Recent meta-analytic work has highlighted lower creativity in schizophrenic patients as compared to control participants, but the cognitive and affective underpinnings of this difference still need to be fully understood. To this purpose, we adopted a multi-measure approach and compared a group of schizophrenic outpatients and a group of…

This two-study research built and validated the new questionnaire "LO-COMPASS: Learning Orientation-Cognition Metacognition Participation Assessment" aimed at capturing the interplay between cognitive, metacognitive, and affective-motivational learning attributes in middle school students' learning orientations proved to be significant…

Adolescents and young adults are most at risk for developing problematic smartphone and social media use that negatively impacts their mental health and well-being. Students' perceptions of their school environment are likely a key area of potential risk and protective factors for adolescents' problematic smartphone and social media use, but more…

A close student-teacher relationship is a protective factor for students' psychological well-being, and it is associated with students' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, but the mechanism underlying this association is unclear. To address this issue, this study investigated the role of children's hope in the relationship between teachers'…

This study aimed to investigate how children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) adjust to school when compared to typically developing students. The convenience sample consisted of 135 children--27 with ADHD and 108 in the control group--and 19 prevalent teachers from 6 primary and secondary schools in Northwest Italy. Children…

Background: Early childhood teachers represent important socializers of children's emotions providing professional practices, such as communication about children's emotions, influencing children's development. According to an ecological framework, early childhood teachers' emotional practices are guided by both their personal and professional…

The role of basic emotions in SLA has been underestimated in both research and pedagogy. The present article examines 10 positive emotions ("joy," "gratitude," "serenity," "interest," "hope," "pride," "amusement," "inspiration," "awe," and "love")…

It has been argued that children who possess an advanced theory of mind (ToM) are more likely to act prosocially, yet the empirical findings are mixed. To address this issue definitively, a meta-analytic integration of all prior literature that met appropriate inclusion criteria was conducted. In total, 76 studies including 6,432 children between…

Building on previous studies that formulated measures for assessing self-efficacy beliefs regarding the management of anger/irritation and despondency/sadness, we developed 3 new scales to assess perceived self-efficacy in managing fear, shame/embarrassment, and guilt. In Study 1, the internal and construct validity of the 5 aforementioned…

This paper explores the role of mediated intergroup contact in improving intergroup attitudes between Italian speakers and German speakers in South Tyrol, Italy. Specifically, we examine how German-language television consumption affects attitudes towards the German-speaking group among Italian- speaking youth. The data ("N" = 229) were…

Background: Parenting factors have been implicated in the aetiology and maintenance of child anxiety. Most research has been correlational with little experimental or longitudinal work. Cross-cultural comparison could be illuminating. A comparison of Italian and British children and their mothers was conducted. Methods: A sample of 8- to 10-year…

In this study, we analyzed the relationships among overt and relational victimization and adolescents' satisfaction with friends. We also tested the influence of the need for affective relationships with friends. A total of 409 Italian adolescent boys and girls (age range = 14-16, M = 15.02 years, SD = 2.58) completed a self-report measure of…