Indexed in PsycINFO® Editorial Research Experiences

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BOLLETTINO DI PSICOLOGIA APPLICATA
Research
GIUNTI O.S. ORGANIZZAZIONI SPECIALI
Accedi all’area riservata agli abbonati con articoli tradotti
in italiano e la possibilità di sfogliare la rivista in formato
digitale.
POSTE ITALIANE SPA – SPED IN A.P. DL 353/03 ( CONV. IN L 27/02/2004 N. 46) ART 1 C 1, DCB-C1 FI
BOLLETTINO DI PSICOLOGIA APPLICATA
1 3
Rivista
quadrimestrale
ISSN 0006-6761
Editorial
SCOPRI IL NUOVO
SITO DEDICATO A
BPA
vol. LXII. January / April 2014
Scientific Director Alessandro Zennaro
Experiences & Tools
Contents
Contents
Editorial
2
Research
Predictors of job-search behaviors among Italian job-centers users
Alessandro Lo Presti
3
Experiences & Tools
The Family Assessment Measure III (FAM III) in an Italian sample 17
An exploratory study
Loredana Laghezza, Elisa Delvecchio, Chiara Pazzagli, Claudia Mazzeschi
Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Short Form
of the Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30)
Maria C. Quattropani, Vittorio Lenzo, Massimo Mucciardi, Mary E. Toffle
29
The “Body Image Control in Photos questionnaire” (BICP)
42
A new tool for the analysis of self–presentation of body image on Facebook
during adolescence
Annalisa Pelosi, Giovanni Zorzi, Paola Corsano
The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3: Factor structure and psychometric properties
in Italian clinical and non-clinical samples
Nicola Petrocchi, Katia Tenore, Alessandro Couyoumdjian, Andrea Gragnani
53
269 • BPA
A. Zennaro
Editorial
Cari lettori e colleghi,
Dear Readers and Colleagues,
ancora una volta il BPA si rinnova e migliora se stesso.
Nuova veste grafica, più accattivante, e soprattutto nuovi
servizi di qualità per i lettori e i ricercatori che sceglieranno
di collocarvi la propria produzione scientifica.
once again the Bollettino di Psicologia Applicata (Journal of
Applied Psycholgy) is being renewed and improved.
There are now new and more engaging graphics, and more
importantly, new high quality services for readers and
researchers who choose to place their scientific production
therein.
In fact, from this year onwards, there will be plenty of novelty
regarding our magazine:
Da quest’anno, infatti, numerose saranno le novità della
nostra rivista:
• tenace perseguimento (e, a questo punto, manca davvero
pochissimo) dell’indicizzazione su Scopus e WoS;
• acquistabilità dei singoli paper attraverso modalità
online;
• the tenacious pursuit of the Scopus and WoS indexation
(and, at this point, there is not far to go);
• the affordability of individual papers using the online mode;
• disponibilità dei paper anche in lingua italiana
(scaricabili gratuitamente per gli abbonati) a vantaggio
degli utilizzi applicativi e formativi;
• the availability of the main papers in Italian (downloadable
by subscribers free of charge) for training and application
purposes;
• nuovi Associate Editor (a breve saremo in grado di
comunicarVi la nuova formazione);
• a new Assistant Editor (it won’t be long until we announce
our new line-up);
• allargamento dell’Editorial Board a numerosi colleghi
stranieri di provenienza europea ed extraeuropea.
• an expansion of the Editorial Board to numerous foreign
colleagues from Europe and beyond.
Come vedete ci siamo spesi molto per migliorare
ulteriormente la qualità della rivista con il duplice obiettivo
di definire uno standard editoriale che potesse:
As you can see we have put a lot into further improving the
quality of the magazine with the dual objective of defining a
standard editorial that is able:
• concorrere (iniziare a concorrere) con riviste italiane e
straniere sia sul piano degli indicatori bibliometrici che
del carattere scientifico, in senso esteso, degli articoli e
• to compete (rather, start competing) with Italian and
foreign magazines both in terms of bibliometric indicators,
as well as scientific content, in the broader sense of the
articles and
• mantenere una caratterizzazione in senso applicativo e
clinico di utilità transazionale per i colleghi professionisti
quotidianamente a contatto con l’essere umano.
Il progetto è ambizioso e auspichiamo possa incontrare
il riscontro della comunità scientifica e del pubblico
appartenente alla professione anche in termini di
sottoscrizione degli abbonamenti, in assenza dei quali sarà
impossibile raggiungere gli obiettivi elencati.
Voglio chiudere questo breve editoriale con un ricordo
a Laura D’Odorico, Associate Editor per Developmental
Psychology, recentemente scomparsa. Grazie Laura per il
sostegno che hai saputo darci finché ne hai avuto le forze.
• to maintain a characterization of transactional utility in
the application and clinical sense to fellow professionals in
daily contact with human beings.
The project is ambitious and we hope to encounter the
response of the scientific community and the public belonging
to the profession also in terms of subscriptions, in the absence
of which it would be impossible to achieve the objectives listed.
I would like to close this brief editorial in memory of Laura
D’Odorico, Assistant Editor for Developmental Psychology,
who recently passed away. Thank you Laura for the support
that you were able to give us for as long as you had strength.
Scientific Director
Alessandro Zennaro
2
Editorial
Predictors of job-search behaviors among Italian job-centers users
Predictors of job-search behaviors
among Italian job-centers users
Alessandro Lo Presti, Department of Psychology, Second University of Napoli
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Una maggiore comprensione dei comportamenti di ricerca lavorativa è essenziale per meglio
supportare gli individui alla ricerca di un’occupazione. Il presente studio, sulla base del modello di Kanfer e colleghi
(2001), ha valutato tutta una serie di variabili quali potenziali antecedenti di tali comportamenti. I risultati, raccolti su
505 utenti dei Centri per l’Impiego, hanno mostrato che il livello d’istruzione, la personalità proattiva e l’autoefficacia
nella ricerca lavorativa sono predittori significativi di tali comportamenti, individuando anche fenomeni di moderazione
e mediazione. Tali evidenze sono state poi commentate sulla base della letteratura e delle loro implicazioni pratiche.
Versione integrale in lingua italiana su www.giuntios.it/bpa
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Introduction: Reaching a deeper understanding of job–search behaviors is essential in order to improve
ways individuals can enter and remain into the labour market, especially in countries like Italy, characterized by increasing
levels of unemployment and inefficient job–centers. Several psychological and situational factors predict job-search behaviors
which, in turn, affect chances of reemployment. Objectives. This paper aimed to explore the role of several psychosocial
(i.e. proactive personality and job-search self-efficacy), biographical (i.e. educational level) and socio-economic (i.e. social
support and financial hardship) variables as predictors of job-search behaviors, building upon the theoretical model by
Kanfer, Wanberg and Kantrowitz (2001). Methods. Data were collected among 505 Italian job-centers users via a self-report
questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to evaluate associations between variables and identify potential
mediated/moderated effects. Results. Educational level, proactive personality and, above all, job-search self-efficacy
proved to be main predictors of preparatory and active job-search behaviors; mediated and moderated effects were also
found. Conclusions. Results were discussed on the basis of the current literature and provided an original and innovative
contribution to this topic about the Italian situation which was largely unexamined. Moreover, evidence from this study can
guide practitioners to tailor their counseling and re-employment support interventions.
Keywords: job-search behaviors, unemployment, job-search self-efficacy
INTRODUCTION
Understanding the role played by the predictors of jobsearch behaviors has become progressively more important
in the light of the continued deterioration of the Western
economies labour markets and, in particular, of their
unemployment rates. In many countries, there has also been
an increase in the average rate of entry into, and especially exit
from, the labour market cause of increased flexibilization and
precarization (Lo Presti, 2009), phenomena which promote the
need, felt by public opinion, policy makers and practitioners
working in employment services, to increase the employment
opportunities of those who are currently looking for a job.
ISTAT data (2014a) depict the Italian situation as in
progressive and worrying deterioration; the unemployment
rate has increased from 8.2% in July 2011 to 12.5% in the
third quarter of 2013; data even more alarming concern
Campania region (ISTAT, 2014b), the most populous
and rich region of Southern Italy which has suffered the
most from the effects of the crisis due to processes of
deindustrialization and loss of competitiveness of large
productive sectors, and where the unemployment rate has
risen from 15.5% in the second quarter of 2011 to 20.5% at
end of 2013.
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269 • BPA
A. Lo Presti
Decades of research carried out on unemployment have
unequivocally shown that this occupational condition is
accompanied by negative effects on psychological wellbeing (Warr, 1987; Schaufeli & Van Yperen, 1992) as well
as on the quality of family and social relationships (Grant
& Barling, 1994). As there are several data supporting the
positive relation between the frequency and intensity of jobsearch behaviors and rate and chances of re-employment
(Saks & Ashforth, 2000; Wanberg, Kanfer & Rotundo, 1999),
it is fundamental to study and understand the mechanisms
that predict the likelihood of their implementation. Bretz,
Boudreau and Judge (1994) stated that job-search behaviors
refer to the specific activities that an individual engages in to
acquire knowledge about labour market alternatives. Instead,
in the 2001, Kanfer, Wanberg and Kantrowitz defined jobsearch as the outcome of a dynamic, recursive, self-regulated
process; such formulations depicted job-search as a purposive,
volitional pattern of action that begins with the identification
and commitment to pursuing an employment goal.
Job-search can be carried out via several means, one
of which is visiting a public job-center in order to benefit
from information and more structured and professional
forms of support and guidance. Italian job-centers have
specific characteristics that make them quite different than
other European job-services. Pastore (2013), on the basis of
previous classifications of school-to-work transition systems,
identified four public job-services regimes: liberal (e.g. United
Kingdom), euro-continental (e.g. Germany), scandinavian
(e.g. Sweden) and euro-mediterranean (e.g. Spain and Italy).
The euro-mediterranean regime does not provide efficient
intermediation between jobs supply and demand (as in the
liberal regime) nor is well integrated with the educational and
training system (as in the euro-continental and Scandinavian
regimes) while has a predominant bureaucratic role. According
to Mandrone (2011), in the 2010, Italian job-centers were able
to intermediate the 3.7% of all new jobs, less than half than
United Kingdom and just a quarter than Germany; a very low
percentage compared, for example, with family and friend
networks which were helpful in the 35.3% of cases. These data
make compelling to understand the way job-centers’ services
are able to support individuals in their job-search and foster
their speed of re-employment, in order to compare such users
with other job-seekers, not recurring to job-centers, or with
other European job-centers, which seem more efficient in
intermediating jobs supply and demand.
4
Research
On the basis of the above-mentioned peculiarities of the
Italian labour market and job-centers (as compared to other
European countries) and on the importance of promoting, in the
best possible way, processes of exploration and reintegration of
individuals within the internal labour market, this study aims
to explore the role of variables such as proactive personality,
job-search self-efficacy, educational level, financial hardship
and social support as potential antecedents of job-search
behaviors, as well as the potential moderations by biographical
and socio-economic data (gender, marital status, previous
work experiences, occupational condition, length and local
rate of unemployment). Being the hypotheses supported, and
considering their empirical, but above all practical, salience, a
better knowledge of these antecedents and their moderators
may allow job-centers management to calibrate better career
counseling and transition support interventions on the basis
of the actual characteristics of the users and their context,
stimulating deficit psychosocial aspects which could instead
catalyze more effective and efficient job-search behaviors.
Theoretical model and study
hypotheses
Saks and Ashforth (2000) listed the main theoretical models
about job-search behaviors (Barber, Daly, Giannantonio & Phillips,
1994). The sequential model proposes that job-search follows
a logical sequence of stages in which “search activities change
sequentially and systematically over the duration of search” (Barber
et al., 1994, p. 742). On the basis of such model, Blau (1993, 1994)
conceptualized the so-called “preparatory job-search behaviors”
(e.g. preparing a resume) that imply the search for information
and potential avenues of action. According to the second model,
the so-called learning model, job seekers learn more efficient
and effective search techniques during their job-search; in this
regard, Saks and Ashforth cited the so-called “active job-search
behaviors” (e.g. telephoning a prospective employer) which instead
imply more concrete activities such as the search for contacts or
the consultancy of specific advisers. Finally, the third, emotional
response, model asserts that job seekers experience high levels of
stress and frustration that “may cause searchers to expand, contract,
or otherwise modify their search activities, regardless of the utility of
those activities” (Barber et al., 1994, p. 741). The sequential model
and the learning model justify the traditional distinction, also
considered in the present paper, between preparatory and active
The Family Assessment Measure III (FAM III) in an Italian sample
The Family Assessment Measure III
(FAM III) in an Italian sample
An exploratory study
Loredana Laghezza, Elisa Delvecchio, Chiara Pazzagli, Claudia Mazzeschi
Department of Human Science and Education, University of Perugia
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Il Family Assessment Measure (FAM-III; Skinner, Steinhauer & Santa-Barbara, 1995) è uno degli
strumenti maggiormente impiegati, a livello internazionale, nell’ambito dell’assessment familiare. Sono assenti
ricerche in Italia che ne supportino il suo impiego, pertanto obiettivo principale di questo studio pilota è stato quello di
esplorare l’uso del FAM-III nel contesto italiano con un campione di 1572 genitori. Lo strumento si è dimostrato
essere una misura valida e fedele per la valutazione del funzionamento familiare nei diversi momenti del ciclo di vita.
Versione integrale in lingua italiana su www.giuntios.it/bpa
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. The Family Assessment Measure III (FAM III; Skinner, Steinhauer & Santa-Barbara, 1995) is one of the
most widely used family assessment tool at the international level. However, research supporting its use in the Italian
context is lacking. In order to help to fill this gap, the main aim of this pilot study was to explore the use of FAM III in the
Italian context. The questionnaire was administered to an Italian community sample of 1572 parents together with the
Parenting Stress Index (PSI-SF; Abidin, 1995), as a measure of parental stress. Confirmatory Factor Analyses were carried
out. The 7-factor model showed the best fit. Internal consistency of FAM III showed acceptable values. Analysis of variance
showed significant differences for age cohorts, few differences for parental role, and no effect for child’s gender. The data
collected for the Italian sample were compared with available data for the American sample showing few differences.
Convergent validity was assessed investigating relationships between the FAM III and PSI-SF. Correlations revealed a good
association between quality of family functioning and parenting stress as referred by parents. The FAM III appears to be a
reliable tool for assessing Italian family functioning in different moments of the family cycle of life.
Keywords: family, stress, assessment’s instruments, Italian population
INTRODUCTION
The need for tools to assess family functioning is well
established, and is considered important by those who work
daily with children and families and need to assess their
strengths and weaknesses (Alderfer et al., 2008). In the clinical
setting, family assessment tools have been devised and used
to face the challenge of assessing not only the referred child,
but also the family functioning, that is, the child’s family
system and its individual members (Gan & Schuller, 2002).
The family is complex per sé, with various definitions coming
from different family system theories (Lis, Mazzeschi, Salcuni
& Di Riso, 2008). The families are organized systems that aim
to maintain balance and order through communication and
assigned roles (Kazak, Rourke & Crump, 2003). As systems,
they have to accommodate developmental changes such as
those elicited by the child’s growth. The parental subsystem is
also challenged according to the age of the sibling and family
functioning may be different at the various ages of the child.
These different developmental moments of transition in the
17
269 • BPA
A. Pelosi, G. Zorzi, P. Corsano
The “Body Image Control in Photos
questionnaire” (BICP)
A new tool for the analysis of self-presentation of body image on Facebook during
adolescence
Annalisa Pelosi¹, Giovanni Zorzi², Paola Corsano³
¹ Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma
² Scuola ARPAd, Minotauro, Milano
³ Department of Lettere, Arti, Storia e Società, University of Parma
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Le ricerche sulla presentazione di sé all’interno dei social network hanno scarsamente indagato le
modalità con cui gli individui selezionano e modificano il materiale fotografico da pubblicare nei propri profili. Il presente
studio si propone di costruire e validare un nuovo strumento che esamini tale comportamento di controllo dell’immagine
corporea nelle fotografie pubblicate su Facebook. Metodo. È stato costruito un questionario, di cui si sono analizzate le
proprietà psicometriche. Esso è stato somministrato a 478 adolescenti italiani (219 femmine e 259 maschi), di età compresa
tra i 12 e i 19 anni. Sono state condotte un’analisi fattoriale esplorativa e una confermativa. Risultati. Il questionario
presenta buone proprietà psicometriche: la Sezione I e la Sezione II evidenziano una buona coerenza interna. I cinque
fattori emersi dall’analisi fattoriale esplorativa, verificati attraverso l’analisi fattoriale confermativa, hanno evidenziato
una buona coerenza interna. Conclusioni. Questi fattori indagano importanti dimensioni del processo di selezione e
modifica delle fotografie pubblicate su Facebook, come la correzione e il miglioramento della propria immagine corporea.
Pertanto lo strumento proposto potrebbe risultare utile per comprendere meglio il processo di mentalizzazione del corpo.
Versione integrale in lingua italiana su www.giuntios.it/bpa
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Introduction: Research on self-presentation in social networks has neglected the selection and
management of photographs posted on people’s profiles. The aim of the present study is to build and validate a new
tool to investigate body image control behavior in photos posted on Facebook. Methods. A questionnaire was built
and administered to 478 Italian adolescents (219 females and 259 males), aged from 12 to 19 years old. Psychometric
properties were investigated; explorative and confirmative factor analyses were carried out. Results. The questionnaire
presented good psychometric properties: Section I and Section II showed a good internal reliability. The five factors that
emerged from the explorative factorial analysis, verified by the confirmative factor analysis, evidenced a good internal
reliability. Conclusions. These factors describe important dimensions of the selection process and management of
photos to post on Facebook, such as correcting and improving your body image. Therefore the proposed instrument
would be useful to better understand the process of mentalization of the body.
Keywords: social networks, self-presentation, photo selection
42
Experiences & Tools
Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Short Form of the MCQ-30
Psychometric properties of the
Italian version of the Short Form
of the Metacognitions Questionnaire
(MCQ-30)
Maria C. Quattropani1, Vittorio Lenzo1, Massimo Mucciardi2, Mary E. Toffle3
Department of Human and Social Science-Psychology Unit, University of Messina
Department of Economics, Business, Environmental Sciences and Quantitative Methods,
Division of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Messina
3
Faculty of Medicine, University of Pavia and Department of Giuridical Sciences
and Institutional History, University of Messina
1
2
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. In questo lavoro vengono presentati i risultati relativi alla validazione e adattamento al contesto italiano
del Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30; Cartwright-Hatton, Wells, 2004), strumento che possiede buone
caratteristiche psicometriche, rappresentando una valida e attendibile misura self-report delle dimensioni metacognitive
psicopatologiche. I risultati dello studio italiano, condotto su 306 soggetti, hanno dimostrato consistenza interna e validità
convergente soddisfacenti, nonché una buona affidabilità test-retest. Le analisi fattoriali esplorativa e confermativa
hanno confermato la soluzione a cinque fattori proposta nella versione originale. La versione italiana dell’MCQ-30
rappresenta uno strumento valido e attendibile per la ricerca e la pratica clinica nel campo della metacognizione.
Puoi leggere l’articolo in italiano in versione integrale su www.giuntios.it/bpa
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Introduction: The Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) is a scale which measures a range of
metacognitive beliefs and processes relevant to vulnerability and maintenance of emotional disorders. Past studies
have shown that the original version of the MCQ-30 has good psychometric characteristics and it is a brief, reliable and
valid self-reporting measure of metacognitions. Despite other Italian versions that were proposed, this study presents
the validation and adaptation to the Italian context of the MCQ-30 to the Italian context. Methods. 306 participants
took part in this study and took the Italian version of MCQ-30. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach’s
alpha and corrected item-total correlations. Reliability and convergent validity were verified and the stability of the
MCQ-30 was tested. An exploratory factor analysis was run and examined using the five-factor solution of the English
version. Results. The results demonstrated good psychometric properties for the MCQ-30 Italian version. The MCQ-30
showed satisfactory internal consistency and convergent validity, and had a good test-retest reliability. Moreover the
confirmatory factor analysis affirmed the five-factor solution. Conclusions. The Italian version of MCQ-30 has good
psychometric properties and appears to be a valid and reliable tool for clinical research in the area of metacognition.
Keywords: metacognitions; metacognitions questionnaire; confirmatory factor analysis
29
The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3: Factor structure and psychometric properties
The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3:
Factor structure and psychometric
properties in Italian clinical and nonclinical samples
Nicola Petrocchi1, Katia Tenore2 , Alessandro Couyoumdjian1, Andrea Gragnani2, 3
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome
2
Scuola di Psicoterapia cognitiva, Rome
3
Centro di Psicoterapia cognitiva e Psicopatologia sperimentale, Rome
1
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Lo studio descrive le caratteristiche psicometriche dell’Anxiety Sensitivity Index - 3 (ASI-3) che è stato
tradotto in italiano con la procedura della back-translation e somministrato ad un campione misto di pazienti con
disturbi d’ansia (n = 154) e soggetti non clinici (n = 629), assieme a misure di anxiety sensitivity, depressione e ansia.
L’analisi fattoriale confermativa ha confermato la struttura con un fattore generale e tre sotto-fattori (fisico, mentale
e sociale). L’ASI-3 ha dimostrato buone proprietà psicometriche. Tutti i gruppi di pazienti hanno ottenuto punteggi
totali superiori rispetto al gruppo non clinico; pazienti con Disturbo di Panico e Disturbo d’Ansia Generalizzato hanno
riportato punteggi totali più elevati rispetto agli altri gruppi clinici (Disturbo Ossessivo Compulsivo e Fobia Sociale).
Versione integrale in lingua italiana su www.giuntios.it/bpa
ᴥᴥ ABSTRACT. Introduction: This study examined the factorial structure, internal consistency, and construct validity
of the Italian version of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3). Methods. ASI-3 has been translated with a backtranslation procedure and then administered in a mixed sample of anxiety disorder patients (n = 154) and non-clinical
participants (n = 629), along with measures of anxiety sensitivity, depression and anxiety. Results. Confirmatory
factor analyses confirmed the hierarchical model of a single higher order factor and three lower order factors
(physical, social, and cognitive concerns). ASI-3 demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Conclusions.
Participants with different clinical status differed from each other on the ASI-3 subscales in theoretically meaningful
ways. Panic disorder patients scored higher on the social concerns subscales than social phobia patients. The
Italian version of the ASI-3 is a reliable tool, but more studies with Italian clinical samples are needed to further
explore the criterion-related validity of the three ASI-3 subscales.
Keywords: Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, validity, Italy
53

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