Search

Teachers' perceptions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can influence the diagnostic rates of the disorder and the management of children in schools. This study investigated the knowledge and perceptions of ADHD in a sample of 589 Italian primary school teachers using a self-report questionnaire that included the ADHD perceptions questionnaire (Norvilitis & Fang, 2005) and the ADHD knowledge scale (Jerome, Gordon, & Hustler, 1994). The results showed that Italian teachers had a moderate level of knowledge, that their perceptions of ADHD were ambivalent, that their teaching experience was not positively correlated with their perceptions and knowledge of ADHD, and that receiving specialized information about ADHD had a limited influence on their perceptions. These findings suggest that perceptions are more than a matter of knowledge and should be addressed with regard to deep cultural values and representations. The educational and psychological implications of these results are discussed; particular attention is given to the importance of understanding the social context of ADHD and taking into consideration the teachers' perceptions of ADHD in the organization of training. Future research should address the role of children's gender in influencing perceptions of ADHD as well as the perceptions of parents and siblings.

This study investigates the sense of community and interethnic relations in two different metropolitan areas that vary in ethnic heterogeneity. The study was conducted in Milan, Italy using a sample of 318 participants living in different city districts that vary in ethnic heterogeneity (low vs. high). The participants completed a questionnaire that assessed their psychological sense of community, blatant and subtle prejudice, host community acculturation strategies, and some measures of contact (quality, quantity, and type). The results indicate that high ethnic heterogeneity is related to a lower sense of community, higher blatant prejudice, and exclusionism. Residents living in lower ethnic heterogeneity neighborhoods reported closer contact opportunities and lower levels of prejudice. (Contains 3 figures, 2 tables, and 6 footnotes.)

Objective: Research showed that ovarian cancer poses unique challenges to patients' care experiences and that patients' social networks could affect their care path significantly. The present study aimed to analyse the metaphors that patients used to signify the impact of the illness on their social relationships and the role of relationships in dealing with cancer. Design: Following a qualitative description approach we conducted 38 semi-structured interviews with Australian (14) and Italian (24) women diagnosed at different stages of ovarian cancer. Results: The analysis identified four themes bringing together the meanings expressed by participants' metaphors: Lack of comprehension and communication; Isolation, marginalisation, and self-isolation; Discrepancy between the private and public self; and Social relationships as empowerment resources. Conclusion: The polysemic nature of patients' metaphors captures both the empowering and especially disempowering role of social relationships in dealing with ovarian cancer. Results also show that metaphors are used to make sense of the impact of ovarian cancer on social relationships and to express different strategies for managing patients' networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Parents vary in their gradual adaptation to the demands of caring for an autistic child. Their experiences can be positive, negative, or a combination of both, depending on the severity of the cases and various personal and social factors. Cross-cultural comparisons can aid in understanding how contextual factors, such as the availability of social and health services, and cultural factors, such as family relationships and the distribution of care burden, may influence the caregiving experience. However, there is a limited amount of cross-cultural research on this topic, which is almost exclusively quantitative. Aims and methods: From an ecocultural perspective, our interview-based study aimed to explore the experiences of Australian (15) and Italian (11) parents of autistic children living in their respective countries. Results: The analysis identified three main themes. Life through autism, autism through life: coexisting with an unexpected life partner, Parenting autistic children: reorganization of parents' subjectivity and familiar dynamics, and The unseen side of disability: autism communities between inclusion and segregation. Discussion: Our comparative approach reveals both commonalities and differences between the two groups of participants. The similarities support features previously identified in the literature: the emotional and physical burden on parents and the positive impact on parental identity. The differences relate to the diagnostic process, interactions with health professionals, the impact of autism on family dynamics and parental perspectives, and the role assigned to siblings. Despite facing similar challenges, these differences reveal how Italian and Australian parents articulate different understandings linked to social and cultural differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's coming out has a significant impact at the family level, and parents' reactions can affect their children's well-being. Research investigating parents' perspectives is still limited outside the USA and primarily includes parents involved in LGB associations. Our study investigates coming out within families in Italy, a context characterized by heteronormativity and high stigma toward sexual minorities, with parents not involved in LGB associations. The aim was to explore the meanings parents attributed to their child's coming out and look at how it reshaped their relationships with their offspring in light of the theoretical model elaborated by Chrisler (2017) on studies conducted in the US context. Thirteen participants were interviewed (10 mothers, aged 43–63): ten with a gay son, two with a lesbian daughter and one with a bisexual daughter. The thematic analysis identified four themes that can be framed in Chrisler's theoretical model and then extended its field of application to a new socio-cultural context. The discussion highlights some features transversal to the themes that can be better understood if related to specific traits of the Italian family and relational culture, emphasizing the importance of educational and cultural interventions directed at parents who are not yet involved in associative networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a description of the presence of qualitative research in Italian social and organisational psychology. The first section of the article identifies three major phases of qualitative methods and the factors that, from the 1990s, played a major role in their development: the legitimisation of qualitative research in sociology, the rising of theoretical perspectives expressing a critical stance toward the hegemonic quantitative and experimental approach of the discipline, and the demand for qualitative studies from public and private clients. In the second section, we present a review of the scientific articles published in the last five years. Our analysis shows that the health field stands out as having the greatest number of publications, both for social and organizational psychology; the absolute prevalence of the interview as a data collection method; and that Grounded theory, Discourse analysis, and Conversation analysis are the most cited references for data analysis. We discuss these results in relation to the set of rules that regulates the careers of researchers in Italy (and abroad), and to the only partial acceptance of qualitative research in Italian psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutual aid groups have become a common form of help in the mental health field. Although self-help groups are associated with a range of health and social benefits, they remain poorly understood in terms of the dynamics of their interactions. Adopting an ethnographic-discursive approach, we conducted a 6-month observation of the meetings of a self-help group of parents with children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to analyze the discursive dynamics of the interactions that characterized the group. Using a set of discursive strategies and practices, the parents promoted a homogeneity of viewpoints and experiences within the group and constructed a shared and consensual narrative to endorse a specific understanding of ADHD. The production of both homogeneity within the group and a shared narrative served to absolve parents of guilt, helped parents to signify their experience within a blaming social context, and preserved their identities as “good parents.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]