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The current study aimed to investigate the longitudinal predictors of perceived importance of climate change and personal worry among Italian youths. Specifically, we used machine learning techniques to examine the predictive importance of a wide range of socio-demographic factors, political perceptions, attitudes on a national and European level (identity, attitudes, tolerance, support for democracy, authoritarianism, nationalism, political trust), efficacy beliefs, social well-being, political interest, and different forms of participation on perceived importance of climate change and personal worry. In this longitudinal study, we collected data using a questionnaire in two waves at a one-year interval—in 2016 and 2017. Participants were 1288 Italian young adults (61.3% were female; 38.7% were male) whose mean age was 19.18 (SD = 3.29) ranging between 15 and 30 years. Breiman’s random forest algorithm performed better than Friedman’s gradient boosting machines algorithm. The random forest algorithm revealed that age, tolerance toward migrants, and tolerance toward refugees were the most important predictors of perceived importance of climate change and personal worry. Other important predictors were national/European identity, political interest, internal political efficacy, nationalism, social well-being, self-efficacy, authoritarianism, anti-democratic attitudes, EU warmth, and online and civic participation.

Studies on youth participation tend to characterize youth as either active “good citizens” or as passive and alienated. It has been argued, however, that low levels of youth political activity are not necessarily indicative of complete disengagement from societal affairs but could be accompanied by interest and latent involvement stemming from a standby/monitorial attitude or from an attitude of distrust and need of critical supervising. A series of research, using a person-centered approach, will be presented with the aim to examine patterns of citizenship orientations among youth identified by manifest participation (civic and political activity), latent engagement (political interest) and one’s position toward institutional politics (institutional trust and external political efficacy). All analyzed data was collected through a two-wave questionnaire within the European-funded H2020 research project CATCH-EyoU. The proposed classification was analyzed in a sample of 1732 late adolescents and young adults (15–30 years old) from Italy, as well as in a cross-national longitudinal sample of 1943 upper secondary school students (15–19 years old) from Italy, Germany, Sweden, Greece and the Czech Republic. The results identify profiles of different levels of engagement, each characterized by either satisfied or dissatisfied attitude towards political institutions. The findings highlight the prevalence of latent engagement and the different faces political distrust may assume, including in different forms of participation (political, civic, online and activist). Moreover, the results explore how membership in the groups can be longitudinally influenced by socio-demographic characteristics and perceived contextual features related to school, neighbourhood, family and peers. Family background, democratic school climate, school participation and critical reflection at school were found to determine differences in the likelihood of adopting specific citizenship orientations among youth.

In this research, we examine the complex ways in which young people of different ethnic background construct their representation of citizenship in Italy. Based on a psychosocial perspective the paper will show that the representations of citizenship shared by young people are informed by personal and collective experiences and that the notion of citizenship, is not straight forward, but influenced by location within a broader social, cultural, political, economic and historical context. Therefore, this article is concerned with understanding how young people of different (Italian, Moroccan, and Albanian) ethnic background define their representations of citizenship in Italy and how these representations are anchored in their experiences of participation and everyday life. For young people, and adolescents, in particular, recognition takes place in very local circumstances (bound by home, school and neighbourhood) that can be the training grounds for the practice of citizenship. Participants The total sample includes 85 participants (40 males, 45 females) 28 were Italians, 28 were Albanians and 29 Moroccans. The mean age of the sample was 19.50 (S.D. = 2. 67; min 14 years old, max 26 years old). A total of thirteen focus groups were conducted: two involved Italian young adults (n = 14; mixed by gender) and two involved Italian adolescents (n = 13; mixed by gender). Italians were all students. Two involved Albanian young adults (n = 15; mixed by gender) and two involved Albanian adolescents (n = 14; mixed by gender). Recruitment Although the sampling was purposive, we still used a convenience sample, which means that the data is drawn from a self-selected group. Instruments The focus group included questions concerning: understanding of citizenship and of human right issues, perceptions of young people participation, opportunities and resources, perception of young people voice, perceptions of young people information and of themselves as citizens, sources of information on political and social issues and their influence, personal and group experiences of participation. We did not ask for definitions of citizenship, but we gathered them from the discussions of related themes. All the focus groups were conducted in Italian language; participants with an immigrant background were fluent even for most of them if Italian was their second language. The data were analysed following the steps of thematic content analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results The analytic process allowed us to progress from the description of participatory experiences to the identification of specific patterns of participation that were contributing to build young people’s views on citizenship. Those specific patterns allowed us to identify five dimensions that articulate young people’s discourses on citizenship and participation: legal or admittance dimension, that refers to rights and duties that are recognized to citizen; the instrumental dimension, where citizenship is seen more in terms of overcoming practical obstacles and consequent freedom, the belonging dimension, the everyday performing dimension, the participatory dimension. Practical implications of our findings will be discussed.

This qualitative study examines how young people of Moroccan descent in Italy construct their social identities and make sense of acculturation experiences. Twenty nine Moroccan young people, fourteen males and fifteen females (16–23 years old) took part in five focus groups. Thematic analyses of data indicated that participants have to navigate different identity categories in the host country, including Muslim, Moroccan, and migrant, which are often used to construct them as not belonging. They use different strategies to negotiate experiences of prejudice and exclusion including; “Italy is not my home… it is other people’s home”: Accommodating an outsider status, turning critically towards one’s community, claiming an insider status: Feeling Italian, Creating activist identities: Becoming bridge builders. In the absence of legal status, participants conceived citizenship as respecting Italian laws and norms, accommodating their status and position, but making claims based on being and feeling as belonging – cultural citizenship. By using a liberation orientation, our analysis shows the political nature of acculturative integration in a context that denies citizenship as a legal status. These political aspects include deconstructing exclusionary dominant group narratives and forming identities of resistance that are important to their claims for recognition and belonging. We discuss the findings with reference to ways in which researchers and activists can support the activities of young people of immigrant background.

Cross-border mobility has long been seen as a mechanism to promote a collective political identity; however, the results of empirical studies on young people have been inconsistent. The present work extends previous research on the effect of cross-border mobility by considering the effect of cross-border friendships drawing on the intergroup contact theory of Allport as well as the common ingroup identity model of Gaertner and Dovidio. This longitudinal study examines the role of cross-border friendships in the development of a sense of transnational political community that transcends national boundaries, i.e. the European Union. The results rely on a two-wave sample of 1294 Italian adolescents and young adults. Cross-border friendships significantly predicted identification as European, attitudes toward the European Union, political beliefs about the European Union, trust in the European Union, (negatively) political alienation, and political participation at the European level and intention to vote at the next European Parliament elections, even after including baseline levels of outcomes as well as relevant socio-demographic factors (i.e. gender, age, majority/minority status, educational qualification, parents’ education level, family income, and socioeconomic status) in the model.

A substantial amount of literature has revealed gender gaps in political participation. However, little is known about such gaps when using more comprehensive measures of civic and political participation including online participation. In the present study, we recruited a sample (n = 1792) of young people living in Italy. Controlling for age, majority/minority status, socioeconomic status, respondents’ educational attainment, and parents’ educational attainment, we found that female participants reported higher scores on online and civic participation, while male participants were more likely to report political and activist participation. The effect size for these gender differences was small. In addition, we did not find any gender differences in voting behavior in the last European parliamentary elections, national parliamentary elections, and local elections. These findings highlight the need to move toward a more comprehensive and detailed picture of gender gaps in political engagement and participation including different types of participation.

It has been widely argued that effective citizenship education should focus on more than mere teaching of civic knowledge, but should provide a wider range of opportunities for the experience of participation and development of skills, efficacy and interest instrumental to active citizenship. Opportunities for critical reflection such as open classroom discussions, fairness at school, institutional efficacy and student participation at school activities have been linked to the development of civic and political attitudes. The capacity of school education to provide opportunities for critical reflection on students’ participative experiences, however, has not been explored empirically sufficiently. This paper aims to identify the contribution of different school characteristics to the development of civic and political attitudes and their impact on students’ level of participation in civic activities through a mixed methods study. Questionnaire data collected in two waves with 685 adolescents from Italy were analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the effects of school characteristics at Time 1 (democratic climate, student participation and critical reflection) on civic participation at Time 2, mediated by institutional trust, civic efficacy and political interest. In order to explore the quantitative findings and examine further students’ perceptions of the school aspects that support their civic involvement, focus group discussions were conducted with students from secondary schools with different tracks.The results highlight the importance of opportunities for active involvement in school and critical reflection in fostering political interest, efficacy and civic participation. Democratic school climate was found to impact institutional trust and civic efficacy, but not participation. Students’ accounts of schools’ citizenship education activities highlight further the need for a participative environment that rises above information transmission by inviting critical reflection and giving value to students’ active involvement in the institution.

Objective Quality of life (QOL) and quality of care (QOC) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains poor. Satisfaction with care (SC), a QOC surrogate, correlates with health behaviors and outcomes. This study aimed to determine correlates of SC in SLE. Methods A total of 1262 patients with SLE were recruited from various countries. Demographics, disease activity (modified Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index for the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus: National Assessment trial [SELENA-SLEDAI]), and QOL (LupusPRO version 1.7) were collected. SC was collected using LupusPRO version 1.7. Regression analyses were conducted using demographic, disease (duration, disease activity, damage, and medications), geographic (eg, China vs United States), and QOL factors as independent predictors. Results The mean (SD) age was 41.7 (13.5) years; 93% of patients were women. On the univariate analysis, age, ethnicity, current steroid use, disease activity, and QOL (social support, coping) were associated with SC. On the multivariate analysis, Asian participants had worse SC, whereas African American and Hispanic patients had better SC. Greater disease activity, better coping, and social support remained independent correlates of better SC. Compared with US patients, patients from China and Canada had worse SC on the univariate analysis. In the multivariate models, Asian ethnicity remained independently associated with worse SC, even after we adjusted for geographic background (China). No associations between African American or Hispanic ethnicity and SC were retained when geographic location (Canada) was added to the multivariate model. Canadian patients had worse SC when compared with US patients. Higher disease activity, better social support, and coping remained associated with better SC. Conclusion Greater social support, coping, and, paradoxically, SLE disease activity are associated with better SC. Social support and coping are modifiable factors that should be addressed by the provider, especially in the Asian population. Therefore, evaluation of a patient's external and internal resources using a biopsychosocial model is recommended. Higher disease activity correlated with better SC, suggesting that the latter may not be a good surrogate for QOC or health outcomes.

Tolerance toward migrants currently represents a key issue in many Western democracies and studying the factors that can foster it has become increasingly more important for the social sciences. This chapter starts by providing a definition of ‘tolerance’, illustrating the ambivalent qualities that are attributed to this concept in the literature. Recognizing some limits of this concept, our reasoning develops from the assumption that, with specific reference to migration, tolerance represents a basic democratic principle. It can be defined as the belief, based on equalitarian principles and a political conviction, that migrants and non-migrants should be treated equally. We proceed to report the findings from two recent studies we conducted in Italy and illustrate some key paths through which tolerance can develop during different developmental stages. The results from our studies showed that younger participants had lower levels of tolerance toward refugees and migrants. Different forms of politically committed youth participation (online and offline, more and less conventional) were positively associated with tolerance; in particular, civic participation represents a ‘school for democracy’ in which young people learn a range of civic skills also enhanced tolerance toward migrants. Finally, we present an overview of some of the main approaches (global citizenship education, education to intercultural dialogue and community-based approaches) that professionals across the world have at their disposal to promote a tolerant attitude at different stages of the developmental process. The chapter closes by illustrating some implications for future research and interventions to promote tolerance toward migrants.

One of the challenges faced by contemporary societies concerns building a more inclusive society. This objective is particularly compelling in the current historical period characterized by growing social and cultural heterogeneity in European countries and an increase of prejudice and discrimination to-ward immigrants. Global citizenship (GC) can support inclusive attitudes and immigrants’ acceptance. The aim of the study was to test the role of different forms of associative experiences and civic and po-litical participation in promoting GC in the younger generations. Data were collected between October 2016 and January 2017 using paper and online questionnaires. The sample consisted of 1,732 partici-pants (60.7% females; Mage = 19.73). The questionnaire measured demographics, mobility experiences, membership in organizations, latent and manifest political participation. Based on UNESCO conceptual model (2015), GC was operationalized as follows: openness and tolerance toward migrants and refu-gees, trust in people, democratic and civic values, knowledge and political awareness, personal and collective capacity to act politically. Results showed that members of volunteer organizations scored higher in all the dimensions of GC included in the study, compared to nonmembers, while the impact of other kinds of organizational membership and participation on GC was limited. Volunteer organiza-tions proved to be a very important context for the development of GC in young generations

A substantial amount of literature has revealed gender gaps in political participation. However, little is known about such gaps when using more comprehensive measures of civic and political participation including online participation. In the present study, we recruited a sample (n = 1792) of young people living in Italy. Controlling for age, majority/minority status, socioeconomic status, respondents’ educational attainment, and parents’ educational attainment, we found that female participants reported higher scores on online and civic participation, while male participants were more likely to report political and activist participation. The effect size for these gender differences was small. In addition, we did not find any gender differences in voting behavior in the last European parliamentary elections, national parliamentary elections, and local elections. These findings highlight the need to move toward a more comprehensive and detailed picture of gender gaps in political engagement and participation including different types of participation.

Community coalitions or intersectoral partnerships have long been advocated for the promotion of population health. In the present study, we assessed the quality of the functioning of health promotion partnerships created within a large community health promotion program implemented by the Emilia-Romagna region located in the north-east of Italy (2014-2016). In particular, we aimed to test the effectiveness of partnership working in strengthening participants' empowerment, sense of community and ultimately, the outcomes of a well-functioning partnership, conceptualized as including perceived effectiveness of health promotion interventions developed by the partnership, trust in their implementation and personal commitment in health promotion in the future. Participants were 238 stakeholders (e.g., health professionals, representatives of local administrations, teachers, representative of community and volunteer organizations, and citizens) formally included in six partnerships lead by six major local health services. Using Bayesian structural equation modeling, we found that a higher perceived quality of collaboration within the partnership enhances the outcomes of a well-functioning partnership, by strengthening their sense of a health-promoting community and empowerment. Sense of community responsibility did not predict future commitment in health promotion. The study findings suggest that community members' ownership and feeling of responsibility, as well as empowerment constitute positive partnership processes.

Understanding the multiple motivations for joining youth organisations can help civic and political organisers to to give voice and provide opportunities for action on social issues relevant for youth as emphasised from a critical perspective on active citizenship (Johnson & Morris,2010). Previous quantitative studies on prosocial participation (Vecina et al.,2013, Marta et al., 2006) and on civic and political participation have studied motivations to join and remain in civic organisations as linked to the dispositional and organisational variables that support youth identification with the organisation. Self- and other-oriented motivations (Omoto & Snyder, 1995) have been analysed considering the first as favouring sustained involvement while the second as related to initiation of civic engagement, thus affirming the importance of multiple motivations (Kiviniemi et al., 2002) related to participation. Studies on community participation (Cicognani & Zani, 2015, Chavis & Wandersman, 1990) further highlighted the motivations that can lead adolescents and young adults to experience belonging to an organisation, such as integrating needs and interests, having trustful relationship with peers and sharing emotions by joining community organisations. The emphasis on participation at local and community level and the construction of a peer community within the organisation is considered a first step to develop a sense of global citizenship (Arnett, 2002, Reysen & Katzarska- Miller, 2013). Building on these studies and using ethnographic cases as data, this chapter analyses the motivations of adolescents and young adults who sustain their involvement in civic organisations. 24 original narrative interviews from three different Italian youth organisations are considered as life stories of adolescents’ and young adults’ engagement. Qualitative results show that motivations for involvement are related to close peer relationships while motivations for remaining in the organisations are linked to positive emotions experienced in different phases of organisational life. Moreover, peer relationships can be considered an important factor that create new opportunities to act citizenship and to support civic and political development of youth, as highlithed in chapter 3. The construction of peer and friends network within the organisation, strengthen positive emotions and motivations to countinue to be involved in organisations, as stressed in chapter 6. Finally, the ethnographic method allows to give an in-depth lens to explore the relations among motivations of adolescents’ and young adults’ participation.

Collective action is typically studied in social protest contexts and predicted by different motivations (i.e., ingroup identification and efficacy beliefs, and outgroup-directed anger). Assuming that voting to some extent reflects a form of collective action, we tested whether these three different motivations predicted voting in Dutch, Israeli, and Italian national election contexts. Based on previous meta-analyses on voting and collective action, we hypothesized that identification with and efficacy beliefs regarding this party would motivate voting across the different elections (i.e., context-independent effects). As for anger, we predicted more context-dependent effects, depending on whether the anger is targeting the previous government or at the political system at large. Results were largely in line with predictions, showing the relatively context-independent motivational power of party identification and efficacy beliefs, and clearly context-dependent effects for anger. Specifically, we found little support for a similar motivational power of anger targeting previous government policies, but anger targeting politics in general demotivated Dutch and Israeli participants to vote (interpreted as an expression of political cynicism), while curiously motivating Italian participants to vote (interpreted as a desire for system change from “old” to “new” politics). We discuss these findings in the context of voting in national elections, and recommend further integration of the voting and social protest literatures.

Cross-border mobility is one of the most important factors that are assumed to strengthen young people’s commitment as European citizens. However, the existing empirical evidence does not provide consistent support. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that cross-border mobility is associated with a stronger European identification, more positive attitudes toward the EU, and with specific visions of the EU, and that these factors, in turn, have a positive effect on engagement at EU level. Data were collected as part of the multinational research project CATCH-EyoU. Analyses were performed controlling for gender, income, country, and migrant status. Results mostly confirmed the hypotheses among both adolescents and young adults, and for both short-term and long-term mobility. EU level participation and EU voting intentions appeared to be influenced by partly different factors. The implications of the findings, both at theoretical level and for the development of international mobility programs, are discussed.

Objective Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) predominantly affects women. Clinical phenotype and outcomes in SLE may vary by sex and are further complicated by unique concerns that are dependent upon sex-defined roles. We aimed to describe sex differences in disease-specific quality of life (QoL) assessment scores using the Lupus Patient-Reported Outcome (LupusPRO) tool in a large international study. Methods Cross-sectional data from 1,803 patients with SLE on demographics, self-identified sex status, LupusPRO, and disease activity were analyzed. The LupusPRO tool has 2 constructs: health-related QoL (HRQoL) and non-HRQoL. Disease activity and damage were evaluated using the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment version of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index, respectively. Nonparametric tests were used to compare QoL and disease activity by sex. Results A total of 122 men and 1,681 women with SLE participated. The mean age was similar by sex, but the damage scores were greater among men. Men fared worse on the non-HRQoL social support domain than women (P = 0.02). When comparing disease and QoL among men and women ages ≤45 years, men were found to have greater damage and worse social support than women. However, women fared significantly worse on lupus symptoms, cognition, and procreation domains with trends for worse functioning on physical health and pain-vitality domains. Conclusion In the largest study of a diverse group of SLE patients, utilizing a disease-specific QoL tool, sex differences in QoL were observed on both HRQoL and non-HRQoL constructs. Although men performed worse in the social support domain, women (especially those in the reproductive age group) fared worse in other domains. These observations may assist physicians in appropriately addressing QoL issues in a sex-focused manner.

European Union countries are participatory and representative democracies. Therefore, active citizenship in the EU and trust in EU institutions are paramount for the continuation and the strengthening of the EU project. Young Europeans who hold the future in their hands need to be actively engaged not only in the social and political life within their national communities, but also in the wider European community. The papers in this special issue examine whether and how European youth identify with the EU, trust EU institutions and engage in EU issues, and which societal and proximal-level contexts and/or individual-level attributes promote or hinder young people’s active citizenship in European context. They are based on results from the Horizon 2020 CATCH-EyoU project, standing for Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions. Scientists represent different disciplines (Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Media and Communications, Education) and from eight European countries (Sweden, Estonia, U.K., Germany, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Italy). Together, the papers contribute to the development of a new, cutting-edge conceptualization of youth active citizenship in the EU, and to a better understanding of the factors promoting or inhibiting young EU citizens’ engagement, participation and active citizenship at the European level.

This deliverable of the H2020 CATCH-EyoU project sets out to address open questions concerning factors associated with youth’s active EU citizenship. In particular, assumed (directions of) influences of relevant factors and their joint workings will be examined among adolescents and young adults in various situations of life, across different EU countries representing variations in, e.g., economic situation/crisis, political conditions, and history as an EU member state. At the core is a longitudinal assessment using a two-wave questionnaire including a large sample of young people from all countries of the consortium. The present report summarizes the results of the first wave of data collection. The aim of this technical report is to provide an overview over sample characteristics and psychometric properties of measures based on the revisions after the pilot assessment. It includes descriptive and inferential findings of each national data set. All teams collected data from a quite diverse sample of young people from their respective country. We achieved the targeted sample sizes due to our improved recruitment strategies (based on our experiences from the pilot assessment). More precisely, we could attract more than 10,400 young people to participate in our study (concrete numbers depend on sample selection). Since we initially set out to reach at least 6,400 young people, we were quite successful in our recruitment. Paper-and pencil as well as online modes of assessment proved to be equally effective.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1807-1384.2016v13n2p19O objetivo central de nosso texto é compreendermos a construção da intersubjetividade em Merleau-Ponty, do sujeito na relação com o outro em suas construções existenciais e fazermos a mesma reflexão sobre a concepção do estabelecimento da intersubjetividade na teoria do Construcionismo Social, na possibilidade de um diálogo, sem, contudo, a pressuposição de uma conclusão de acepção moral de atribuição de maior valor a uma teoria em detrimento da outra. Para tanto, iniciamos com algumas breves considerações sobre os afetos e desafetos históricos entre filosofia e psicologia para, posteriormente, delinearmos melhor nosso ponto central em Merleau-Ponty e no Construcionismo Social, desenvolvendo os possíveis significados da intersubjetividade nestes. É interessante notarmos que, apesar da distância no tempo e da construção teórica entre Merleau-Ponty e o Construcionismo Social, podemos verificar uma similaridade na busca de uma solução ao problema sujeito-objeto transcendendo a esta polarização nas considerações sobre a intersubjetividade mesmo que com propostas divergentes.

Previous attempts to classify youth policies emphasised the importance of the underlying "concept of youth", which sustains and legitimises specific policy measures. The aim of this study is to identify, through a bottom-up approach, the main orientations which characterise recent youth policies in Italy. Twelve documents (published from 2012 to 2016) at the national, regional and local levels are analysed through content analysis. Four main policy orientations emerge, each characterised by a different representation of young people and solutions/aims. Representing young people as talents often implies an orientation toward skill development; seeing youth as a resource is often associated with the promotion of their possible contribution to the society. Negative representations of youth (as vulnerable and as problems) characterise protective solutions. Each approach is characterised as well by specific risks, strengths and supporting institutions. A useful framework for the analysis of youth policies at the national and international levels is discussed.

We assume that emotions (anger, shame and hope) mediate the relationship between perceiving a discriminatory context and civic/political engagement. Results of a survey with 1242 participants (mean age 20.7 years; 53% men; 32.8% migrants) showed that such emotions play a different role according to the type of engagement and the population (native Italians versus migrants). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background and aims Patient engagement is recognised as a crucial component of high-quality healthcare services. Among rheumatic diseases, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) appears particularly challenging for the engagement of patients in their own care. According to the Patient Health Engagement (PHE) model, patient engagement is a dynamic phenomenon that proceeds through four experiential positions (blackout, arousal, adhesion, and eudaimonic project). The aim of the present study was to describe the engagement process through the experiences of SLE patients. Methods Ten in-depth interviews and four fous group were conducted with an international sample of SLE patients from different European countries. Interviews focused on several aspect of patients‘ life with SLE and their relationship with the healthcare system. Transcripts were analysed through thematic content analysis. Results The mean age of the participants to the study was 40.6 years (±10.0). The average years since diagnosis were 15.5 (SD=8.6) with great variability in terms of disease manifestations. Findings showed that a fully engaged patient results from reframing emotional, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions. The advances along the process depends on how the patient succeeds in each position. Conclusions PHE represents a appropriate model to understand the engagement process of SLE patients. In order to meet patients needs, healthcare providers should consider the specific position of SLE patients, providing adequate and tailored support.

Because individuals' fundamental right to water is often taken for granted, little is known about why individuals participate in water activism. We examine how individuals identify with and intend to participate in the Italian Water Movement to defend the “public management” of water supply. Building on the collective-action literature, we test an explanatory model in which the perceived violation of the right to water and group and participative-efficacy beliefs increase movement identification, which predicts subsequent activism. Study 1 (N = 153 activists) largely confirmed our hypotheses: right violation and participative efficacy uniquely influenced movement identification, which in turn predicted activism. Study 2 corroborated these findings by employing a broader sample of 132 Italian citizens, with right violation, participative and group-efficacy beliefs predicting movement identification, which in turn predicted activism. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

This research assesses the coverage and impact of “United Against AIDS,” the 2012–2013 Italian National HIV/AIDS prevention campaign to promote safer sex behavior and voluntary HIV counseling and testing. The campaign used gain-framed messages and aimed at creating a superordinate identity. We conducted two studies. The first study employed a quasi-experimental design involving three groups of participants: general population (n=858), men who have sex with men (MSM; n=109), and migrants (n=211). In the second study, we carried out a time-series design to analyze the archival data of the Italian National AIDS Help-Line. Exposure to the campaign was reported by 78.3%, 67.5%, and 57.8% of the general population, MSM, and migrant respondents, respectively. The probability of having unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple partners decreased significantly in the subsample of the general populations that was exposed to the campaign (compared to the nonexposed participants), but the same effect was not found among MSM and migrant participants. The probability of having unprotected sexual intercourse with someone of unknown HIV status decreased after the campaign in the exposed MSM subsample (compared to the nonexposed participants), but the same effect was not found among the general population and migrant participants. In addition, the probability of undertaking HIV testing increased significantly in the exposed participants belonging to the general population but not among MSM and migrant participants. Time-series analysis revealed that the number of calls at the Italian National AIDS Help-Line significantly increased during the campaign. This research provides evidence that the effect of the campaign was complex and varied across participants.

Attraverso una breve rassegna della letteratura, questo articolo si propone di descrivere tre principali approcci che hanno indagato il ruolo delle convinzioni morali nello sviluppo dell'azione collettiva, concettualizzandole, rispettivamente, come un incentivo selettivo per la partecipazione, come parte di un’ideologia condivisa, e come principio inviolabile. Dopo aver descritto brevemente la cornice teorica e concettuale in cui ciascun approccio si è sviluppato, verrà presa in esame la specifica operazionalizzazione delle convinzioni morali utilizzata dalle ricerche empiriche e vengono quindi presentati i principali risultati ottenuti. Nella seconda parte dell’articolo, i tre approcci presentati vengono discussi delineandone i possibili punti di convergenza e criticità, allo scopo di individuare possibili linee di ricerca future.

Research examining youths' political development mostly focused on young people as a general group; comparatively less attention has been devoted to the examination of gender pathways toward citizenship. Two studies were conducted addressing (a) the role of parents' participation and the moderating role of adolescent gender and age group (n = 1419) and (b) the role of adolescent social and civic participation and the moderating role of adolescent gender and type of school (n = 1871). Results confirmed the gender gap in political interest and in the use of the Internet for political participation, while no differences emerged for political activity and voting intentions. Adolescents' political engagement and participation are influenced by parents' participation (especially among girls) and by adolescents' social and civic participation (especially among boys). The impact of adolescents' social and civic participation on conventional participation (voting intentions) is partially mediated by sense of community and institutional trust.

This study, involving a sample of 764 emergency workers, investigates dimensions of quality of life at work (Compassion fatigue, Burnout and Compassion satisfaction), and their relationships with Coping strategies and some psychosocial variables (Sense of Community, Collective Efficacy and Self-efficacy). Results indicate the usefulness of distinguishing between positive and negative indicators of emergency workers’ quality of life. Compassion satisfaction is positively correlated with efficacy beliefs, Sense of Community and the use of Active coping strategies. Burnout and Compassion fatigue are especially correlated with the use of dysfunctional coping strategies like distraction and self-criticism. Volunteer emergency workers enjoy a higher well being than full-time professional workers. Results and their implications for interventions aimed at increasing rescue workers’ quality of life by enhancing psychosocial competences are discussed.

Aim of the study was to assess the relationship between social participation and Sense of Community in a sample of University students and the impact of such variables on Social well being. A further aim was to assess the generality of the relationships between these constructs across different countries, and specifically, the USA, Italy and Iran. The sample includes 200 Italian, 125 American and 214 Iranian University students, male and female. Results show higher levels of social participation, Sense of Community and Social well being among American students. Sense of Community is positively correlated with social participation in all three samples; however, only among Italian students social participation positively predicts Social well being. Implications of results will be discussed.

Civic participation in community life and within community organizations is generally considered as associated with positive outcomes for Youth development and well-being. However, supportive empirical evidence on such benefits is still limited, as well as on the processes that may explain such positive outcomes. In this paper, we examined the impact of young people’s participation in different community and youth organizations on Social well-being, and the mediating role of Sense of community (SoC) and Empowerment. The sample comprised 835 adolescents and young adults, aged 16–26 years old (M = 20.8). 414 participants were males (49.6 %) and 421 participants were females (50.4 %). Results confirm that organizational membership of volunteer, youth, and religious associations significantly enhances Social well-being, both directly and through the mediation of SoC and Empowerment. Membership of leisure and recreational associations only marginally and indirectly affects Social well-being through the mediation of Empowerment.

The role of structural characteristics of the residential context in influencing adolescents’ Sense of community (SoC) has received limited consideration in the literature. Aim of this study was to assess SoC in male and female adolescents living in two Italian provinces characterized by different positions on indicators of quality of life. The moderating role of adolescent gender and age group on SoC was also considered. The sample includes 1,182 adolescents: 46.2 % male and 53.8 % female. Age ranged from 16 to 22 years (M = 17.5; SD = 1.23). Findings indicate that levels of Sense of community differ between the two provinces and are higher among adolescents living in the more “advantaged” context (Rimini) based on quality of life objective indicators. Males score higher than females except in the more “advantaged” context, whereas girls experience greater opportunities for influence. SoC tends to decrease with age, as the context becomes increasingly insufficient for satisfying adolescents’ needs. Findings indicate that the context significantly affects adolescents’ SoC and that such effect is partly moderated by gender and age.

The purpose of this paper is to explore, by means of semi-structured interviews, how families of adolescents perceive and describe their educational styles and the development of adolescent autonomy. Specifically, the results of two different studies will be discussed: the first was conducted with a group of 83 parents (fathers and mothers) of 15- to 18-year-old adolescents, male and female, from different cultural backgrounds (medium-low and medium-high). The second study involved both adolescents and their parents of three age-groups (10 families with 13-, 15- and 17-year-old adolescents, for a total of 90 interviews), half male and half female.

This paper intends to explore whether and how the quality of participation experiences is associated with political efficacy and the disposition of migrant and non-migrant young people to becoming involved. The sample includes 1010 young people of Portuguese, Angolan and Brazilian origin, aged between 15 and 29 years old. The results reveal that the quality of participation experiences is related to political efficacy and dispositions to becoming involved, but different groups seem to react differently to different forms of political action.

Italy is one of the European countries with the highest levels of gender inequalities (World Economic Forum 2011). The aims of this paper were to understand to what extent the well-documented gender gap in Italian adult society has an impact on both political and civic actions of younger generations, and whether the process of participation assumes specific features according to gender. 835 Italian participants (49.6% males; 50.4% female, aged from 16 to 26 years old; 20% under voting age) completed a self-administered questionnaire. Analyses confirmed general trends (voting at elections is the most frequently performed political action among Italian youth) and showed the existence of a small gender gap (a major orientation of young women toward civic action, while young men are more engaged in manifest political participation). The results confirmed that family cultural capital and normative support are significant predictors of political participation, in particular for girls and young women. The research reported in this document was supported by a grant received from the European Commission 7th Framework Programme, FP7-SSH-2007-1, Grant Agreement no: 225282, Processes Influencing Democratic Ownership and Participation (PIDOP), which was awarded to the University of Surrey (UK), University of Liège (Belgium), Masaryk University (Czech Republic), University of Jena (Germany), University of Bologna (Italy), University of Porto (Portugal), Örebro University (Sweden), Ankara University (Turkey) and Queen’s University Belfast (UK). For further information about the PIDOP project, please visit the project website: http://www.fahs.surrey.ac.uk/pidop/

In the study of young people’s relationships with residential contexts, it is important to consider the role of developmental tasks (e.g. identity construction, academic and professional choices, etc.) in influencing Place Identity and Sense of Community. Residential mobility may represent an adaptive strategy for modifying some aspects of one’s identity and a contributing factor to the development of autonomy from the family. Limited attention has been devoted to the study of the ways young people deal with their attachments to old and new places within this process. This study involved 203 university students, attending a large university in the North of Portugal. The aim was to investigate Place Identity (PI) and Sense of Community (SoC) related to the home town, and differences according to residential condition (native vs. temporary resident) and year of attendance (I vs. IV). Among students who moved, the role of motives (forced vs. voluntary) and of residential choices after graduation on PI and SoC were assessed. Results indicated that, among students who moved for academic reasons, SoC and PI related to the home town were lower and decreased from the first to the fourth year. SoC was higher among students who experienced the relocation as a forced choice. Students who anticipated to return to their home town after graduation had higher SoC and PI. Made available in DSpace on 2013-08-14T18:09:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license.txt: 1840 bytes, checksum: b2dacd412294e9019fc9af3b4267d4ec (MD5) Cicognani.abstract.pdf: 12594 bytes, checksum: cc3db26f1d363b6b5ff3e456dc9a2d7d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011

Current research on adult-child interaction has stressed the importance of some conversational tactics for the development of communicative competence in children. The conversational device used in the presence of ambiguity and incomprehension is the clarification request (CR), an interrogative utterance by which the speaker asks for explanation, confirmation or repetition of an utterance previously produced by the listener, but which has not been perfectly understood. In this research we analyzed several aspects of nursery school teachers use of the clarification request with children of three different age groups (10–17 months; 21–26 months and 28–37 months). Using audio-recordings of naturally occurring teacher-child interactions, the following features were analyzed: 1) the quantitative distribution of CRs in teacher’s language according to the children’s age; 2) the form of the CRs; 3) their function; 4) the conversational sequences containing CRs. The results suggest that the teacher’s use of CRs is guided by their knowledge and evaluation of the children’s developing communicative competence. The distribution of CRs in the various forms and function that we indentified seem to follow the same general path isolated in the previous studies, collected in a different language and culture, suggesting that the CRs may be a constant feature of adult-child interaction.

Civic and political participation (CPP) is often routinely operationalized through the same questions, as can be found in many related studies. While questions can be adapted in accordance with the research purposes, their psychometric properties are rarely addressed. This study examines the potential methodological problems in the measurement of CPP, such as the conflict between construct validity and measurement invariance, as well as unequal item functioning between some groups of people. We use the Rasch model to test 18 CPP questions for their relevance for the European youth population and to study differential item functioning between groups based on (1) age, (2) gender, (3) economic satisfaction, and (4) country of living. We discovered that CPP questions are strongly connected with the cultural and social context and can discriminate against some groups of people. The results demonstrate the need to develop more culturally responsive methods to study CPP and the paper offers suggestions on how to do so.

This paper outlines a collaborative approach to the design of open educational resources (OER) with community stakeholders so they can be shared with other community practitioners openly, online and repurposed for other contexts. We view curriculum not as something that educationalists provide but rather something that emerges as learners engage with an educational context. We draw on a Project consisting of a partnership between five European Institutions of Higher Education and a range of community stakeholder groups. The partnership will develop a suite of OER for community workers who are implementing assets based approaches in different contexts. We argue that these approaches are negotiated in that one cannot decide how they might operate in a given context without engaging in deliberative discussion. The challenge for us as open education practitioners is how to turn those deliberations into OER and to highlight the important pedagogical aspect of the design process.