In the last few decades, several studies have investigated the role of personality traits and attitudes toward traffic safety in predicting driving behaviors in diverse types of drivers across several countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies so far have investigated the possible moderating role played by age in relation to predictors of accident risk. Answering this open question would provide information about the generalizability of the model across different subpopulations and would make possible the tailoring of the interventions to specific target groups. The study involved 1,286 drivers from three different age groups (young: n = 435; adult: n = 412; old: n = 439) which completed a questionnaire measuring drivers’ personality traits (i.e., anxiety, hostility, excitement seeking, altruism, normlessness), positive attitudes toward traffic safety, risky driving behaviors (i.e., errors, lapses, and traffic violations), accident involvement and number of traffic fines issued in the last 12 months. Multi-group Variance Based Structural Equation Modeling (VB-SEM) across the three age groups showed that the hypothesized model had a good fit with the data in all the three age groups. However, some pattern of relationships between the variables varied across the three groups, for example, if considering the direct effects of personality traits on risky driving behaviors, anxiety, altruism, and normlessness predicted violations only in young and adult drivers, whereas excitement seeking was associated with lapses only in young drivers; anxiety was a positive predictor of drivers’ errors, both in adult and older drivers, whereas excitement seeking predicted errors in adult and young drivers. On the other hand, attitudes significantly and negatively predicted violations and errors in all the three age groups, whereas they significantly and negatively predicted lapses only in young and older drivers. The results of the present study provided empirical basis to develop evidence-based road safety interventions differently tailored to the specific life’s stage of the drivers.

Background: Motivation to engage in physical activity plays a central role in ensuring the health of the population. The present study investigated the psychometric properties and validity in Italy of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3), a widely used instrument for assessing individuals’ motivation to exercise based on self-determination theory (SDT). Methods: A large sample (N = 2222; females = 55.4%; M_age = 36.4 years, SD_age = 13.9, min = 20, max = 69) of young people, and middle aged and older adults completed the Italian translation of the BREQ-3, also indicating their intentions to exercise in the following weeks. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the posited six-factor structure of the BREQ-3 fitted the data well (CFI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.05; SRMR = 0.04) and provided evidence for full measurement invariance across gender and different age groups. The construct validity of the BREQ-3 was supported by the latent correlations among the subscales, which were consistent with the quasi-simplex pattern theorized by SDT. The overall level of self-determination and the intention to exercise were positively correlated, providing evidence for the criterion validity of the scale. Conclusions: The Italian version of the BREQ-3 has proved to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the behavioral regulation of exercise in individuals with different demographic characteristics.

The present study, based on data concerning 2328 immigrant children attending a representative sample of 561 schools, investigates the impact of various group, family and individual characteristics as well as proficiency in the national language on acceptance and friendship among classmates, while controlling for measurement errors by means of a structural equation modelling approach. As regards group characteristics, the results indicate that only immigrant density in the classroom has a positive impact on social inclusion, which seems to be limited to peer acceptance. As regards family and individual characteristics, low-SES and female immigrants appear to be doubly vulnerable in class, which specifically affects their friendships. One of our main findings is that proficiency in the national language predicts the social inclusion of immigrant children, while controlling for all the other variables considered. A moderation analysis reveals that this factor also applies to second-generation immigrants. In conclusion, we suggest that interventions aiming to facilitate the social inclusion of immigrant children should take into account the fact that proficiency in the national language appears to be much more important than group, family and individual characteristics, and that low-SES and female immigrants require particular attention, since they are doubly vulnerable.

Background: This study aimed to investigate differences in adolescents’ social relationships with classmates of diverse gender, socioeconomic status, immigrant background, and academic achievement. Methods: A population of 10th-grade students (N = 406,783; males = 50.3%; M_age = 15.57 years, SD_age = 0.75) completed the Classmates Social Isolation Questionnaire (CSIQ), an instrument specifically designed to measure two distinct but correlated types of peer relationships in class: peer acceptance and peer friendship. To obtain reliable comparisons across diverse adolescent characteristics, the measurement invariance of the CSIQ was established by means of CFAs and then latent mean differences tests were performed. Results: Immigrant background, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status all proved to be important factors influencing relationships with classmates, while being a male or a female was less relevant. Being a first-generation immigrant adolescent appears to be the foremost risk factor for being less accepted by classmates, while having a low academic achievement is the greatest hindrance for having friends in the group of classmates, a finding that diverges from previous studies. Conclusions: This population study suggests that adolescent characteristics (especially immigrant background, socioeconomic status, and academic achievement) seem to affect social relationships with classmates.

Introduction: This study describes the implementation of a mind–body intervention to reduce the perceived level of stress in a nonclinical group of university students. We used a novel approach including a single session of a mind–body technique known as the brain wave modulation (BWM) as an adjunct to a single information session on stress management.Methods: Three hundred and six students participated in the study. A quasi‐experimental design was adopted: Students in the experimental group were exposed to an information session on stress management followed by a single session of the BWM, while the other students were exposed to the information session alone.Results: A 2 × 2 mixed factor analysis of variance demonstrated that the single session of the BWM was effective in reducing the perceived level of stress in the experimental group as compared to the control group.Conclusion: The BWM is a very easy‐to‐learn technique that presents certain advantages over traditional mind–body methods.