In a digitally oriented society, smartphones provide continual online accessibility to daily life while simultaneously predisposing adolescents to engage in prolonged connections for various purposes, thus escalating the risk of Internet addiction (IA). Cognitive processes such as multitasking and attentional shifting are frequently associated with smartphone activities. Additionally, online engagements may serve as emotional strategies for regulating negative states (e.g., boredom and distress), redirecting attention towards more gratifying activities, such as social media contents. This study delves into cognitive–emotional processes (i.e., emotion regulation, attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, and multitasking) and emotional/behavioural factors (i.e., emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationships, and prosocial behaviours) that may be implicated in smartphone activities and technology addiction among adolescents. A community sample of Italian high school students (N = 676; 42.2% females) completed the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS), the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for internalising/externalising symptoms and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) to assess the presence and severity of IA. The scores on the SDS were found to be positively associated with IA levels. Furthermore, students exhibiting higher internalising/externalising symptoms, particularly those with traits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are more likely to manifest problematic smartphone usage. The implications for screening adolescents more susceptible to developing IA symptoms and for implementing preventive interventions are discussed.

In a digitally oriented society, smartphones provide continual online accessibility to daily life, while simultaneously predisposing adolescents to engage in prolonged connections for various purposes, thus escalating the risk of Internet Addiction (IA). Cognitive processes such as multitasking and attentional shifting are frequently associated with smartphone activities. Additionally, online engagements may serve as emotional strategies for regulating negative states (e.g., boredom and distress), redirecting attention towards more gratifying activities, such as social media content. This study delves into cognitive-emotional processes (emotion regulation, attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, and multitasking) and emotional/behavioural factors (emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationships, and prosocial behaviours) that may be implicated in smartphone activities and technology addiction among adolescents. A community sample (N=676) of Italian high school students (42.2% females) completed the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS), the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for internalizing/externalizing symptoms (SDQ), and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) to assess the presence and severity of IA. The scores on the Smartphone Distraction Scale were found to be positively associated with IA levels. Furthermore, students exhibiting higher internalizing/externalizing symptoms, particularly those with traits of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), are more likely to manifest problematic smartphone usage. The implications for screening adolescents more susceptible to developing IA symptoms and for implementing preventive interventions are discussed.

Factors like future time perspective, cultural belongings, and semiotic resources (i.e., individuals’ meanings to interpret the world), as well as worrying phenomena (climate change and armed conflicts), can harm wellbeing and increase personal distress. The study, comparing Armenian and Italian contexts, explores whether youths’ wellbeing and psychological distress are explained by openness to time perspective, anxiety about uncertainty, and worry regarding climate change and war, as a function of the individual semiotic resources (mapped by Views of Context). Participants were 202 Armenian and 271 Italian young adults (M_age = 21.23, SD_age = 3.35). A Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) applied to Views of Context extracted two dimensions of sense; a second-order MCA aggregated the extracted meanings into three clusters named Orientation towards self-care (CL₁), Social and personal commitment (CL₂), and Absolute devaluation and social detachment (CL₃). Clusters and/or nationality significantly differentiated measures of worry for war and climate change, future time perspective, intolerance of uncertainty, and wellbeing, but not the distress scores, by 3 × 2 ANOVAs. Linear regressions showed future time perspective and intolerance of uncertainty as positive and negative predictors of wellbeing respectively, with a significant Views-of-Context dimension, inversely affecting distress scores. Study highlights youths’ latent meanings influence wellbeing and distress, serving as a “starting point” for health promotion interventions sensitive to cultural differences.

The COVID-19 outbreak introduced self-isolation and social distancing as measures to reduce the spreading of the pandemic. As a consequence, internet usage has increased globally. The current study aims to show whether internet worked as a resource for well-being or as an amplifier of psychological distress and problematic internet use (PIU), considering the role of gender, age, motives for using the internet and online/offline relational resources. Five hundred and seventy-three adult participants (M: 40.28; SD: 16.43; 64% women) completed a form on sociodemographic characteristics and Internet use, and completed standardized measures on loneliness, online social support, well-being and PIU. A principal component analysis was computed to identify the main motives Internet use; ANOVA and Pearson’s r correlations were computed to examine (dis)similarities in motivational components with respect to gender, agegroup and psychosocial measures. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the contribution of the hypothesized predictors on overall well-being and PIU.Three principal motives for Internet use were detected: leisure and social interaction, knowledge, learning/working. Significant differences were found among them with respect to gender and age group and online/offline relational resources. Differences were found in the likelihood of PIU and well-being related to all the variables considered, with the exception of online social support for PIU and gender and age for well-being. These findings call for further research aimed to disentangle the correlates of PIU in a time of physical distancing, as well as for innovative efforts tailored to blunt the impacts of social isolation and bolster social connectivity.

This study investigated misconceptions about grief among health and social workers, teachers, and the general population in Italy. Socio-demographic characteristics, including gender, age, education, and personal experience of loss, were also examined. A questionnaire with nine statements capturing common myths about grief and its management was completed by 233 participants (mean age = 42.2, SD = 12.7; 60.9% women) using a 4-point Likert scale. Results showed that most participants responded inaccurately to most statements, agreeing with the idea that grief proceeds in a linear fashion, overlooking the heterogeneity of grief reactions, pathologizing them, and overestimating the need for psychological support. Health and social workers provided more accurate responses than teachers and the general population for certain myths, particularly regarding grief in children and older adults. Significant differences were also observed for some myths in relation to gender and whether participants had experienced a significant loss. These findings highlight the widespread endorsement of grief-related misconceptions and the compelling need to improve public awareness of the grieving process. They provide valuable insights into the key topics that should be addressed when designing initiatives to enhance community competence in supporting bereaved individuals.

Social media platforms promote a rapid flow of emotional content regarding various global phenomena, including climate change. A dark side of these platforms is the dissemination of false, misleading, or deceptive news. Information overload can lead to information distress, which in turn exacerbates eco-anxiety symptoms. It is hypothesised that eco-anxiety, by further depleting cognitive resources, encourages individuals to share fake news (FNS). It seems important to understand which mechanisms of eco-anxiety activate dysfunctional actions such as Fake News Sharing. To test this hypothesis, the study aimed to identify, through an exploratory path analysis, specific eco-anxiety symptom pathways that promote FNS. Findings revealed two distinct pathways: a reverberatory process, in which information stress fuels behavioural symptoms (z=8.309; p<.001) as the primary trajectory to sharing misinformation (z=5.232; p<.001); and a second pathway, in which information distress not only increases personal anxiety (z=6.806; p<.001) related to individual impact and responsibility, but this, in turn, would act as a deterrent to the spreading of fake news (z=-2.085; p=.037). From a preventive perspective, this differentiation emphasises the need to move beyond generic media literacy programs to implement personalised contrast measures.