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Adverse effects on wellbeing associated to the excessive usage of video games have prompted the introduction of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as provisional diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association [APA] in 2013, and the formal classification of Gaming Disorder (GD) by the World Health Organisation [WHO] in 2019. Despite these milestones, ongoing debate surrounds the diagnostic validity and cross-cultural applicability of these classifications. Consequently, the aims of the present review involve to (i) comparably introduce the WHO and the APA suggested criteria related to disordered gaming, whilst taking into consideration the available psychometric evidence internationally; (ii) illustrate the suggested criteria’s broader strengths and weaknesses and; iii) identify areas of priority for further empirical research to contribute to the available knowledge in the field identify areas of priority for further empirical research to contribute to the available knowledge in the field, whilst concurrently synthesizing the available evidence through the lenses of the recently proposed Cyber-Developmental Framework. With the increasing prevalence of disordered gaming and screen-related addictive behaviours as significant mental health concerns globally, this review highlights the need for enhanced diagnostic precision and greater consistency in assessment methodologies across diverse community, clinical, and national populations.

Contextual and individual risk factors of veterinarians' professional quality of life are being debated. Research suggests that attachment styles are relevant predictors of professional quality of life; however, their role in work-related well-being of veterinarians is yet to be ascertained. In the present study, self-report measures on exposure to animal suffering, adult attachment styles, and professional quality of life were administered to 1,445 Italian veterinarians (70% females) aged 24 to 74 years old; sociodemographic information and information on workload were also collected. Female gender, higher levels of ordinary workload, on-call hours per week, exposure to animal suffering, together with fearful and preoccupied attachment styles were significantly associated with lower levels of veterinarians' quality of life. This suggests that work-related factors may combine with individual psychological features in promoting or disadvantaging the professional quality of life of veterinarians. Implications of these findings for promoting veterinarians' quality of life and directions for future research are discussed.

Researchers on secrecy from friends during adolescence have scarcely investigated the role of self-esteem as a predictor and have only done so in a unidimensional perspective. This study investigates the effects of different dimensions of self-esteem on secrecy and the mediating role of loneliness and aloneness. Italian adolescents (n = 269; 72 males; 100% White) aged between 11 and 16 years (M = 14.25; SD = 1.48) were tested on their secrecy from friends, self-esteem as a multidimensional construct, peer-related loneliness, and affinity for aloneness. The findings showed that interpersonal and emotional self-esteem exerted a protective effect on secrecy from friends. Academic and familiar self-esteem exerted a detrimental effect, and duties and bodily self-esteem had a null or weak effect. Peer-related loneliness and affinity for aloneness partially or totally mediated the different effects of the self-esteem dimensions on secrecy. The findings are discussed in light of the importance of peer relationships in adolescence in favouring or disfavouring the disclosure of secrets to friends in various self-esteem dimensions.

Raising a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) profoundly affects family dynamics and parental well-being. While research has often focused on stress and negative outcomes, less is known about the processes and resources that foster adaptation and growth in parents. This qualitative study explored the adaptation process among parents of children with ASD, examining both challenges and transformative experiences, and identifying key personal and contextual factors that support or hinder adjustment. Thirty-six parents (19 mothers, 17 fathers) of children aged 5–11 years with ASD (severity level 2 or 3, DSM-5) were recruited from two health care centres for ASD in Northern Italy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a guide developed according to an established methodological framework for qualitative interviews and analysed following Braun and Clarke’s framework. Themes were organised into three conceptual domains (i.e., Outcomes, Resources, and Challenges) reflecting the main research aims. Parents reported both emotional distress and personal growth, including improvements in family functioning and child development (Outcomes). Facilitating factors included social support, access to information, professional interventions, and parental self-efficacy (Resources). Barriers included difficulties with services, family conflicts, social stigma, and maladaptive coping strategies (Challenges). Parental adaptation to ASD emerged as a dynamic, ongoing process of negotiation between challenges and resources, often leading to transformative experiences and personal growth. The findings support the implementation of systematic intervention strategies aimed not only at reducing parental stress, but also at empowering parents and promoting the development of adaptive resources.

Spatial attention and spatial representation of time are strictly linked in the human brain. In young adults, a leftward shift of spatial attention by prismatic adaptation (PA), is associated with an underestimation whereas a rightward shift is associated with an overestimation of time both for visual and auditory stimuli. These results suggest a supra-modal representation of time left-to-right oriented that is modulated by a bilateral attentional shift. However, there is evidence of unilateral, instead of bilateral, effects of PA on time in elderly adults suggesting an influence of age on these effects. Here we studied the effects of spatial attention on time representation focusing on childhood. Fifty-four children aged from 5 to 11 years-old performed a temporal bisection task with visual and auditory stimuli before and after PA inducing a leftward or a rightward attentional shift. Results showed that children underestimated time after a leftward attentional shift either for visual or auditory stimuli, whereas a rightward attentional shift had null effect on time. Our results are discussed as a partial maturation of the link between spatial attention and time representation in childhood, due to immaturity of interhemispheric interactions or of executive functions necessary for the attentional complete influence on time representation.

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between perceived support at the time of assistance, insecure attachment (i.e., avoidance and anxious attachment), and prolonged grief symptoms in family caregivers of palliative care patients deceased for at least one year. We also investigated the moderating role of insecure attachment in the relationship between perceived support and the intensity of prolonged grief symptoms. An exploratory cross-sectional design was used. A sample of 157 participants completed the Prolonged Grief Scale (PG-13) and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Correlational analyses indicated that prolonged grief symptoms were positively correlated with Avoidance attachment but not with Anxious attachment. Perceived support was negatively correlated with both the Avoidance and Anxious attachment factors. Lastly, the two insecure attachment dimensions were moderately and positively correlated with each other. Results of moderation analysis showed that high Avoidance attachment moderated the effect of perceived family and social support on the intensity of prolonged grief symptoms among family caregivers of palliative home-care-assisted patients. Results also showed that the Anxious attachment factor had a significant effect on prolonged grief symptoms, even though the interaction with perceived support was not significant. Overall, these results underline that a high level of avoidance attachment may moderate the relationship between perceived support and the intensity of grief symptoms, thereby increasing the risk of developing a mental disorder. Interventions to prevent prolonged grief disorder among family caregivers should take these findings into account.

Previous research has found significant associations among childhood trauma, dissociation, and shame. Furthermore, the clinical literature suggests that dissociation may foster feelings of shame in individuals who were exposed to childhood trauma. The current study aimed to test the potential mediating effect of dissociation on the association between childhood trauma and shame. The study sample consisted of 763 adults (479 females, 62.8%) from the general Italian population, aged between 18 and 65 years (M = 31.31, SD = 13.29). Self-report instruments assessing childhood trauma, dissociation, and shame were administered to participants via an anonymous online survey. Structural equation modeling showed that childhood trauma was associated with increased levels of both dissociation and shame. Moreover, dissociation partially mediated the predictive association between childhood trauma and shame. These findings suggest that dissociation might heighten the tendency to unconsciously reenact self-devaluation and self-blame in individuals exposed to childhood trauma, increasing feelings of shame.

Due to the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, individuals felt uncertain and insecure. As a consequence, conspiracy theories flourished and quickly spread. In the current study, we examine the relationship between general and COVID-19-related conspiracy theories, cognitive reflection, psychopathological symptoms, and defense styles in a sample of Italian adults. A total of 450 participants (50.2% male; mean age = 40.89 years, SD = 12.15) took part in an online survey. Two linear regression models on the general (explained variance 22.6%) and COVID-19-related (explained variance 33.0%) conspiracy theories have been tested. Among the predictive factors, older age, mania symptoms, and immature defenses facilitate adherence to conspiracy theories; on the opposite side, higher education, cognitive reflection, and mature defenses protected from adherence to conspiracy theories. The study provides some novel findings about factors that are significantly associated with general and COVID-19-related conspiracy theories, and highlights the pivotal role of individuals’ psychological defenses in conspiracy theories.

Suicide represents a significant problem for healthcare professionals such as veterinarians. Previous studies showed that contextual and individual risk factors can contribute to suicidality among veterinarians. In the present study, self-report measures on exposure to animal euthanasia, substance abuse, reflective functioning, and suicidal ideation were administered to 1556 Italian veterinarians aged 24–74 years old. Structural equation modelling revealed that failures in reflective functioning and substance abuse were associated with suicidal ideation. Prevention programs focusing on improving reflective functioning and decreasing substance abuse might reduce suicide risk among veterinarians.

This study examines the relationship between depressive symptoms (DS) and mental time travel (MTT), focusing on individuals’ ability to orient and project themselves into past or future scenarios. Drawing on literature suggesting that depression disrupts prospection, we hypothesized that DS are primarily associated with alterations in future-related MTT. Forty-eight university students were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of mild-to-severe DS. Participants were asked to judge whether various events were located in the past or future while mentally projecting themselves ten years into the past, in the present, or ten years into the future. Results showed that participants with DS were less accurate in judging the temporal location of past events when projecting themselves into the future, as compared with those without DS. This suggests that DS may reduce prospection by interfering with the ability to orient to the past when individuals need to represent themselves in possible futures. Clinical implications will be discussed on how focusing on future-related MTT may help counteract DS.