Fathers as Key Figures Shaping the Foundations of Early Childhood Development: An Exploratory Longitudinal Study on Web-Based Intervention.

Early childhood development is profoundly influenced by parent-child interactions, with recent research emphasizing the crucial role fathers play alongside mothers. Paternal involvement, especially in caregiving activities like feeding, positively impacts children's cognitive, emotional, and social development. However, paternal depressive symptoms can hinder the quality of these interactions, potentially leading to long-term behavioral and emotional difficulties in children.

Further Evidence on Online Video-Feedback Intervention: Enhancing Parent-Child Interactions and Reducing Disordered Eating in Children.

Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of an online intervention designed to improve parent-child interactions and address disordered eating behaviors in children. Using remote video-feedback sessions based on observations of mother-child feeding interactions, the intervention offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional in-person methods.

Aims: The study aimed to assess the impact of online intervention on the quality of mother-child interactions during feeding and its effectiveness in reducing psychopathological symptoms in both mothers and children.

Parental Neglect and Childhood Obesity Amidst COVID-19: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Health and Developmental Risks.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the mental health and developmental trajectories of children and adolescents, catalyzing a range of psychological and behavioral issues due to enforced lockdowns and other restrictions. This text explores these impacts through the lens of developmental psychopathology, which integrates clinical psychology and developmental science to examine the emergence and evolution of psychological disorders across a lifespan. This paper highlights how pandemic-related disruptions have exacerbated conditions such as anxiety and depression and, notably, increased childhood obesity due to changes in lifestyle and reductions in physical activity.

Association of serotonin receptor gene polymorphisms with anorexia nervosa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Several studies have investigated the association between anorexia nervosa and polymorphisms of genes regulating serotonin neurotransmission, with a focus on the rs6311 polymorphism of 5-HTR2A. However, inconsistent results of these studies and conflicting conclusions of existing meta-analyses complicate the understanding of a possible association. We have updated these results and evaluated the involvement of other serotonin receptor gene polymorphisms in anorexia nervosa.

Peripartum Depressive Symptoms in Fathers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

: This research investigates peripartum depression in fathers during COVID-19, focusing on how pandemic-related distress is associated with paternal depressive symptoms and the quality of father-child feeding interactions. The primary objective was to understand if the pandemic has influenced depressive symptoms in new fathers and how these symptoms impact their interactions with their children, especially during feeding. : Utilizing a cross-sectional design, the research employs online surveys and remote observation to gather data from 243 Italian fathers.

Stability of and Change in Psychopathological Risk Levels in Pre-Early Adolescents before, during, and after Their Study Sojourns: A Descriptive Study.

Background: Adolescents can benefit from studying abroad in terms of personal development, cross-cultural encounters, and academic enrichment. This article digs into the psychological challenges that students may face before and during their study abroad, focusing on the emotional components of their experiences.

Methods: The current descriptive study sought to assess the stability or change in levels of psychopathological risk in a sample of N = 195 adolescents before and during a study abroad sojourn.

Mothers with Dysregulated Eating and Their Offspring's Emotional/Behavioral Functioning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Study.

Objective: Research on the psychopathological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has not specifically focused on mothers with dysregulated eating and their children.

Methods: This study aimed to observe whether the symptoms of mothers with binge eating episodes (assessed through the SCL-90/R and the TFEQ-R18) worsened from the pre-pandemic period (T1) to the pandemic period (T2). In addition, we sought to assess whether the levels of internalizing/externalizing and dysregulation symptoms in children (assessed through the CBCL 6-18) worsened from T1 to T2.

Breastfeeding Apps: A Descriptive Report.

Background: Women are increasingly using breastfeeding apps to facilitate and organize breastfeeding; however, no study has so far focused on maternal psychopathological risk and on the quality of dyadic exchanges in this field.

Aim And Methods: This preliminary, descriptive study aimed at evaluating levels of psychopathological symptoms (through the SCL-90/R) and for the quality of the interactions they have with their children during feeding (through the SVIA) in mothers who use breastfeeding apps with different grades of engagement.

Results: Data analyses showed that mothers with a mild use of the apps present a higher quality of dyadic interactions during feeding and lower psychopathological risk.

The Role of Maternal Personality Organization and of the p Factor in Predicting Parental Distress, the Quality of Parental Care, and Offspring's Dysregulation Symptoms.

Background: It has been posited that parental distress, the quality of maternal care and offspring's dysregulation can be predicted by maternal maladaptive characteristics. However, only a few studies have considered mothers' personality organizations and features of the p factor in mothers as possible predictors of symptoms in their children.

Methods: In a sample of N=524 subjects, this study evaluated the effect of mothers' personality organization and of the p factor on parental distress, parental care and offspring's dysregulation symptoms.

Epidemiology, Etiology and Intervention Strategies for Peri-Partum Depression in Mothers.

The prevalence of peri-partum depression (PPD) varies widely across countries, with rates ranging from 10% to 15% depending on the screening method used and the country studied [...

Daring and Distress: Insights on Adolescent Risk Taking and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation from a Network Analysis Perspective.

We explored the interrelationships between risk-taking and self-harm in typically developing adolescents by examining various contributing factors, such as personality traits, difficulties in emotion regulation, attachment styles, and maladaptive psychological functioning. A sample of 234 Italian adolescents completed the Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents (RTSHIA), the Risk-Taking Questionnaire (RT-18), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Strategies (DERS), the State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM), and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Network analysis was used to visualize and describe the interdependencies among the variables.

Implementing Sensitivity and Contingency in Medical Contexts: The Case of Prematurity.

In the context of relational situations, sensitivity and contingency are identified as pivotal variables that contribute to the enhancement of patients' overall wellbeing [...

A Psycho-Dynamically Oriented Reflection on Early Sexual Relationships in Pre-Adolescents.

Pre-adolescence is generally considered a period of change during which sexual energy remains latent before gradually beginning to express itself in adolescence and later in life [...

Motivations, Behaviors and Expectancies of Sexting: The Role of Defensive Strategies and Social Media Addiction in a Sample of Adolescents.

Adolescents and young adults engage in sexting behaviors. Research has mainly emphasized the relationship between motivations and sexting behaviors, with little attention paid to sexting expectations and the potential role of coping strategies. This study aims to explore the measure of emotional-behavioral functioning with the Youth/Adult Self Report (based on the subject's age), the use of defensive strategies measured with the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-71), social media addiction with the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and all dimensions of sexting: motivations, behavior and expectations measured with the Sexting Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), Sexting Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) and Sexpectancies Questionnaire (SQ), respectively.

Psychological profiles, including emotion regulation characteristics, defence strategies and mentalisation capacity, of male adolescents involved in fights among peers.

Background: Youth violence has become a worrying public health issue worldwide. In Europe and the USA, research has shown a prevalence of this phenomenon ranging from 30 to 70% in boys.

Aims: This descriptive study aimed to evaluate psychological profiles of male adolescents involved in fights with their peers.

Impact of Maternal-Newborn Separation in Italian Women with Suspected COVID-19 Infection on Psychopathological Symptoms and Quality of Interactions during Breastfeeding.

Introduction: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, proximity between mothers and their newborn infants was at the core of sanitary guidelines. With the aim of stopping the virus transmission from mothers to infants and possible physical dangers due to the infection, some hospitals discouraged or even prohibited skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding.

Method: This study recruited 180 dyads in private and public hospitals in Italy with the aim of verifying whether mother-infant separation after delivery is associated with higher maternal psychopathological distress (assessed through the SCL-90-R) and poorer quality of dyadic interactions during breastfeeding (evaluated through the SVIA).

Observational Tools Using Video Recordings of Parent-Child Feeding Interactions: A Narrative Review.

Current research has confirmed that the quality of the caregiver-child relationship influences the child's emotional and behavioral development. Play and feeding contexts, for example, are the best contexts to observe mother-child or father-child interaction. The observation of feeding interaction establishes involvement on the part of both parties and identifies relationship characteristics.

The Role of Emotional Dysregulation, Impulsivity Traits and Aggressive Behaviors in Adolescents Who Sustain Multiple Motor-Vehicle Crashes.

Adolescents tend to experience multiple motor-vehicle crashes (MVCs). Recent literature has thoroughly explored the psychological consequences following an MVC, but prior psychological functioning, the ability to regulate one's emotions and tendencies to impulsivity and aggressive behaviors have been far less explored. This study aims to explore the emotional-behavioral functioning, measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR); emotional dysregulation, measured with the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS); impulsivity traits, measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11); and the capacity to be mindful, measured with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), in adolescents that have experienced one or more MVCs in a year.

Internet Addiction among Young Adult University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Peritraumatic Distress, Attachment, and Alexithymia.

The literature focused on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult university students' mental health shows a significant increase in psychopathological symptoms and Internet Addiction (IA). The key role played by attachment and alexithymia has also been suggested, but no study has explored the possible dynamic relationship between these variables. We recruited a sample of = 410 young adult university students online.

Methylation patterns within 5'-UTR of DAT1 gene as a function of allelic 3'-UTR variants and their maternal or paternal origin: May these affect the psychopathological phenotypes in children? An explorative study.

Psychopathological symptoms such as depression/anxiety vs attention or aggression problems, in children, have been associated to altered expression of the DAT1/SLC6A3 gene. Inheriting specific 9- or 10-repeat VNTR alleles could modify the pattern of methylation in the CpGs islands at the 5'-UTR of the DAT1 gene. Through accurate recruitment at primary schools, we ended up with four subgroups of children: 9/9 and 10/10 homozygous; 9/10 heterozygous born from 9/10 mothers and 10/10 fathers (called heM); 9/10 heterozygous born from 10/10 mothers and 9/10 fathers (called heF).

Sensor Technology and Intelligent Systems in Anorexia Nervosa: Providing Smarter Healthcare Delivery Systems.

Ubiquitous technology, big data, more efficient electronic health records, and predictive analytics are now at the core of smart healthcare systems supported by artificial intelligence. In the present narrative review, we focus on sensing technologies for the healthcare of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). We employed a framework inspired by the Interpersonal Neurobiology Theory (IPNB), which posits that human experience is characterized by a flow of energy and information both within us (within our whole body), and between us (in the connections we have with others and with nature).

The quality of father-child feeding interactions mediates the effect of maternal depression on children's psychopathological symptoms.

Research has shown that Postnatal maternal depression (PND) is associated with children's emotional and behavioral problems during infancy, but the possible effect of father-child relationship quality on this association is yet to be thoroughly investigated. We recruited 401 families (802 parents; 401 children) mental health clinics in Central Italy. We divided families into two groups: Group 1 included families with mothers with PND; Group 2 included families with mothers without PND (control group).