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Belongingness is a key factor in the psychological development and school adjustment of children and adolescents. Going beyond the existing literature, the present study evaluated the association between two sources of belongingness, namely sense of belonging at school (SOBAS) and on social media (SOBOSM), and both psychological maladjustment and educational achievement. Sample consisted of 698 early-to-late adolescents (52.3% female, mean age = 13.79 ± 2.09). Both SOBAS and SOBOSM showed negative direct associations with psychological maladjustment. SOBOSM showed a negative direct association with educational achievement. Social media addiction mediated the links between both SOBAS and SOBOSM and psychological maladjustment and education achievement. Overall, findings suggest that adolescents reporting high sense of belonging both at school and on social media may at lower risk for psychological maladjustment. However, adolescents reporting low SOBAS and high SOBOSM may also be a greater risk of SMA, possibly impacting their psychological health and school adjustement.

Upper limb (UL) function is often affected in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and is typically assessed through objective measures, including the Nine Hole Peg Test (9-HPT), Box and Block Test (BBT), and Hand Grip Strength (HGS). It is important to include the subjective perspective of PwMS in the assessment. This study aims to evaluate associations between Manual Ability Measure-36 (MAM-36) and 9-HPT, BBT, and HGS in MS.The cross-sectional study included five Italian centers. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years, MS diagnosis, and stable disease course. Exclusion criteria were bilateral UL paralysis, and concomitant orthopedic or neurological diseases.A total of 199 PwMS were included: 128 female, mean age = 50.7 ± 13.0 years, 119 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 31 primary and 49 secondary progressive MS, mean disease duration = 14.0 ± 10.4, years, mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) = 4.6 ± 2.0. The MAM-36 showed small correlations with 9-HPT, BBT, and HGS. Correlations between MAM-36 and 9-HPT and BBT were highest among subjects with EDSS ≥ 6 and progressive MS. MAM-36 and HGS showed the highest correlations in subjects with EDSS ≤ 5 and RRMS. Combining 9-HPT and HGS provided the strongest predictive power over the MAM-36.Correlations between objective measures and MAM-36 were small to moderate, meaning that objective measures do not match subjects' perception of UL function. The combination of 9-HPT and HGS measures can help improve the assessment of UL function in activities of daily living.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals are exposed to extreme hazards and workplace stressors. Social media postings by physicians and nurses related to COVID-19 from January 21 to June 1, 2020 were obtained from the Reddit website. Topic modeling via Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) using a machine-learning approach was performed on 1723 documents, each posted in a unique Reddit discussion. We selected the optimal number of topics using a heuristic approach based on examination of the rate of perplexity change (RPC) across LDA models. A two-step multiple linear regression was done to identify differences across time and between nurses versus physicians. Prevalent topics included excessive workload, positive emotional expression and collegial support, anger and frustration, testing positive for COVID-19 and treatment, use of personal protective equipment, impacts on healthcare jobs, disruption of medical procedures, and general healthcare issues. Nurses' posts initially reflected concern about workload, personal danger, safety precautions, and emotional support to their colleagues. Physicians posted initially more often than nurses about technical aspects of the coronavirus disease, medical equipment, and treatment. Differences narrowed over time: nurses increasingly made technical posts, while physicians' posts increasingly were in the personal domain, suggesting a convergence of the professions over time.

(1) Background: Adolescents may be involved in cyberbullying as victims, perpetrators, or to a lesser extent, victim–perpetrators simultaneously. The present research investigated differences between participants acting in different bullying roles—namely, bully, victim, or bully/victim—and bystander roles—namely, defending, passive bystander, and passive/defending; (2) Methods: We used multivariate analysis of covariance to determine how, in the same individuals, direct involvement in cyberbullying episodes compares to participating in them as by-standers in relation to both psychological distress and empathy; (3) Results: Both victims and bully/victims were found to be at increased risk for suicidal ideation, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and emotional dysregulation compared with students who were neither victims nor perpetrators of cyberbullying episodes. Additionally, victims showed higher empathy scores when compared with bullies and bully/victims. All bystander roles showed increased emotional dysregulation compared with uninvolved students, but no differences emerged on other psychological distress measures. Finally, defending bystanders showed increased cognitive empathy. (4) Conclusions: During early adolescence, the direct experience of cyberbullying, as a bully or a victim (or both), show a stronger association with psychological distress than the mere participation in cyberbullying as a witness, regardless of the witness acting defensive toward the victim, or passive. However, both cyberbullying and bystanding roles provide a similar (small) explicative power over empathy variables.

Background: 2.7 billion people around the world currently use a product from Facebook such as Instagram, WhatsApp or Facebook itself. These online platforms belong to the most important social media/messenger applications in the world, in particular with a Western view on this topic. Objectives: A growing movement in the scientific community aims to predict psychological traits and states via the study of digital footprints left on these platforms. In particular several researchers demonstrated already that it is feasible to predict personality from posted text on Facebook, but also from a person’s “Like” behavior and so forth. Methods: In the present work we carried out a meta-analysis on the available literature predicting personality from Facebook. Results: Results showed that on average, the accuracy of prediction of user personality scores by mining Facebook data is moderate (r = .33). Discussions: Currently, personality-predictions from social media and smartphone data are feasible, but far away from perfect. Therefore, current predictions from this data cannot be made on individual level. In the near future though, with both more data sets available and more elaborate analysis strategies from artificial intelligence to be applied, this might change.

Highly responsive teachers tend to foster behaviors that are low in conflict and high in prosociality, among their students, leading to a positive classroom climate and to a decrease in bullying victimization. However, little is known about the interaction between teacher responsiveness and both student-teacher, and student-student relationship characteristics, in influencing students bullying victimization at school. Here, we examined student-teacher relationship quality and students likeability among peers as predictors of in-school victimization. Additionally, we investigated the moderating role of teacher responsiveness over this link. Study sample consisted of 386 early-adolescent students (55.2% female, mean age [SD] = 12.17 [0.73]) and 19 main teachers (females, n = 14). Findings indicated that students exposure to victimization was positively associated with student-teacher conflict and negatively associated with likeability among classroom peers. Teacher responsiveness did not show a significant direct association with bullying victimization. However, when teachers showed high responsiveness, the strength of the association between student-teacher conflict and students likelihood of bullying victimization was slightly increased. The present study highlights the importance of considering the role of teacher responsiveness when modeling the link between student and teacher relationship quality and in school bullying victimization. Funding Agencies|Universita degli Studi di Torino within the CRUI-CARE Agreement

Introduction Adolescents in remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic had few opportunities to socialize in person, resulting in a significant rise in the use of social networks or instant messaging applications. However, excessive use may promote addictive tendencies towards these platforms, with negative consequences for adolescents’ well-being. Aims In this study, we investigated the prevalence of smartphone and social media application use in early-to-late adolescents in remote education. We examined the relative impact of different social media applications on self-reported tendencies toward social media addiction. Methods The sample consisted of 765 Italian adolescents (Age: M = 14.11 ± 2.2;401 females) who reported on use of the smartphone, social media applications, namely WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Messenger, and YouTube. Mean differences in social media addiction across group reporting different patterns of social media use were investigated. The contribution of each social media application in predicting social media addiction was determined using a random forest algorithm. Results On average, adolescents using just WhatsApp and YouTube reported the lowest social media addiction compared with peers also using Instagram or TikTok (or both of them). Overall, we found time spent on smartphone, and use of TikTok were the strongest predictors of social media addiction, followed by use of Facebook, Telegram, Messenger, and Twitter. Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp use showed no effect when examined together with the other platforms. Conclusions Findings indicated that TikTok was the most addictive application during the COVID-19 pandemic, overshadowing other very popular applications with similar visual affordances.

This article presents an Italian version of the Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children (GIQC) (Cohen-Kettenis et al., 2006; Johnson et al., 2004), a parent-report questionnaire covering a range of gender characteristics of children. We developed the GIQC-Italian version with the translation/back translation method and administered it, with a sociodemographic data sheet, to the parents of 1148 children aged 3–12 years (non-clinical sample). After obtaining descriptive data for each item, in line with Johnson et al. (2004), we examined dimensionality through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Considering the results and that our sample was entirely non-clinical, we developed a new scoring procedure. The EFA on the new scores generated three scales: (1) a Female-Typical Behavior Scale, (2) a Male-Typical Behavior Scale, and (3) a Cross-Gender Scale. Additional EFA and confirmatory factor analyses (WLSMV estimator by using a 80/20 random-split-sample analytical approach) confirmed the three-factor solution as the best fitting dimensional structure for the revised GIQC. The Cronbach’s α of the scales showed a satisfactory internal consistency. The frequency distribution of the scales scores showed it is possible to find atypical gender behavior and preferences in non-clinical samples. Independent samples t test confirmed a significant difference between boys’ and girls’ scores. Older children reported scores indicating less gender non-conforming characteristics than younger, except for the Female-Typical Behavior Scale in the girls’ subsample. Results are discussed in the light of the existing literature about gender development. Our findings suggest that the GIQC-Italian version could be a useful tool for studying gender development in the Italian context. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10508-018-1372-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adolescents' involvement in online sexual behaviors is influenced by their developmental need to explore, define, and assert their own sexual identity. Among these behaviors, engaging in sexting behaviors has been shown to have negative consequences for adolescents' well-being because it increases the risk of exposure to different forms of online victimization. Based on these considerations, the present study aimed to examine the associations between two types of sexting behaviors, namely, verbal and visual sexting, and three specific dimensions of adolescents' sexuality, namely, their perceived sex drive, sexual self-concept, and sexual orientation. Next, we tested the hypothesis that involvement in sexting behaviors might be a mediator of the link between sexuality dimensions and exposure to online unwanted sexual solicitations, and cyberbullying victimization. The sample consisted of 653 high school students (66.9% females, Mean age = 16.31, SD = 1.34). We found both verbal and visual sexters to be older, have a stronger sex drive, and sexual self-concept than non-involved adolescents (i.e., non-sexters; while visual sexters were more likely to report non-heterosexual orientation than were verbal sexters and non-sexters. Further, involvement sexting behaviors increased the risk of exposure to both cyberbullying victimization and unwanted online sexual solicitations. Regression analysis showed visual sexting acted as a mediator of the links between the sexuality dimensions and both forms of online victimization. These findings have practical implications for the development of programs aimed at educating adolescents and their caregivers about the negative consequences of the uncontrolled online sharing of visual sexts, as well as providing involved adolescents with the skills to cope with these consequences.

BACKGROUND Social communication via instant messaging (IM) and social networking (SN) apps makes up a large part of the time that smartphone users spend on their devices. Previous research has indicated that the excessive use of these apps is positively associated with problematic smartphone use behaviors. In particular, image-based SN apps, such as Instagram (Facebook Inc) and Snapchat (Snap Inc), have been shown to exert stronger detrimental effects than those exerted by traditional apps, such as Facebook (Facebook Inc) and Twitter (Twitter Inc). OBJECTIVE In this study, we investigated the correlation between individuals’ tendencies toward smartphone use disorder (SmUD) and objective measures of the frequency of smartphone usage. Additionally, we put to test the hypothesis that the pathway linking the frequency of actual smartphone usage to self-reported tendencies toward SmUD was mediated by the increased frequency of IM and SN app usage. METHODS We recruited a sample of 124 adult smartphone users (females: 78/124, 62.9%; age: mean 23.84 years, SD 8.29 years) and collected objective information about the frequency of smartphone and SN app usage over 1 week. Participants also filled in a self-report measure for assessing the multiple components of tendencies toward SmUD. Bivariate associations were investigated by using Spearman correlation analyses. A parallel mediation analysis was conducted via multiple regression analysis. RESULTS The frequency of smartphone usage, as well as the use of IM apps (Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp [Facebook Inc]), Facebook, and image-based apps (Instagram and Snapchat), had significant positive associations with at least 1 component of SmUD, and the cyberspace-oriented relationships factor exhibited the strongest associations overall. We found support for an indirect effect that linked actual smartphone usage to SmUD tendencies via the frequency of the use of image-based SN apps. CONCLUSIONS Our novel results shed light on the factors that promote SmUD tendencies and essentially indicate that image-based SN apps seem to be more strongly associated with problematic smartphone behaviors compared to IM apps and traditional SN apps, such as Facebook.

For social media users, profile updating and receiving Likes may feel like a reward, and elicit positive emotions, reinforcing use of the platform. Could this mechanism have consequences for users’ self-esteem and happiness? Previous findings on the topic are mixed, and typically limited by use of self-reports of online activity. In the present study, we used objective behavioral data to examine the hypotheses that receiving Likes on Facebook would relate to 1) users’ level of perceived self-esteem, and 2) increased happiness via the mediating role of self-esteem. We recruited 2,349 adult Facebook users (589 men, 1,760 women; 67% aged 18–25, 26% aged 26–35, 7% aged > 35 years). Participants answered an online survey and provided access to their objective Facebook data (i.e., profile updates and received Likes). We found that frequency of users updating their profile and sharing personal content (e.g., self-generated texts, images, friends and location tags) had a direct effect on the frequency and intensity of the feedback (i.e., Likes) they received from other users in their online social network. Additionally, analyses supported a positive link between the frequency and intensity of positive feedback received by users and perceived happiness that was mediated in part by an increase in self-esteem. Overall, findings demonstrate a process linking positive online social feedback and perceived well-being.

Introduction Student–teacher relationships have been shown to influence bullying-related behaviors in students. In this study we considered the moderating role of student-teacher conflict and students’ social status in the classroom and involvement in bullying behaviors and peer victimization. Methods Sample consisted of 1742 students (47.2% females, mean age = 10.79; SD = 1.36; range = 8–14) clustered in 113 classrooms, of which 1017 (58.4%) attended primary schools and 725 (41.6%) attended lower secondary schools. We implemented a series of multilevel analyses aimed at determining the role of student-teacher conflict, and students’ social status among classroom peers (i.e., average, popular, rejected, neglected, and controversial statuses), as well their interaction, in influencing verbal, physical, and social forms of bullying and victimization at school. Results Student-teacher conflict had a significant positive effect on all bullying and victimization variables. Regarding students’ social status, rejected students showed increased bullying and victimization when compared with average students, except in social bullying. Significant interactions emerged indicating that a highly conflictual student-teacher relationship exacerbated bullying behaviors and the risk of victimization among rejected students. Additionally, popular students who had conflictual relationship with their teachers were more likely to engage in physical bullying then average students. Conclusions Our study suggests the importance of low conflictual student-teacher relationships in acting as a buffer for aggressive student-student interactions in the classroom, especially when these interactions involve students rejected by their classroom peers.

Background Upper limb (UL) function is affected in about 50% of people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). In the last decade, Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) are playing an important role in clinical trial and practice. ABILIHAND-26 is a PROM that assess self-perceived manual ability defined as the capacity to manage daily activities using the upper limbs. The aim of the study is to translate the ABILHAND-26 into Italian, to explore its psychometric properties examining the associations with demographics, clinical variables, 9-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT) and Manual Ability Measures-36 (MAM-36). Materials and methods Subjects were recruited in five Italian neurological centers. They were evaluated through ABILHAND-26, 9-HPT and MAM-36. Confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis were adopted to investigate the psychometric properties of the ABILHAND-26. Results Two hundred and forty-five patients were recruited. Rasch analyses showed adequate functioning and supported the unidimensionality of the scale. ABILHAND-26 showed negative correlations with age and disease duration, moderate negative correlation with EDSS and the 9-HPT scores for both arms and strong positive associations (ρ ≥ .84) with the MAM-36. Difference in ABILHAND-26 scores only emerged when comparing patients with severe disability (EDSS ≥ 6) with patients with either mild or moderate disability. t) and when comapring relapsing-remitting and secondary progressive patients. Conclusion The Italian version of the ABILHAND-26 is now available. It shows adequate reliability of the score, moderate criterion validity and strong convergent validity. ABILHAND-26 could represent a valid assessment for self-perceived ability to perform manual activity, especially for PwMS with moderate-to-high level of disability.

Because of the high prevalence of smartphone use in early adolescence, communication between classroom peers increasingly occurs via online chat groups. Recent studies indicate that online classmate groups are places in which different forms of peer exclusion can occur, including being banned from participating in the groups, not being invited to join them, or being shunned by online peers. In order to avoid being offended by peers, students may even decide to self-exclude from participating in the groups. Peer exclusion represents a significant source of suffering for early adolescents, with long-lasting consequences on their well-being. In this study, we investigated the relationship between exclusion from WhatsApp classmate groups and emotional symptoms among early adolescents. Additionally, the fear of missing out (FoMO) was examined as a potential mediator of the relationship between peer exclusion and emotional distress. The sample consisted of 398 middle schoolers (age: M = 12.54 years; SD = 0.96) residing in Italy. We found that positive relationships existed between peer exclusion, emotional symptoms, and FoMO. Findings supported the role of FoMO as a mediator in the link between peer exclusion and emotional symptoms. Results are discussed in light of the implications for the assessment of the quality of student-student interactions.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Limited data are available in the literature for upper limb impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to report the distribution of values of hand grip strength (HGS), of the box and block test (BBT) and of the nine-hole peg test (9HPT) correlated with demographic and clinical data in subjects with MS. METHODS This study involved five Italian neurological centres. The inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18, MS diagnosis, stable disease phase, right-hand dominance. All subjects underwent HGS, BBT and 9-HPT evaluation. RESULTS In all, 202 subjects with MS were enrolled: 137 females; mean age 48.4 years; mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 4.17; mean disease duration 14.12 years; disease course 129 relapsing-remitting, 21 primary progressive and 52 secondary progressive MS subjects; mean right HGS 25.3 kg, left 23.2 kg; mean right BBT 45.7 blocks, left 44.9 blocks; mean right 9-HPT 30.7 s, left 33.4 s. All results were statistically significantly different compared to healthy controls. HGS, BBT and 9-HPT were associated with age, EDSS and disease duration, whilst disease course correlated with BBT and 9-HPT. The BBT and 9-HPT scores significantly differed according to level of disability (EDSS ≤3.0, 3.5-5.5, ≥6.0). CONCLUSION Hand grip strength and BBT value distribution in a large MS population is reported. Correlations between HGS, BBT and 9-HPT were generally low.

Abstract. This research developed a new scale to evaluate Self-Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS). The aim of this study was to investigate dimensionality, item functioning, measurement invariance, and concurrent validity of the SEMS scale. Data were collected from 203 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients (mean age, 39.5 years; 66% women; 95% having a relapsing remitting form of MS). Fifteen items of the SEMS scale were submitted to patients along with measures of psychological well-being, sense of coherence, depression, and coping strategies. Data underwent Rasch analysis and correlation analysis. Rasch analysis indicates the SEMS as a multidimensional construct characterized by two correlated dimensions: goal setting and symptom management, with satisfactory reliability coefficients. Overall, the 15 items reported acceptable fit statistics; the scale demonstrated measurement invariance (with respect to gender and disease duration) and good concurrent validity (positive correlations with psychological well-being, sense of coherence, and coping strategies and negative correlations with depression). Preliminary evidence suggests that SEMS is a psychometrically sound measure to evaluate perceived self-efficacy of MS patients with moderate disability, and it would be a valuable instrument for both research and clinical applications.

This study investigated the links between students' behavioral problems, student–teacher conflict, and students' involvement in bully, victim, and bully/victim roles in adolescence. The role of student–teacher conflict as moderator of the association between students' behavioral problems and their involvement in each bullying role was examined. Sample included 430 students from Italy (48.4% female; mean age 12.2 years; grades 6–8). Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that conduct problems positively predicted engagement in each bullying role, while peer-relationship problems predicted involvement in a victim role. Additionally, students experiencing higher student–teacher conflict were more likely of being victims and bully/victims, but not bullies. Finally, student–teacher conflict emerged as a moderator of the association between peer-relationship problems and both bully and victim roles, and between hyperactivity/inattention and victim role. These findings highlights the importance of considering students’ characteristics in relation to student–teacher relationship quality when investigating the factors influencing students' involvement in bullying behaviors. (Less)

Literature suggests that ADHD symptoms and time perspective (TP) are factors in promoting the addictive use of social media among adult users, which in turn can impair various areas of individual personal life including work, academic productivity, and mental health. The present study investigates the interplay between ADHD symptoms and TP in promoting addictive Facebook use in a sample of adolescent Facebook users (N = 283, 49.8% female, mean age = 15.28, SD = 1.33). Participants completed the Italian versions of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire – ADHD subscale, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Results of regression analyses showed that ADHD symptoms positively predicted addictive Facebook use, past negative and present fatalistic orientation, and negatively predicted future orientation. Further, past negative and present fatalistic TP orientations acted as mediators of the relationship between ADHD symptoms and addictive Facebook use: ADHD symptoms favor an increase in problematic use of social media, and this effect appears to be linked to a worsening in the perception of past and present experiences. Knowledge of this mechanism could be useful for psychologists and psychiatrists in the stages of assessment, and psychological or psychotherapeutic intervention.

The present study investigated how information about situational characteristics typically encountered by backcountry recreationists influenced their perceived likelihood of skiing backcountry slopes exposed to avalanche danger. Sensation seeking and previous direct and indirect experiences with avalanche accidents were evaluated as relevant individual predictors. Data was collected by implementing randomized textual scenarios, using a sample of 376 backcountry recreationists from North-Italy (84% male; age: M = 39.68, SD = 9.72). Results of multilevel analyses indicated that forecasted avalanche danger level and slope inclination were associated with lower self-reported likelihood of skiing the slopes, while sensation-seeking, familiarity with the slope area, the availability of safety equipment and the presence of tracks on the slope were positively related with selfreported likelihood of skiing. Previous direct involvement in avalanche accidents was also positively associated with perceived likelihood of skiing, suggesting the existence of confidence-enhancing effects related to avalanche survival experiences.

Through two studies, this work examined the applicability, interpretability, and construct validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System K-3 (CLASS) to measure quality of classroom in...

Studies indicate neuroticism and extraversion as factors explaining individual differences in online activity, and social media addiction. The present study investigates the hypothesis that extraversion and neuroticism may be linked with social media addiction because of their association with higher online posting activity. Further, we test the additional hypothesis that the level of positive social feedback received online (i.e., number of Likes) could play a role in mediating this effect, i.e., a serial mediation effect. Sample consisted of 1094 Facebook users, 72% females, aged 18–35. Social media activity was assessed collecting Facebook passive data consisting of the number of status updates, and Likes received during the last 12 months. Personality and social media addiction were assessed via self-report measures. Results showed neuroticism had a direct positive association with addictive social media use, while extraversion did not. Further, frequency of status updates mediated of the link between each personality trait and addictive social media use. Received Likes mediated the link between extraversion and addictive social media use, while no effect emerged for neuroticism. Finally, we found support for the hypothesis of a serial mediation effect linking personality, number of status updates, received Likes, and social media addiction. For both extroverts and neurotics, receiving positive feedback because of increased activity was linked to an increase in the risk for social media addiction. These results highlight the existence of different patterns of associations linking these personality traits, online activity, and social media addiction.

The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is the most frequently used scale to measure neurologic impairment and quantify the level of disability in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) even though the scale focuses on ambulation and undervalues upper limb (UL) impairment. The 9-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT) is the gold standard for UL assessment in MS, calculating a mean score from right and left arms, even though subjects with MS often show a lateralization of neurological deficit.The study aimed to determine whether an interaction exists between mean right-left 9-HPT scores or 9HPT score asymmetry (difference between right and left side) in predicting EDSS in MS subjects.Demographic and disease variables and 9-HPT scores were obtained from medical records of individuals with MS collected in an ad-hoc database. Subjects with 9-HPT score ≤180 s for each arm were included. An asymmetry score was represented as the absolute value of the difference between 9-HPT scores for both arms.549 subjects were included: 67.8% female, mean age 45±13.14 years, mean EDSS 3.98±2.12, 356 relapsing-remitting, 68 primary and 125 secondary progressive, mean 9-HPT scores: right arm 30.20 ± 19.99 s, left arm 31.80 ± 20.35 s. Mean asymmetry was 9.35±18.20 s. Correlation between mean right-left 9-HPT scores and EDSS was 0.58 (p.001). Significant interaction between mean right-left 9-HPT scores and 9-HPT asymmetry in predicting EDSS scores was found. Regression slope of EDSS on mean right-left 9-HPT score decreases as asymmetry value increases (non-significance area values ≥ 40.93 s).Findings suggest interaction exists between mean right-left 9-HPT scores and asymmetry in predicting EDSS. A consequence of this is that, by disregarding information about asymmetry, studies exploring the association between mean right-left 9-HPT scores and global measures of disability may provide biased results. The bias tends to increase as asymmetry increases, and to be most prevalent among patients with EDSS scores6.

Fear of missing out (FoMO) is known to be associated with a decrease in emotional well-being in adolescents. However, few studies have investigated the possible mediating factors between FoMO and emotional symptoms. In this study, we studied the relationship between FoMO and emotional symptoms in a sample of 472 Italian adolescents aged 11-19. In particular, the study investigated the possible mediating role of perceived stress associated with experiences of neglect and negative reactions by other social media users, and social media addiction. Self-report measures were used. Results show that FoMO directly and indirectly predicts emotional symptoms. Additionally, FoMO is associated with increased sensitivity to stress associated with experiences of neglect and negative reactions by online peers, and social media addiction. Sensitivity to stress associated with neglect (but not to negative reactions) by online peers is found to mediate the relationship between FoMO and social media addiction, which, in turn, mediates the relationship with emotional symptoms. In general, the study shows that FoMO is a factor in experiencing higher sensitivity to stress associated with neglect by online peers, which in turn my act as a trigger for social media addiction, and ultimately showing a negative impact on emotional well-being of adolescents. Limits and future directions for research are discussed.

Depression has high social and economic costs, making the reducing of potential barriers to screening of utmost importance. The use of non-verbal, image-based items might help to widen accessibility to depression screenings due to their potentially increased ease of interpretation and language-free nature. In this view, the paper presents two studies exploring the feasibility of assessing depressive symptoms using a set of image-based items consisting of 36 emoji. In study 1, 430 online-recruited young adults participated to investigate whether they ever felt in the way depicted by each emoji during the last week. Results showed that 33 emoji had significant, theoretically coherent correlations with the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Next, a subset of 10 emoji were selected for potential inclusion in a brief depression assessment. In study 2, using a sample of 482 young adults, the 10-item emoji-based assessment showed acceptable internal consistency, and theoretically consistent convergent and divergent validity with depressive symptoms, and big-5 personality traits. Further, the emoji-based screening instrument showed remarkable accuracy in identifying individuals showing depression symptoms. Overall, results indicate that the selected emoji represent a promising alternative to text-based items when assessing depressive symptoms among young adults.

Users’ interaction with Facebook generates trails of digital footprints, consisting of activity logs, “Likes”, and textual and visual data posted by users, which are extensively collected and mined for commercial purposes, and represent a precious data source for researchers. Recent studies have demonstrated that features obtained using these data show significant links with users’ demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial characteristics. The existence of these links can be exploited for the development of predictive models allowing for the unobtrusive identification of online users’ characteristics based on their recorded online behaviors. Here, we review the literature exploring use of different forms of digital footprints collected on Facebook, the most used social media platform, for the prediction of personality traits. Then, based on selected studies, meta-analytic calculations are performed to establish the overall accuracy of predictions based on the analyses of digital footprints collected on Facebook. Overall, the accuracy of personality predictions based on the mining of digital footprints extracted from Facebook appear to be moderate, and similar to that achievable using data collected on other social media platforms.