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Our exploratory qualitative study sought to examine the traumatic experiences lived, in the pre-migration, migration, and post-migration phases, by refugees and asylum seekers of African displaced people in Niger. Namely, in-depth semi-structured interviews were pursued on 50 participants (mean age 29 years), recruited through purposive convenience sampling via a local NGO in Niger. The analysis of the interviews revealed four main themes: the scenario in which refugees live, permeated by prolonged conflict, economic and political instability and the loss of loved ones; the everyday life marked by sexual violence, torture, family abuse, discrimination, imprisonment and deprivation situations; mental and physical health constantly at risk due to the challenges faced daily; and the search for safety and support, also as an underlying driver of the decision to migrate.The findings underscore the challenges of daily life marked by various forms of trauma such as sexual violence, torture, discrimination, and deprivation. Additionally, the study emphasizes the perpetual risks to both mental and physical health due to these adversities. Moreover, it illuminates how the pursuit of safety and support serves as a fundamental motivator for their migration decisions, shedding light on the complex and compelling factors driving their displacement.

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.

Clinicamente vivi ma privi di consapevolezza di sé (West, 2014), i pazienti in stato vegetativo sono bloccati nella loro transizione tra la vita e la morte, cioè in un hotspot liminale. Essendo paradossalmente sia vivi sia morti, né vivi né morti (Kaufman, 2005), questi pazienti sollevano dilemmi ontologici, etici e legali (Nettleton et al., 2014) e sfidano le tradizionali categorie di significato e i convenzionali sistemi di pratiche forniti dalla medicina, dalla legge e dal senso comune. In questo modo, caregiver, legislatori e il pubblico in generale faticano a comprendere e gestire questi pazienti; e.g., concettualizzarli come vivi o decidere rispetto al fine-vita (Kitzinger & Kitzinger, 2013). Attingendo dalla teoria delle rappresentazioni sociali (Moscovici 1961/1976, 2008) e al quadro teorico della liminalità (Stenner et al., 2017), questa tesi ha indagato come lo stato vegetativo sia compreso e gestito - cioè de-paradossificato - da diversi gruppi e in diversi contesti. In primo luogo, analizzando la stampa che ha divulgato l'argomento, lo Studio 1 ha indagato la rilevanza del tema nel tempo (1990-2019) e in diversi paesi (e.g., in India, in Italia e in Regno Unito). Inoltre, questo studio ha anche mappato e confrontato il modo in cui lo stato vegetativo è stato diversamente rappresentato in questi paesi e nella comunicazione di diversi giornali (e.g.,, destra, sinistra, tabloid/religiosi). In secondo luogo, analizzando i dibattiti parlamentari italiani (2009-2017), lo Studio 2 ha indagato come lo stato vegetativo sia stato strategicamente rappresentato dalle coalizioni di destra e di sinistra per legittimare o delegittimare diverse proposte di legge sul fine vita. In terzo luogo, analizzando i racconti di familiari e professionisti, lo Studio 3 ha indagato le loro rappresentazioni dello stato vegetativo e come queste siano state funzionali a significare le loro pratiche di assistenza e a legittimare i loro diversi posizionamenti all'interno della cas, Persistently alive but unaware (West, 2014), vegetative state patients are enduringly stuck in their transition between life and death – i.e., in a liminal hotspot. Thus, being paradoxically both/neither alive and/nor dead (Kaufman, 2005), these patients raise ontological, ethical, and legal dilemmas (Nettleton et al., 2014) and defy familiar categories of meaning and practice provided by medicine, law, and common sense. In this way, caregivers, legislators, and the wider public struggle to understand and manage these patients; such as understanding them as alive or managing their end-of-life (Kitzinger & Kitzinger, 2013). Drawing on social representations (Moscovici 1961/1976, 2008) and the liminality framework (Stenner et al., 2017), this thesis investigated how the vegetative state has been made sense and dealt with – i.e., de-paradoxified – by different groups and within different contexts. First, by analysing the press disseminating the topic, Study 1 investigated the relevance of the topic over time (1990-2019) and across different public spheres (e.g., India, Italy, and the UK). Moreover, this study also mapped and compared how the vegetative state was differently framed across these public spheres and in the communication of different newspapers (e.g., right, left, tabloid/religious). Second, by analysing the Italian parliamentarian debates (2009-2017), Study 2 investigated how the vegetative state was strategically represented by the left and right-wing coalitions to legitimise or delegitimise different bills regulating end-of-life action. Third, by analysing the accounts of family relatives and professionals, Study 3 investigated how the vegetative state was differently represented to signify their care practices and to position themselves in the nursing home. In this way, it was possible to account for how the vegetative state – as a liminal hotspot – was de-paradoxified in a group-characteristic way, reaching specific purposes and performing various func

Our present study sought to qualitative explore the perceptions of experts on the meaning of children agency in a context characterized by ongoing colonial violence and structural racism. Namely, we explored culture and context-specific features of agency, experts’ perceptions about a decolonized definition, and gaps with the mainstream definition of the construct in Western contexts. The study involved 14 participants (N = 8 women), aged between 32 and 70 years with a mean age of 45 years (SD = 9.72) who came from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and Jenin) and territories currently part of the State of Israel (Jerusalem and Jaffa). They are all mental health professionals in universities, research centres, hospitals and social welfare services. Secondly, the analysis resulted in a map of five themes representing a culturally oriented Palestinian children’s agency model. A threatening context, alleviating factors, healthy agency, aggravating factors, harmful agency. The Palestinian conceptualization of child agency lies in the multifaceted nature of the construct itself re-declined in a context characterized by multiple levels of complexity- cultural, political, social, economic. Our findings might contribute to creating indicators of Palestinian children’s agentic behaviours and a better operationalization of the construct itself.

Background & aims: Several symptoms impair the quality of life (QoL) of patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). They are reported to vary significantly in different countries. Aim of our study was to explore whether there is a geographical clustering that accounts for symptoms in PBC. Methods: Data was analysed from four cohorts of PBC patients from the UK, Spain, Japan and Italy using the PBC-27 scale. Results: Overall, 569 patients from four cohorts were identified, including 515 females (90.5%) with a mean age of 61 years. The analysis provided evidence for strict factorial invariance of the scale, a robust indicator of its validity for cross-cultural research. The mean of the fatigue domain of British patients was significantly greater than that of the Japanese (p ​< ​0.05), Italian (p ​< ​0.05), and Spanish patients (p ​< ​0.001). The mean of the cognitive domain after 54 years of age, was significantly greater in the British patients than in the Japanese (p ​< ​0.05) and Spanish patients (p ​< ​0.01). However, after 69 years of age, there were not significant differences between countries. The mean of the emotion domain after 54 years of age, was greater in the British that in the Spanish (p ​< ​0.01) and Italian patients (p ​< ​0.01). Conclusions: Differences in the four countries concerning fatigue, cognitive and emotional dysfunction were found. The association of latitude and symptoms might provide new insights into the role of sun exposure, genetics and/or cultural component into disease phenotype in PBC.

Experiences of social exclusion, including ostracism and rejection, can last anywhere from a few seconds to many years. Most research focused on short-term social exclusion, whereas virtually no empirical work has investigated the experiences of long-term social exclusion. Williams theorized that prolonged experiences of social exclusion (i.e., ostracism) would cause individuals to pass from the reflexive and reflective stages to the resignation stage characterized by the inability to recover threatened psychological needs and feelings of alienation, unworthiness, helplessness, and depression. Across two studies, we explored this prediction—and, in light of pain overlap theories, considered the possibility that chronic exclusion and chronic pain induce common psychological responses. Study 1 consisted of a quasi-experimental study involving five groups of participants: (1) those with chronic experiences of social exclusion (n = 82), (2) those with chronic physical pain (n = 82), (3) those with chronic hypertension (n = 69), (4) those with chronic kidney disease (n = 60), and (5) a group of healthy people (n = 83). Participants filled out a questionnaire including measures of need threat, negative emotions, and the four key outcomes linked to the resignation stage (i.e., alienation, unworthiness, helplessness, and depression). Although our data showed little evidence to support the psychological overlap between chronic exclusion and chronic physical pain, the results suggested that chronic experiences of social exclusion were associated with higher levels of negative emotions and resignation stage outcomes compared to participants in all the other groups. Furthermore, we found that threatened psychological needs mediated the effect of social exclusion on the resignation stage outcomes. Study 2 tested, but found no support for, the possibility that acute experiences of social exclusion could increase the resignation stage outcomes. Overall, our research indicates that