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The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted adults’ mental health around the world. Various studies highlighted the role of socio-demographic risk factors, including age, gender, and level of education, in increasing this impact. Although insecure attachment styles are considered a vulnerability factor for psychopathology and difficulties in coping with stressful situations, few studies have examined the role of attachment styles in relation to psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the role of attachment styles in affecting psychopathological problems and post-traumatic symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of Italian adults (N=1548). During the first lockdown in Italy, the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and Symptom Checklist 90-Revised were administered to the participants to assess attachment styles, trauma-related symptoms, and psychopathological problems. The results showed that 41% of the participants had symptoms of clinical and subclinical relevance during the pandemic. Anxious and avoidant insecure attachment styles predicted psychopathological problems and post-traumatic symptoms, whereas secure attachment style was a protective factor. Our results highlighted the significant role played by the quality of attachment styles on adult mental health during the pandemic, providing valuable elements for targeted psychological support interventions.

BACKGROUND: Maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) is the emotional bond between a mother and her fetus and is influenced by numerous risk and protective factors during pregnancy. However, according to the literature, the results relating to the influence of these factors are mixed. METHOD: The aim of the study is to identify the relationship between MFA and maternal distress, evaluated as maternal depression and anxiety, alexithymia, and perceived social support during the prenatal period in an Italian community sample. Ninety-four pregnant women completed self-report questionnaires. RESULTS: Results showed that total MFA was negatively associated with maternal anxiety and alexithymia and was positively associated with social support. Moreover, maternal depression was negatively associated with the quality subscale of MFA The quality subscale of MFA was negatively associated with maternal state and trait anxiety and alexithymia and was positively associated with social support. The intensity subscale of MFA was positively associated with social support. Multiple regression showed that alexithymia and social support predicted MFA with a higher effect than maternal depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The results are useful for planning interventions aimed at supporting the mother-infant bond starting from pregnancy.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased online counselling interventions, including those aimed at university students. The principal aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the online counselling intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic, also with regards to the effectiveness of the face-to-face intervention. Methods: 34 students (Mean age = 23.74; Female = 27) who requested online university counselling during COVID-19 have been compared with 81 (Mean age = 22.8; Female = 60) students who requested university face-to-face counselling before the pandemic. The psychopathological problems were assessed with the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised, attachment styles with the Attachment Style Questionnaire, adverse childhood experiences with Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, and life satisfaction with the Life Satisfaction Scale. Results: At the pre-intervention phase, psychological distress was similar in both groups with no differences in the General Severity Index of the SCL-90 R, and there were no significant differences for secure/insecure attachment, adverse childhood experiences, and life satisfaction. The online counselling intervention during the pandemic was effective in reducing psychological distress scales as depression (p =.008), obsessive–compulsive (p =.008), interpersonal sensitivity (p =.005), and anxiety (p =.011), and in the total scale of the SCL-90 R (p =.017). The face-to-face counselling intervention was effective in reducing psychological distress in all subscales and in the total scale of the SCL-90 R (p =.000) and in increasing the level of life satisfaction (p =.023). Attachment style did not moderate the effectiveness of the online and face-to-face interventions. Conclusions: Students seeking counselling, both before and during the pandemic, show similar levels of psychological distress. The online counselling intervention was almost as effective as face-to-face counselling intervention with respect to psychologica

Eighty-one adolescent and young mother–infant dyads have been divided into two groups with/without traumatic experiences in maternal history to examine the effect of maternal traumatic experiences on the quality of mother–infant relationship. At infant 3 months, mother–infant interaction was video-recorded. Results showed that adolescent and young mothers with traumatic experiences (vs. adolescent and young mothers without traumatic experiences) had less sensitive and more violent and intrusive behaviours. Infants with mothers with traumatic experiences (vs. infants with mothers without traumatic experiences) had more aggressive and reactive behaviours. Furthermore, maternal cumulative traumatic experiences predicted more negative behaviours. Findings indicated that maternal childhood traumatic experiences increased an adolescent mother’s risk for maternal–child interaction problems, worsened the high-risk condition inherent in motherhood in adolescence. Understanding the effect of adolescent mother’s traumatic experiences has important implications for promoting early intervention in the treatment of trauma and supporting the mother–child relationship.

Emerging adulthood is a turning point in the life cycle with regard mental health. To assess psychological distress and attachment styles 688 university students of which 370 requested a counselling support responded to Symptom Checklist 90 Revised and Attachment Style Questionnaire. Counselling attending students (vs counselling non-attending students) have a higher psychological risk profile, with more psychological distress and insecure attachment. A marked percentage of students not attending counselling presents psychological distress. In both groups associations emerged between psychopathological problems and insecure attachment. The importance of communication strategies aimed to those students who, albeit non requesting psychological help, display psychological distress is discussed.

The study examined the effectiveness of a brief psychodynamic counseling intervention on psychological distress and general life satisfaction in a sample of 124 students by comparing pre- and posttreatment data. The authors also tested the moderating role of pretreatment attachment styles. Results showed that most participants (57%) can be classified as a nonclinical population, whereas only a minority of participants belong to a clinical population (17%) and a subclinical population (26%) according to the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R). Psychodynamic counseling intervention was shown to be associated with a decrease in the Global Severity Index and the anxiety and depression subscales of the SCL-90-R. Clinical effectiveness was greater for participants belonging to the clinical group. General life satisfaction increased significantly for all students. The authors found no moderation effect of attachment styles. Brief psychodynamic counseling intervention was associated with a reduction of psychological distress and an increase in life satisfaction.

COVID-19 pandemic involved several psychosocial consequences. We aimed at monitoring the mental health of Italian adults during the lockdown imposed by the government. We present here results from the baseline assessment of the “EmotionalThermometer [TermometroEmotivo] project on a sample of 1548 Italian adults. We assessed the socio-demographic conditions of participants, individuals’ perception of the COVID-19-situation, psychological distress, emotion regulation strategies, and perceived social support. Having a worse representation of COVID-19 and consulting news more frequently, with higher anxiety and less credibility of different sources of information, were positively associated with psychological distress and post-traumatic responses. Being female, younger age, living in high-risk regions, having symptoms of COVID-19, and having relatives/friends with such symptoms represented risk factors for a worse perception of COVID-19 and distress. Social support and cognitive reappraisal represented protective factors for mental health.

La fase del ciclo di vita dell’emerging adulthood, propria delle società industrializzate, si estende dai 19 ai 28/30 anni ed è definita da Arnett (2004) come età self-focused, caratterizzata da esplorazione identitaria, instabilità, pluri-possibilità e da una sensazione di feeling in between tra adolescenza ed età adulta. Nell’elaborato viene descritto il Servizio di Counselling ad orientamento psicodinamico dell’Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca. Il profilo dell’utenza che accede al Servizio è caratterizzato da alcuni fattori di rischio, quali presenza di sintomatologia, insicurezza nell’attaccamento, soddisfazione di vita non elevata ed esperienze avverse infantili. Nel corso degli studi, si evidenzia l’effectiveness dell’intervento di counselling psicodinamico proposto, sia a breve termine, portando ad una diminuzione dei livelli sintomatologici, sia a lungo termine, mantenendo stabili nel tempo i miglioramenti raggiunti. L’effectiveness dell’intervento emerge anche nello studio con il gruppo di controllo in waiting list, che non mostra miglioramenti, a differenza degli studenti che effettuano i colloqui di counselling. Infine, nello studio esplorativo di confronto tra studenti dell’Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca e studenti dell’Università Rupert Karl di Heidelberg, emergono similitudini tra i due gruppi, quali medesime motivazioni alla base della richiesta di aiuto e simili livelli sintomatologici, mentre vi sono differenze rispetto agli stili di attaccamento e alla soddisfazione di vita. I dati evidenziano l’importante ruolo di protezione dell’attaccamento sicuro rispetto alla psicopatologia e alla soddisfazione di vita, a differenza dell’attaccamento insicuro che si configura come potenziale fattore di rischio, a prescindere dal paese di provenienza degli studenti., Typical of industrialized societies, the emerging adulthood’s lifecycle phase (from 19 to 28/30 years old) is defined by Arnett (2004) as a self-focused age, characterized by identity exploration, instability, possibilities and a sensation of feeling in between adolescence and adulthood. The psychodynamic Counseling Service of the University of Milano-Bicocca will be described. The profile of the Service’s users is characterized by some risk factors, such as the presence of symptomatology, insecurity in attachment, low life satisfaction and adverse childhood experiences. The effectiveness of the proposed psychodynamic counseling intervention will be highlighted, both in the short term, leading to a decrease in symptom levels, and in the long term, keeping the achieved improvements stable over time. The effectiveness of the intervention also emerges in the study with a control group in the waiting list, who does not show improvements with respect to the students who carry out the counseling intervention. Finally, in the exploratory comparison study between students of the University of Milano-Bicocca and students of the Rupert Karl University of Heidelberg, similarities emerge between the two groups, such as same reasons behind the request for help and similar symptom levels, while there are differences with respect to attachment styles and life satisfaction. The data highlights the important protective role of secure attachment with respect to psychopathology and life satisfaction, unlike insecure attachment that is configured as a potential risk factor, regardless of the students’ country of origin.

Background: Maternal childhood experiences of maltreatment affect parenting and have consequences for a child's social-emotional development. Adolescent mothers have a higher frequency of a history of maltreatment than adult mothers. However few studies have analyzed the interactions between adolescent mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment and their infants. Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of maternal childhood experiences of maltreatment on mother-infant emotion regulation at infant 3 months, considering both infant and mother individual emotion regulation and their mutual regulation. Participants: Participants were 63 adolescent and young adult mother-infant dyads recruited at a hospital. Methods: The mothers were administered the Adult Attachment Interview to evaluate reflective functioning and attachment and the Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse was used to evaluate maternal childhood experiences of maltreatment. Mother-infant interactions were coded with a modified version of the Infant Caregiver Engagement Phases. Results: Dyads with mothers with childhood maltreatment (vs dyads with mothers with no maltreatment) spent more time in negative emotional mutual regulation (p = .009) and less time in positive and neutral mutual emotion regulation (p = .019). Cumulative maternal childhood experiences of maltreatment were associated positively with mother and infant negative states at individual and dyadic level and with the AAI scales of Passivity and Unresolved Trauma (p < .05). The effect of cumulative maternal childhood experiences of maltreatment on mother-infant emotion regulation was direct and not mediated by maternal attachment and reflective function. Conclusions: Maternal childhood experiences of maltreatment increase the risk connected to early motherhood, affecting mother-infant emotion regulation.

A simple approach is reported to engineer biodegradable and biocompatible nanoporous hyaluronic acid particles (NPHAs) with a characteristic sponge‐like morphology and uniform size. These NPHAs can be synthesized using the concomitant cross‐linking of hyaluronic acid and the cross‐linking agent precipitation. The nanoporous architecture of NPHAs prevents the rapid enzymatic degradation of hyaluronic acid and controls the erosion of microparticles in physiological conditions. Once injected into an intra‐articular body cavity of healthy mice, these NPHAs reside at the point‐of‐delivery for an extended time period, exhibiting a sustained release of hyaluronic acid. In addition, in vivo studies indicate the persistence of NPHAs in the knee joints with neither accumulation into major organs, nor any local or systemic side‐effect. The use of NPHAs is emphasized as reservoirs of hyaluronic acid, effectively providing an innovative and safe platform for prolonging the favorable effects displayed by hyaluronic acid on joints affected by osteoarthritis.

Previous benefit-risk perception studies and social experiences have clearly demonstrated that any emerging technology platform that ignores benefit-risk perception by citizens might jeopardize its public acceptability and further development. The aim of this survey was to investigate the Italian judgment on nanotechnology and which demographic and heuristic variables were most influential in shaping public perceptions of the benefits and risks of nanotechnology.