Abstract The association between traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and substance abuse is well established. Less is known about the role of traumatic experiences and alexithymia in the onset and ...maintenance of Internet-related disorders. In the present study, self-report measures on traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and problematic Internet use were administered to 358 high school students (57% females) aged 18–19 years old, to test whether alexithymic traits mediated the relationship between traumatic experiences and Internet addiction symptoms, and whether gender moderated the proposed mediation in the sample. While partial mediation occurred in the entire sample, gender directly affected the relationship between the investigated constructs: Internet addiction symptoms were independently related to traumatic experiences among males, and to alexithymic traits among females. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that trauma memories among males, and problems with affect regulation among females, may increase the risk of problematic Internet use during late adolescence. Such findings might have relevant implications to inform any treatment plan for late adolescent students who are overinvolved with online activities, pointing out that tailored approaches to their problems and difficulties are particularly needed in clinical practice.
The Dark Triad represents a collection of three socially aversive traits, namely Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. In this study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Italian ...translation of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD) in a sample of 799 adults, and we explored the associations among Dark Triad traits, theory of mind, empathy, and alexithymia. The DTDD showed a good internal consistency and a bifactor structure including a three-factor non-hierarchical model and a global, second-order factor with all of the DTDD items loading on it. The DTDD traits were positively associated with alexithymia and negatively associated with theory of mind and empathy. Also, results of regression analyses showed that difficulty identifying feelings and a reduced emotional reactivity were significant predictors of the Dark Triad traits. Our findings support the validity and reliability of the Italian translation of the DTDD, and suggest that individuals with high levels of Dark Triad traits may have difficulties in understanding and processing their own rather than other people’s emotional states.
Even though positive associations among problematic Internet use (PIU), maladaptive personality traits, insecure attachment styles, and dissociation have been frequently observed in research, a need ...exists to examine the interrelationships among these factors in young adults. Two hundred fifty-three young adults (52% females) aged between 18 and 25 years old completed a sociodemographic form and measures on PIU, maladaptive personality traits, dissociative experiences, and adult attachment styles. They also reported how much time they usually spent online. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that male gender, increased time spent online, negative affectivity, an avoidant attachment style, and dissociative symptoms of depersonalization/derealization were strongly associated with PIU scores in the sample. Our findings suggest that an excessive time spent online may combine with maladaptive personality features, insecure attachment dispositions, and difficulties in processing bodily experiences in generating PIU among young adults.
Although it has been proposed that problematic Internet use (PIU) may represent a dysfunctional coping strategy in response to negative emotional states, there is a lack of experimental studies that ...directly test how individuals with PIU process emotional stimuli. In this study, we used an emotional Stroop task to examine the implicit bias toward positive and negative words in a sample of 100 individuals (54 females) who also completed questionnaires assessing PIU and current affect states. A significant interaction was observed between PIU and emotional Stroop effects (ESEs), with participants who displayed prominent PIU symptoms showing higher ESEs for negative words compared to other participants. No significant differences were found on the ESEs for positive words among participants. These findings suggest that PIU may be linked to a specific emotional interference with processing negative stimuli, thus supporting the view that PIU is a dysfunctional strategy to cope with negative affect. A potential treatment implication for individuals with PIU includes a need to enhance the capacity to process and regulate negative feelings.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are a group of disorders characterised by chronic or relapsing inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract of variable severity. A chronic medication is often ...needed and management of fertile women is a crucial point because of the possible adverse effects associated with the administered drugs and the disease itself. The risk of pregnancy-related complications and the disease behaviour during pregnancy depends mainly on disease activity at time of conception. So, it is very important to plan the pregnancy and reach and maintain a clinical remission of the disease before conception. Drugs usually used in IBD treatment include 5- aminosalicylic acid compounds, corticosteroids, azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine, cyclosporine A, mesalazine, and antibiotics such as metronidazole and ciprofloxacin. Management of IBD in pregnancy at present is not standardised or supported by strong evidence. In this report, we summarise the available data, mainly derived from retrospective and case-control studies, about IBD management in pregnancy, focusing mostly on the safety of drugs during gestation and peripartum.
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