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.
Studies on the role played by attachment attitudes among late adolescents who show Problematic Internet Use (PIU) are still lacking. Three self-report measures concerning attachment attitudes, ...childhood experiences of abuse, and Internet addiction were administered to 310 students (49 % males) aged 18–19 attending the last year of high school. Students who screened positive for PIU were more likely to be male and to have suffered childhood experiences of physical and sexual abuse; they also scored higher than the other participants on scales assessing anxious and avoidant attachment attitudes. A logistic regression showed that the classification of participants in the PIU group was predicted by male gender, having suffered from physical and sexual abuse in childhood, and preoccupation with relationships. Keeping constant the effects of gender and childhood experiences of abuse in the equation model, increasing values of preoccupation with relationships were reflected by an exponential growth in the probability curve for PIU classification. Findings of the study support the hypothesis that insecure attachment attitudes (particularly the preoccupation with relationships) are involved in the development of PIU among late adolescents.
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.
The aim of this study is to investigate the role played by mindfulness in the relationship between cognitive styles and gambling disorders in a sample of female young adults. Participants in this ...study (125 women; M
age
= 18.64 years; SD = 1.7) were recruited in betting or bingo halls. They completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure, and Sternberg's questionnaire on thinking styles. The results from the mediation analyses revealed that the executive thinking style increases gambling and that the deficit in mindfulness ability mediates this relationship. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
The present study aimed to explore the unique and common role that some cognitive, personality and relational characteristics play in male adolescents’ regular gambling behavior. Participants were ...273 male adolescents and young adults aged 15–19 recruited in sports betting centers. They completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire, the Hypercompetitive Attitude scale, and The Coping Strategy Indicator. The relationship between narcissistic rivalry and gambling was mediated by hyper-competitiveness and avoidant coping strategy. These findings suggest that narcissistic features and maladaptive coping strategies might be involved in the development of disordered gambling in youth, supporting a compensatory model of this addictive behavior and claiming for preventative actions that take into account the psychological vulnerabilities of adolescents and young adults.
•Problematic Facebook use (PFU) and social anxiety concerning social media (SASM) were explored in 152 mother-offspring dyads.•Direct effects were found between PFU and SASM in mothers and their ...offspring.•Mothers’ PFU also predicted SASM in their offspring.•Findings support a transactional perspective on problematic social media use.
Previous research has shown significant and positive associations between social anxiety of parents and their adolescent offspring. The main aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in the social media (SM) context. We tested one hundred and fifty-two couples comprising mothers and their adolescent offspring (12–14 years old) on their levels of problematic Facebook use (PFU) and social anxiety concerning SM use. An actor–partner interdependence model highlighted the positive relationship between the PFU scores of mothers and their offspring on the levels of SM social anxiety in the offspring. We discuss the results in the context of intergenerational transfer of problematic technology use and social anxiety.
Objective
The study investigated the relationship between psychological parental control and muscle dysmorphia in adolescence, as form of exercise dependence, focusing also on the role of ...pathological worry.
Methods
Participants were 312 adolescents (140 boys and 172 girls) aged 16 to 18 years (
M
= 17.05;
SD
= 0.85) and completed the Muscle Dysmorphia Disorder Inventory, the Dependency-oriented and Achievement-oriented Parental Psychological Control, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.
Results
The results highlighted that boys showed higher level than girls in dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented parental psychological control and muscle dysmorphia. Furthermore, girls showed higher levels of pathological worry than boys. Pathological worry partially mediated the relationship between dependency-oriented parental psychological control and muscle dysmorphia as well as between achievement-oriented parental psychological and muscle dysmorphia. Psychological parental control predicted muscle dysmorphia, and pathological worry seemed to act as a partial mediator in this relationship.
Conclusions
Psychology parental control and pathological worry are linked to muscle dysmorphia, but psychological parental control seems to frustrate the need for autonomy of adolescents and, therefore, muscle dysmorphia may become the maladaptive answer to react to the excessive control of their parents. It seems that body of adolescents may become the scenario towards which they play a sort of power of control to counteract anxiety deriving from the excessive psychological control played by parents.
The purpose of this research was to explore the cognitive and personality characteristics of male adolescent gamblers. Participants were 273 teenage males (
= 18.04,
= 2.10) attending betting centers ...in Sicily, who completed self-report questionnaires on gambling, creativity, perceived social self-efficacy, hypercompetitiveness, and coping strategies. Pathological gamblers reported higher levels of avoidant coping strategies than occasional gamblers. They also scored higher on hypercompetitiveness than both occasional and problem gamblers. Further, problem gamblers scored higher than occasional gamblers on the complexity domain of creative personality. Finally, poor perceived social self-efficacy, higher levels of avoidant coping, and hypercompetitiveness predicted pathological gambling. Theoretical, psycho-educational, and clinical implications are discussed.
The purpose of this study is to verify the existence of an explanatory model of risk that starts with dysfunctional impulsivity, passes through maladaptive decision-making strategies, and culminates ...with pathological gambling. Self-reporting measures concerning impulsivity, decision making, and gambling were administered to 222 Caucasian young adults (53% male) ages 20 to 24 (M=22.1; SD=3.1) who were recruited in betting or bingo halls. Results show that buck-passing decision making partially mediated the relationship between non-planning impulsivity and gambling. Moreover, procrastination decision making partially mediated the relationship between attentional impulsivity and gambling. Thus, the findings show that young adults with personalities characterized by impulsivity tend to adopt maladaptive styles of decision making that predispose them to gamble. Among regular gamblers, the failure to resist an impulse pushes individuals to seek maladaptive cognitive styles to the solution of a problem, as could be the awareness of a behavioral addiction.
•We found a predictive role of impulsivity and decision making on gambling.•We found that buck-passing decision making mediates the relationship between non-planning impulsivity and gambling.•Procrastination mediates the relationship between attentional impulsivity and gambling.
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