Healthcare professionals are at higher risk of developing and experiencing burnout. Parents may also suffer from prolonged stressful conditions that lead to physical and emotional exhaustion. Residential youth care workers assume a caregiving role that can lead to persistent stressful conditions that affect their relationship with the youth. In addition, the COVID-19 lockdown has had a negative impact on both the organization and the work, as well as on the lifestyle of workers and minors. In fact, during the pandemic, contact with families was not possible due to restrictions and this increased the need for caregivers to assume a parental role. This research aims to examine the risk of burnout in a sample of 75 healthcare professionals working with youths and the association with psychological traits. Then, we aim to evaluate these aspects during the COVID-19 lockdown The measurements, conducted in both February 2019 and April 2021, included six questionnaires: MBI to assess burnout, TAS_20 to explore alexithymic traits, COPE_NVI to assess coping strategies, FDS_R to quantify frustration intolerance at work, IRI for empathy, and FFMQ to investigate awareness and emotional regulation. Our sample shows a medium-high risk of developing burnout, which worsened during the pandemic. A worsening of emotional skills, paralleled by a greater empathic investment required by the emergency situation, and an assumed parental role is observable. Coping strategies correlate with burnout risk, as avoidance strategies were strongly associated with emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest an urgent need to develop targeted and timely interventions for healthcare professionals in order to prevent long-term consequences.

Social health professionals should have the knowledge and skills and use personal resources that promote the helping relationship, access to effective intervention strategies, and well-being at work. This study aims to investigate the relationship between some personal resources (coping strategies, emotional regulation and metacognition) and professional satisfaction in a group of social–health professionals working with minors suffering from psychosocial distress. In this professional group, the risk of burnout is common and the quality of professional life is strongly related to the intensity and frequency of exposure to critical and traumatic events. The sample was assessed using self-report instruments: Professional Quality of Life Scale, Coping Orientation to the Problem Experienced, Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale and Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale. The quality of professional life showed significant correlations with the psychological characteristics studied. We then tested different regression models: coping orientation scores were found to be a significant predictor of quality of work life for all three components, while emotional dysregulation scores appeared to predict only the burnout component. The quality of professional life of social health professionals was influenced by individual resources at different levels, regardless of knowledge and skills. They showed greater fatigue and aspects of secondary traumatization when emotional disengagement occurred and it seemed to be difficult for them to accept their emotional reactions.

The main aim of the study was to map the psychological functioning of individuals with adverse childhood experiences, with the objective to characterize developmental trajectories. Specifically, we investigated the relations among three of the seven domains of impairment in children and adolescents who had been exposed to complex trauma. To this end, we tested a mediation model with emotional dysregulation as the independent variable, intelligence as the dependent variable, and dissociation as the mediator. The research sample was composed of 64 participants (10–19 years old); 31 adolescents formed the clinical group and 33 the non-clinical group; for the clinical group, we recruited adolescents who were residents of therapeutic communities and had a history of complex trauma. Both groups completed the Difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS), Adolescent dissociative experience scale (A-DES), Trauma symptom checklist for children (TSCC), and Wechsler scales. The data analysis yielded significant results for the control group only. We suggest that healthy adolescents adopt a non-pathological dissociative cognitive style in response to increased emotional dysregulation, thus explaining their enhanced cognitive performance.

Introduction: In the last 20 years, gambling has become more and more widespread in Italy. The aim of the present study is to compare the motivations for gambling and the emotions felt while gambling in three different subgroups: scratch card gamblers, slot‐machine gamblers, and casino gamblers.Methods: Three versions of a questionnaire have been distributed in a casino, in scratch card vendors, and slot‐machines venues. All versions included sociodemographic variables, the two‐question Lie‐Bet instrument, a scale for motivations toward gambling, and a list of positive and negative emotions felt while gambling.Results: Participants (N = 425, F 47.5%) are gamblers potentially pathological (N = 162, 38.1%) and not (N = 263, 61.9%). Different games seem connected to different motivations and emotions: the scratch gamblers show less Coping and Social Motivation and experience less Negative Emotion. However, the motivation and emotion most intensely experienced by the gamblers (Enhancement and the Positive Emotions) do not show differences between the different types of games.Conclusion: The pathological gamblers have a more intense and internal connection with the game (have more Enhancement and Coping motives, Positive and Negative Emotion). In sum, our findings support the theoretical hypothesis that gambling can be a tool for regulating emotions.

Background Social-health professionals should have knowledge, skills, and use personal resources that promote the helping relationship, access to effective intervention strategies, and well-being at work. In this professional group, the risk of developing burnout is common and the quality of professional life is strongly related to the intensity and frequency of exposure, including indirect exposure, to critical and traumatic events. In particular, social and health care professionals working with minors face great challenges, emotionally, metacognitively, and in terms of stress management. This study aims to investigate the relationship between some personal resources (coping strategies, emotional regulation and metacognition) and professional satisfaction in a group of social-health professionals working with minors suffering from psychosocial distress. Method Social-health professionals who work with minors completed self-assessment measures relating to the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PRQOL), Coping Orientation to the Problems Experienced—New Italian Version (COPE-NVI), Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS) and Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale (MSAS). Results The quality of professional life showed some significant correlations with the psychological characteristics studied. linear regression analysis using the dimensions measured by PRQOL as dependent variables. We then tested several regression models using the dimensions COPE, MSAS, and DERS as independent variables. MSAS showed no significance with any of the three PRQOL dimensions. Otherwise, COPE proved to be a significant predictor of quality of professional life for all three components. The DERS appears to predict only the burnout component. Conclusions The quality of professional life of social-health professionals who work with minors affected by psychosocial problems is influenced by individual resources at different levels, regardless of knowledge and skills. They show greater fatigue and aspects of secondary traumatization when emotional disengagement occurs and it seems difficult to accept their emotional reactions. Appropriate spaces for reflection and sharing can modulate maladaptive use of avoidance and promote caring relationships with minors.

Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a crucial stage of development, in which life skills are essential for promoting psychological well-being. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions aim to develop social–emotional and relational skills that foster resilience and adaptation. Short-term effects may be nonlinear and influenced by gender differences, with possible fluctuations in self-assessments due to increased social–emotional awareness (response shift). Methods: This action research study involved 179 preteens (ages 11–17) from educational settings in Aosta Valley. The SEL program consisted of three experiential sessions on key life skills, led by psychologists and psychiatrists and including group activities and role-playing. Quality of life was assessed before and after the intervention using the Q-LES-Q, which measures satisfaction and well-being in the areas of social relationships, physical health, academic performance, leisure activities, and subjective feelings. Subscale scores were calculated as the mean of the corresponding items. Results: The results revealed nonlinear patterns: a decline in satisfaction with social relationships, which may reflect a response shift. Males reported higher initial levels and greater perceived positive effects, while females reported lower post-intervention scores, likely due to greater self-reflection and self-criticism. Conclusions: The data highlight the complexity of the short-term effects of SEL interventions and the importance of considering developmental trajectories and gender differences when evaluating their effectiveness.