Vaccine hesitancy (VH) may be significant in jeopardizing efforts to mass containment of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on a sample of 2667 Italian college students, before the ...COVID-19 vaccines became available for this age group (from 7 May to 31 May 2021). An online survey was created to obtain information about socio-demographic, health-related, and psychological factors linked to mRNA and viral vector COVID-19 vaccines. Statistically significant higher VH (30.4%) and vaccine resistance (12.2%) rates were found for viral vector than mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (7.2% and 1.0%, respectively; p < 0.001). Factors related to viral vector VH were partially different from those related to mRNA VH. Students with greater endorsement on conspiracy statements and negative attitudes toward the vaccine had higher odds of being vaccine-hesitant or -resistant. Students who had received a previous COVID-19 test and who scored higher on the agreeableness personality dimension had lower odds to be vaccine-hesitant or -resistant. The willingness to choose the vaccine was related to the viral vector but not to the mRNA VH. Taking into consideration the factors involved in vaccine hesitancy/resistance in college students could represent a key public health strategy to increase vaccine coverage and reduce viral spreading.
The social isolation and the subsequent, increased use of Social Networking Sites due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had an impact on subjective well-being around the world. The present longitudinal ...study examined whether changes in psychological distress and well-being during the Italian second wave of the pandemic differ among people with different levels of Problematic Facebook Use (PFU). A total of 493 participants (M
= 24.55 ± 7.25; 80.3% females) completed measures of passive use of Facebook, social comparison orientation on Facebook, fear of missing out, psychological distress (depressive symptoms and fear of COVID-19 pandemic) and well-being across three waves. Latent class analysis (LCA) categorized participants into three groups with different PFU levels: healthy users, moderate PFU users, and high PFU users. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) showed that the between-person level (class membership) accounted for most of the variability in psychological distress and well-being. No significant changes were found in psychological distress and well-being over time, but the High PFU users showed greater levels of psychological distress and lower levels of well-being at each time point. The findings of this study suggest that the relationship between PFU, psychological distress and well-being may reflect trait-like time-invariant differences between individuals rather than state-like changes.
Objectives:
Recidivism reduction is the primary goal of many correctional programs, and “recidivism” is the most prevalent outcome measure in related program evaluation research. Many different ...operationalizations of recidivism are used without a clear delineation of how these variations may impact conclusions. This study explores how the definitions of recidivism may impact research findings and resultant policy recommendations regarding the efficacy of parole.
Methods:
Data from prisoners released in 2008 (n = 12,132) to parole or unconditional release are analyzed according to 10 different operationalizations of recidivism. We compare recidivism rates, time to failure, and hazard rates between groups through the presentation of descriptive statistics and the use of multivariate Cox proportional hazards survival models.
Results:
Our findings indicate that parole supervision could be deemed either effective or ineffective depending on which definition of recidivism is employed. These findings are largely driven by whether technical parole violations are included into more traditional criminal outcome measures, such as rearrests, reconvictions, or reincarcerations for new crimes, and if court processing times are factored into measures of time to failure.
Conclusions:
Our results raise questions about the consistency of findings within the corrections literature. These conclusions, given the role that technical violations and court processing times can play, suggest a need for increased specificity when using recidivism as an outcome measure.
The social isolation due to the COVID-19-related lockdown has had an impact on social media consumption around the world. This study examines the relationship between fear of COVID-19, Facebook use ...and disordered eating.
Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyse two-wave survey data (T0: Italian first lockdown; T1: after two months) during the pandemic. Young adults with self-reported dysfunctional eating behaviors (N = 115; 91.3% females; mean age = 28.60 ± 7.31) were recruited to complete an online survey at T0; 66 participants (92.4% females; mean age = 28.85 ± 7.85) completed the survey at T1. They were assessed on Facebook use, dysfunctional eating cognitions, and fear of COVID-19.
Participants' disordered eating cognitions increased during the pandemic. At T0, higher fear of COVID-19 was positively associated to time spent on Facebook, which in turn predicted disordered eating cognitions at T1. Moreover, maladaptive Facebook use mediated the relationship between daily time on Facebook and Shape concerns.
The findings of this study suggest an influence of dysfunctional Facebook use in increasing disordered eating cognitions during the pandemic.
This present study examines the sexual and general recidivism rates of 547 convicted sex offenders released before and after the enactment of Megan’s Law in New Jersey. Presenting the longest Megan’s ...Law evaluation, participants were followed for an average of 15 years after release (range = 10-29 years). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression equations were estimated to identify covariates significantly associated with both sexual and general recidivism. Group-based trajectories of general recidivism within the 10 years post–prison release were also estimated and compared according to pre–Megan’s Law and post–Megan’s Law release status. No differences in recidivism rates were noted between the cohorts, but differences emerged in the offending trajectories of the high-risk group of offenders within 10 years of release. These results highlight the lack of impact that sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws have on sexual and general reoffending rates postrelease.
The present study explored the effects of solitary confinement on in-prison outcomes among inmates housed in disciplinary segregation in a northeast state (N = 398). The deterrent effects of ...segregation and program participation on future in-prison behaviors were examined. Differences among samples of inmates housed in disciplinary segregation before and after the enactment of policy revisions were also assessed. Findings from bivariate and multivariate analyses indicate most inmates did not have a new infraction; however, certain inmates were more likely to receive a future discipline. Furthermore, completing programming while in disciplinary segregation did not have an effect on future infractions or programming participation. The implications of the research findings are discussed.
Although the Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R) has been validated across genders and races, few studies have investigated the validity of the instrument for different combinations of races ...and genders. Using data from a sample of offenders in New Jersey (N = 9,454), we measure the LSI-R’s validity in predicting recidivism within 1 year of prison release. Our findings indicate that the LSI-R is a valid predictor of recidivism across different race and gender combinations; however, the instrument performs poorly at distinguishing recidivists from non-recidivists and exhibits the lowest discriminant capacity for Black males. Policy implications are discussed.
All versions of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) are broadly used to measure people's interpersonal functioning. The aims of the current study are: (a) to examine the psychometric ...properties and factor structure of the Italian version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-short version (IIP-32); and (b) to evaluate its associations with core symptoms of different eating disorders. One thousand two hundred and twenty three participants (
= 623 non-clinical and
= 600 clinical participants with eating disorders and obesity) filled out the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-short version (IIP-32) along with measures of self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, RSES), psychological functioning (Outcome Questionnaire, OQ-45), and eating disorders (Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI-3). The present study examined the eight-factor structure of the IIP-32 with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). ESEM was also used to test the measurement invariance of the IIP-32 across clinical and non-clinical groups. It was found that CFA had unsatisfactory model fit, whereas the corresponding ESEM solution provided a better fit to the observed data. However, six target factor loadings tend to be modest, and ten items showed cross-loadings higher than 0.30. The configural and metric invariance as well as the scalar and partial strict invariance of the IIP-32 were supported across clinical and non-clinical groups. The internal consistency of the IIP-32 was acceptable and the construct validity was confirmed by significant correlations between IIP-32, RSES, and OQ-45. Furthermore, overall interpersonal difficulties were consistently associated with core eating disorder symptoms, whereas interpersonal styles that reflect the inability to form close relationships, social awkwardness, the inability to be assertive, and a tendency to self-sacrificing were positively associated with general psychological maladjustment. Although further validation of the Italian version of the IIP-32 is needed to support these findings, the results on its cross-cultural validity are promising.
Recent studies have suggested that health constructs embraced by the Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) may drive individuals' COVID-19 health-related ...decisions. This study examines the relationships between existential concerns (ECs; within the TMT), basic psychological needs (BPNs; within the BPNT) and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH), as well as the mediating role of negative attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from April to May 2021 on a sample of two hundred and eighty-seven adults (M
= 36.04 ± 12.07; 59.9% females). Participants provided information regarding existential concerns, basic psychological needs, attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine hesitancy for Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines separately. Higher vaccine hesitancy (32.1%) and vaccine resistance (32.8%) rates were found for AstraZeneca than for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (22.3% and 10.1%, respectively). Structural equation modeling showed that existential concerns were related to Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccine hesitancy both directly and indirectly through negative attitudes toward potential side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. The findings of the study confirm that the TMT is efficient in explaining COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Targeted efforts are needed to increase the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.
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