caregivers' reactions to such event; and (c) identify variables that may function as sources of resilience to caregivers.

Infants' responses to arm restraint at 2 and 6 months: a longitudinal study.

This study examined the continuity, stability, and change of infants' responses to a frustrating event (i.e., arm restraint) between 2 and 6 months in terms of both negative reactivity and its regulation.

The role of maternal depressed mood and behavioural soothing on infant response to routine vaccination.

Background: It has been hypothesized that maternal characteristics may affect infants' experience of pain during stressful medical procedures.

Aim: To investigate the role of maternal depressed mood on infants' response to vaccination, and to determine the effectiveness of different soothing behaviours in reducing infant distress.

Methods: Twenty-eight mothers and their healthy, full-term infants participated in a prospective study.

Posttraumatic reactions among injured children and their caregivers 3 months after the terrorist attack in Beslan.

This report describes symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a group of Beslan's children (N=22) and their primary caregivers (N=20) 3 months after the children had been taken hostage in their school by a group of terrorists. Attention and memory were also measured. Children and their caretakers showed high levels of ongoing PTSD symptoms.

Conversational strategies with parents of newly diagnosed leukaemic children: an analysis of 4880 conversational turns.

Goals Of Work: Communication with parents of children newly diagnosed with cancer poses a number of problems, mostly due to the psychological effects of parental trauma. This study was designed to answer the following questions: How can we sustain the flow of communication with parents of children newly diagnosed with leukaemia so that it may become easier and more effective? What should we say to gather more reliable information from parents? How can we help empower their coping strategies?

Patients And Methods: We analysed 4880 conversational turns in individual conversations carried out between psychologists and 21 parents of children with leukaemia. The conversations were aimed at gathering information of the families' daily routines.

Quality of life, coping strategies, and family routines in children with headache.

Objective: To identify the relationship between headache severity, child coping, and quality of life (QoL) in the context of everyday family life.

Background: In the pediatric headache research only 3 studies have examined children's coping strategies and only 4 studies considered QoL.

Methods: A sample of 48 Italian families with children seeking treatment for primary headaches was interviewed using an adaptation of the Ecocultural Family Interview (EFI).