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Recently, scholars have focused more on changes in higher education, leading to significant insights into the working lives of academics and certain related processes, such as stress or well-being. The interest in academia is also justified by the role of universities as institutions that promote health and well-being, serving as a bridge between society, the world of work, and the local community. This study aims to identify social factors that can enhance the well-being of academic workers (lecturers and technical-administrative staff), highlighting how processes linked to social identity, based on the dynamics of identification with a territory or an organization, can serve as resources that promote well-being. Researchers conducted the survey on 198 workers at the University of Foggia (South Italy). Correlation and reliability assessments were first performed between the variables. Finally, a SEM study was completed. The goodness of fit of the model seems to be sufficient. The social aspects examined in the study, namely, organization identification, territorial well-being, and place attachment, were positively and significantly correlated with general well-being. Findings of the study demonstrated that for teaching and technical-administrative staff, among the key components for enhancing well-being in the academic setting was the social dimension of relationships, understood both inside and outside the university. Therefore, acting the belonging process to an area, implementing and strengthening relations with the social actors involved, as well as on the sense of belonging and identification with an organization, can have precise impact in enhancing well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Transitioning to adulthood is a fundamental yet challenging phase in human development. Despite its relevance, the literature has paid little attention to the impact that transitioning to adulthood has on multiple aspects of individual well‐being. This is one of the few attempts that has employed a sequential explanatory mixed‐methods study to explore how the path to adulthood impacted on the psychological and overall well‐being of Italian young adults. In the quantitative phase, we employed two‐step cluster analysis to assign 45 young adults, who had completed the Italian I COPPE scale of multidimensional well‐being, to three clusters based on their level of change in psychological and overall well‐being. Results from mixed design ANCOVA revealed that participants belonging to the high change cluster showed the highest significant positive change over time with respect to well‐being. In the qualitative phase, 17 individuals took part in focalized narrative interviews, which aimed at exploring significant events, barriers, and facilitators, which had impacted on their well‐being during the transition to adulthood. The textual material was analysed through the Grounded Theory Methodology. It emerged that the state of transition was associated with some triggering events and a temporary negative impact on the interviewees' well‐being. However, findings also revealed that people assigned to different clusters had put in place or learned several resources, skills, and copying strategies, which led to different transitional and well‐being outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This issue serves as a companion piece to a previous JPIC publication (n. 3, 2022), edited by Fortuna Procentese and Laura Migliorini, which served primarily to describe the individual and societal burdens associated with the current migrant crisis, and to present state-of-the-art methods for continuing research in this area. Conversely, the aims of the present volume are to deepen how existing psychological knowledge related to migration issues, inform future scientific, and technological responses as well as cultural and political advances and what additional research is required on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates how the territorial community can influence the individual and social well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) youth and especially the recognition of their feelings and the construction of their own identity as well as their needs to be socially recognized. This research focuses on the experiences of 30 LGB individuals (23 males and 7 females), with a mean age of 25.07 years (SD = 4,578), living in urban and rural areas of Southern Italy. Focalized open interviews were conducted, and the Grounded Theory Methodology, supported by the Atlas.ti 8.0 software, was used for data analysis. The textual material was first coded, and then codes were grouped into five macro-categories: Freedom of identity expression in the urban and rural context, identity construction and acceptance process, need of aggregation and identification with the LGB community, role of the interpersonal relationship in the process of identity acceptance, socio-cultural context, and LGB psychological well-being. The results showed a condition common to the two contexts that we can define as "ghettoization." The young LGB is alone in the rural area due to a lack of places and people to identify with and greater social isolation. On the contrary, although there are more opportunities in the urban area, young people feel stigmatized and ghettoized because "their places" are frequented exclusively by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer (LGBTQ) community. The work will extensively discuss the limitations of the research, future proposals, and the practical implications of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of COVID-19 in Italy resulted in the implementation of a lockdown that obligated the first time the general populace to remain at home for approximately two months. This lockdown interrupted citizens' professional and educational activities, in addition to closing shops, offices and educational institutions. The resulting changes in people's daily routines and activities induced unexpected changes in their thoughts, feelings and attitudes, in addition to altering their life perceptions. Consequently, the present study explores how young adults perceived their lives under lockdown during the final week of March 2020, when the reported number of daily coronavirus infections reached its peak in Italy. The research was carried out among 293 university students (234 women and 59 men) with an average age of 20.85 years old (SD = 3.23). The researchers asked participants to describe the emotions, thoughts and experiences that characterized their time under lockdown. The study analyzed specific narratives related to time and space using grounded theory methodology, which was applied using Atlas 8 software, leading to the creation of 68 codes. The study organized these codes into three specific categories: confined in the present, confined in the past, and striving toward one's goals. Finally, the researchers also created a core-category labeled "continuity of being." The results showed that the closure of open spaces caused a division in participants' perceptions of time continuity, with many viewing themselves as feeling fragmented and as living the present in a static and fixed way. Additionally, participants also saw the present as being discontinuous from the past, while, simultaneously, projecting toward the future and the changes it might bring. Finally, this study examined further implications surrounding individual projecting among young people in greater depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution sets out to combine the perspective of the degrowth paradigm with that of Critical Community psychology. Following the degrowth argument, the advancement of human well-being calls for a shift from growth-based societies to ones grounded in the ethos of degrowth. In this regard, we acknowledge the necessity for both theoretical principles and examples of good practice, which can lead to this transition. To this end, the article combines some of the underlying principles of the degrowth paradigm (i.e. decolonisation of the imaginary, reciprocity and conviviality, and environmental sustainability) with those of Critical Community Psychology, as well as, in one case, of Liberation Psychology (i.e. conscientisation and de-ideologisation, responsible togetherness, and environmental justice). This integration intends to equip academic scholars, practitioners, and social activists with visions and practices for the implementation of strategic actions aimed at individual and social well-being. The article concludes with a thorough reflection on social justice and how to better promote it through the combined contributions of both degrowth and Critical Community psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes working experiences in relation to empowering activities, which have been carried out in a local community in the province of Caserta (in Southern Italy), a place characterized by the widespread presence of organized criminal groups. In this study, workplace is intended as a community network aimed at the promotion of coscientization, liberation, and well-being. Specifically, this paper features initiatives and projects aimed at establishing new community values through a reconstruction of a work-based social system standing against criminal clans, which tend to dominate not only economical transactions but also civil life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this article is to provide guidelines for all community actors on the acquisition of participatory planning tools. There is a growing need for experts capable of participatory interventions to act as social catalysts to promote local well-being and empowerment. Thus, under an ecological approach, 21 young graduates from different fields (architecture, psychology, environmental planning), public administration officers and social organization managers, all residing in Southern Italy, were offered individual and group empowerment training modules through a multidisciplinary training experience with e-learning features. These consisted of 1,500 hours of didactic activities including online cooperative experiences and field interactions directed toward acquiring participatory planning and community mediation tools. Our experience indicates that it is possible to promote participation and acquire skills through online training. Online training has shown itself to be a useful and successful tool for promoting skills in the field of social planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perception of mattering, worthiness, and being meaningful for others is a fundamental condition for the human being. During young adulthood, mattering is particularly significant for the identity consolidation and well-being. This study aims to investigate the effect of relationships with parents on multidimensional well-being of young adults, mediated by mattering. A total of 1249 young Italian adults (age range 18–35) were involved, filling an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results showed that maternal support has a significant direct relationship just with interpersonal well-being, while paternal support with community well-being. Only through the mediation of mattering, both maternal and parental supports have a positive effect on all the well-being dimensions. The results suggest the importance of promoting a sense of mattering in significant interpersonal contexts for young adults to guarantee their well-being when they are involved in facing demanding challenges that the transition to adulthood requires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]