Minority stress and mental health in gay and lesbian youth: A comparative study of Italy and Spain.

The present study was carried out based on the minority stress model. The purpose was to compare Italian and Spanish gay and lesbian youth on minority stressors and mental health outcomes and test the minority stress model in Italy and Spain. The sample consisted of 490 participants (307 Italians, Mage = 25.30 and 183 Spanish, Mage = 27.57). They completed an online questionnaire measuring everyday discrimination, coming out to family members, coming out to friends/one's social network, internalized sexual stigma, depression, and anxiety. A multivariate analysis of covariance was performed to explore the effect of nationality on all measures. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the direct and indirect (through internalized sexual stigma) effects of stressors on mental health outcomes. The results demonstrate an impact of nationality on three dimensions: Spanish youth presented higher levels of everyday discrimination, while Italian youth had lower levels of both coming out to family members and coming out to friends/one's social network. Further, in both countries, all stressors had both direct and indirect (through internalized sexual stigma) associations with depression and anxiety. These findings have some social implications: studying the effect of nationality can be useful in suggesting changes in political and social macrosystems. Additionally, studying the associations among these variables is helpful for intervening more efficiently, for example, clinically, on the impact of minority stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessment of Primary Human Liver Cancer Cells by Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Raman Spectroscopy.

We investigated the possibility of using Raman spectroscopy assisted by artificial intelligence methods to identify liver cancer cells and distinguish them from their Non-Tumor counterpart. To this aim, primary liver cells (40 Tumor and 40 Non-Tumor cells) obtained from resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor tissue and the adjacent non-tumor area (negative control) were analyzed by Raman micro-spectroscopy. Preliminarily, the cells were analyzed morphologically and spectrally. Then, three machine learning approaches, including multivariate models and neural networks, were simultaneously investigated and successfully used to analyze the cells' Raman data. The results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted Raman spectroscopy for Tumor cell classification and prediction with an accuracy of nearly 90% of correct predictions on a single spectrum.

Development and Validation of the Interpersonal Motivational Systems Questionnaire (IMS-Q).

Framed within the evolutionary framework, the Interpersonal Motivational System (IMS) theory suggests that eight distinct motivational impulses drive interpersonal human relationships, namely caregiving, social affiliation, attachment, rank-dominance, rank-submission, social play, cooperation, and sexuality. This theory has been widely applied in clinical practice, where psychopathology is viewed as the result of non-flexible or excessive activation of one system over another. Despite its clinical relevance, empirical studies aimed at measuring IMSs are scarce. This paper contributed to filling this gap by proposing a questionnaire to measure individuals' activation of the eight IMSs. Two studies involving large samples of adults were conducted. The first study (N = 455; 76.5% females) concerned the development of the questionnaire and examination of its content validity through explorative factor analysis. In the second study (N = 635; 54.8% females), confirmatory factor analyses were performed to further refine and confirm the instrument's factor structure. The final version consisted of 50 items. Empirical validity was established by investigating the correlations between the eight IMSs and other related measures (i.e., personality traits, human basic values, and attachment dimensions). The findings suggest that the IMS framework can be used to understand individual differences in motivation and behavior in different social contexts.

Brazilian guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of the pulmonary symptoms of cystic fibrosis. Official document of the Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia (SBPT, Brazilian Thoracic Association).

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that results in dysfunction of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, which is a chloride and bicarbonate channel expressed in the apical portion of epithelial cells of various organs. Dysfunction of that protein results in diverse clinical manifestations, primarily involving the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, impairing quality of life and reducing life expectancy. Although CF is still an incurable pathology, the therapeutic and prognostic perspectives are now totally different and much more favorable. The purpose of these guidelines is to define evidence-based recommendations regarding the use of pharmacological agents in the treatment of the pulmonary symptoms of CF in Brazil. Questions in the Patients of interest, Intervention to be studied, Comparison of interventions, and Outcome of interest (PICO) format were employed to address aspects related to the use of modulators of this protein (ivacaftor, lumacaftor+ivacaftor, and tezacaftor+ivacaftor), use of dornase alfa, eradication therapy and chronic suppression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Burkholderia cepacia complex. To formulate the PICO questions, a group of Brazilian specialists was assembled and a systematic review was carried out on the themes, with meta-analysis when applicable. The results obtained were analyzed in terms of the strength of the evidence compiled, the recommendations being devised by employing the GRADE approach. We believe that these guidelines represent a major advance to be incorporated into the approach to patients with CF, mainly aiming to favor the management of the disease, and could become an auxiliary tool in the definition of public policies related to CF.

Social Support, Identity Affirmation, and Psychological Well-Being: A Developmental and Intersectional Comparison between Italian Cisgender and Non-Binary People with Bisexual Orientation.

Incorporating the perspectives of positive psychology, intersectionality, and life course into minority stress theory, this study aimed to examine the relationships between social support, identity affirmation, and psychological well-being among 483 Italian individuals with bisexual orientation, accounting for differences in gender identity (cisgender vs. non-binary) and age groups (young, early, and middle adult). A mediation model was tested in which identity affirmation served as a presumed mediator between social support and psychological well-being. We also examined whether gender identity and age group moderated the hypothesized associations. Multivariate ANOVA and multigroup mediation analyses were conducted. Results showed that (a) cisgender individuals had higher social support and psychological well-being than non-binary individuals, but not identity affirmation, which was higher in the latter group, (b) psychological well-being, but not social support and identity affirmation, differed between groups, with the youngest cohort reporting worse health than their elders, (c) identity affirmation mediated the relationship between social support and psychological well-being, (d) mediation was significant only in binary individuals (compared to cisgender), whereas no age differences were found. Overall, this study highlights the need to consider bisexual individuals as a nonhomogeneous population living multiple life experiences, especially when minority identities intersect.

Prevalence of engagement and frequency of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors in adolescence: an investigation of the longitudinal course and the role of temperamental effortful control.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is among the most frequent maladaptive behaviors reported in adolescence, with prevalence rates around 18-22% in community samples worldwide. The onset of NSSI typically occurs between early and middle adolescence, with a peak during middle adolescence (14-15 years) and a subsequent decline during late adolescence. This study investigated the growth curves of NSSI across four years during adolescence, analyzing simultaneously the probability of engagement in NSSI at least once (i.e., prevalence) and the frequency of engagement once initiated (i.e., severity). Furthermore, the study examined the predicting role of effortful control on NSSI over time (time-varying effects), net of other key risk factors for NSSI, such as anxiety-depression and bullying victimization. A sample of 430 Italian adolescents enrolled in Grade 9 at baseline was involved in the study. Based on the Latent Growth Curve Zero-inflated Poisson methodology, the results indicated a negative quadratic trend of both NSSI prevalence, with an increase between T1 and T3 followed by a decrease in the subsequent wave, and NSSI frequency once initiated, with a peak at T2 followed by a decline over time. The results also showed that adolescents who reported low effortful control abilities had a heightened probability of involvement in NSSI at each time point, whereas no significant association was found with NSSI frequency once initiated. Findings from this study offer important insights into the developmental course of NSSI and point out the need for future in-depth investigations of the mechanisms that might underlie NSSI prevalence and severity throughout adolescence.

Brazilian guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of the pulmonary symptoms of cystic fibrosis. Official document of the Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia (SBPT, Brazilian Thoracic Association) / Diretrizes brasileiras para o tratamento farmacológico pulmonar na fibrose cística. Documento oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia

ABSTRACT Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that results in dysfunction of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, which is a chloride and bicarbonate channel expressed in the apical portion of epithelial cells of various organs. Dysfunction of that protein results in diverse clinical manifestations, primarily involving the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, impairing quality of life and reducing life expectancy. Although CF is still an incurable pathology, the therapeutic and prognostic perspectives are now totally different and much more favorable. The purpose of these guidelines is to define evidence-based recommendations regarding the use of pharmacological agents in the treatment of the pulmonary symptoms of CF in Brazil. Questions in the Patients of interest, Intervention to be studied, Comparison of interventions, and Outcome of interest (PICO) format were employed to address aspects related to the use of modulators of this protein (ivacaftor, lumacaftor+ivacaftor, and tezacaftor+ivacaftor), use of dornase alfa, eradication therapy and chronic suppression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Burkholderia cepacia complex. To formulate the PICO questions, a group of Brazilian specialists was assembled and a systematic review was carried out on the themes, with meta-analysis when applicable. The results obtained were analyzed in terms of the strength of the evidence compiled, the recommendations being devised by employing the GRADE approach. We believe that these guidelines represent a major advance to be incorporated into the approach to patients with CF, mainly aiming to favor the management of the disease, and could become an auxiliary tool in the definition of public policies related to CF.

RESUMO A fibrose cística (FC) é uma doença genética que resulta em disfunção da proteína reguladora de condutância transmembrana da FC (CFTR), que é um canal de cloro e bicarbonato expresso na porção apical de células epiteliais de diversos órgãos. A disfunção dessa proteína resulta em manifestações clínicas diversas, envolvendo primariamente os sistemas respiratório e gastrointestinal com redução da qualidade e expectativa de vida. A FC ainda é uma patologia incurável, porém o horizonte terapêutico e prognóstico é hoje totalmente distinto e muito mais favorável. O objetivo destas diretrizes foi definir recomendações brasileiras baseadas em evidências em relação ao emprego de agentes farmacológicos no tratamento pulmonar da FC. As perguntas PICO (acrônimo baseado em perguntas referentes aos Pacientes de interesse, Intervenção a ser estudada, Comparação da intervenção e Outcome [desfecho] de interesse) abordaram aspectos relativos ao uso de moduladores de CFTR (ivacaftor, lumacaftor + ivacaftor e tezacaftor + ivacaftor), uso de dornase alfa, terapia de erradicação e supressão crônica de Pseudomonas aeruginosa, e erradicação de Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina e do complexo Burkholderia cepacia. Para a formulação das perguntas, um grupo de especialistas brasileiros foi reunido e realizou-se uma revisão sistemática sobre os temas, com meta-análise quando aplicável. Os resultados encontrados foram analisados quanto à força das evidências compiladas, sendo concebidas recomendações seguindo a metodologia GRADE. Os autores acreditam que o presente documento represente um importante avanço a ser incorporado na abordagem de pacientes com FC, objetivando principalmente favorecer seu manejo, podendo se tornar uma ferramenta auxiliar na definição de políticas públicas relacionadas à FC.

Equipping Youth to Think and Act Responsibly: The Effectiveness of the "EQUIP for Educators" Program on Youths' Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions and School Bullying Perpetration.

School bullying is a serious public health concern in many countries worldwide. Over recent decades, several effective anti-bullying prevention programs have been developed. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an adapted version of the "Equipping Youth to Help One Another (EQUIP) for Educators" (EfE) program in reducing adolescents' engagement in school bullying perpetration by correcting their use of self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs). Furthermore, guided by the vantage sensitivity framework, we investigated whether the intervention effects varied depending on the adolescents' gender and environmental sensitivity. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test with a control group design involved 354 Italian middle and high school adolescents (51.7% males; Mage = 14.86, SD = 2.54). Both the control (n = 187) and experimental group (n = 167) completed self-report questionnaires, before and after the intervention. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant moderated mediation effect: highly sensitive males participating in the EfE program decreased their engagement in bullying by reducing CDs, compared to females and those with low- and medium- sensitivity. These findings support the effectiveness of the EfE program in equipping youth to think and act more responsible and shed light on "why" and "for whom" the intervention might work better to counteract school bullying during adolescence.

Profiles of Community Violence Exposure, Moral Disengagement, and Bullying Perpetration: Evidence from a Sample of Italian Adolescents.

According to the Pathologic Adaptation Model of community violence exposure, repeated experiences of violence within the community lead youth to accept violence as a normative and legitimate strategy to cope with conflict, thus increasing their involvement in aggressive behaviors. This hypothesis has been under-investigated with reference to bullying at school. Using a person-centered analytical approach (latent profile analysis), this study examines the mediating role of moral disengagement as a type of normalizing cognition about violence, in the relationship between profiles of community violence exposure and perpetration of bullying. Eight hundred and two adolescents (11-18 years; 43.4% girls) from two different urban and societal contexts in Italy (Milan vs. Naples) participated in the study. Four profiles of exposure to community violence emerged. Context site and age influenced belonging to the four profiles. Being moderately exposed to violence, both as a victim and as a witness, was significantly associated with higher levels of moral disengagement and bullying perpetration. Being exposed as a witness and as a victim, and being exposed only as a witness were associated with bullying perpetration via the increase of moral disengagement. These findings support the Pathologic Adaptation Model and indicate that adolescents who experience higher levels of community violence, as a witness or both as a witness and a victim, are more likely to develop morally disengaged beliefs about violence, which in turn would increase the likelihood to perpetrate bullying. Results are also discussed in the context of social diversity.

The Hyperphagia Questionnaire: Insights From a Multicentric Validation Study in Individuals With Prader Willi Syndrome.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to validate the Italian version of the Hyperphagia Questionnaire (HQ), a 11-items questionnaire developed to assess hyperphagia in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). This is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by endocrine dysfunction, hypotonia, intellectual disability, psychiatric disorders and obesity. METHODS: Parents of 219 individuals with PWS (age range 3-54 years; Mage = 17.90; 108 Males), recruited in 12 hospitals in Italy responded to HQ during routine visits. In function of the level of analyses the sample was divided into two subgroups (<18> years) or into four age-subgroups (2.5-4.5; 4.5-8; 8-18; >18 years) corresponding to different clinical stages. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the three hyperphagic subdimensions of the original structure (behavior, drive, and severity), but one item was dropped out, reducing the final version to 10 items. Using multi-group CFA, HQ showed satisfactory indexes of measurement invariance by age. Good indexes of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's Omega coefficients) were found for each subdimension. The three hyperphagia subdimensions positively converged with other food-related measures: emotional overeating, food enjoyment, food responsiveness, and satiety responsiveness. A significant increase of all hyperphagic subdimensions was found across age groups. Higher hyperphagic levels were found in participants with higher body mass index. Hyperphagic drive differently increased in function of the interaction between age and underlying genetic mechanisms. CONCLUSION: The Italian version of the HQ is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for assessing hyperphagia in individuals with PWS. This tool may prove useful to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacologic and rehabilitative treatments.

Individual and Environmental Correlates of Adolescents' Moral Decision-Making in Moral Dilemmas.

While extensive research has been conducted on adults' judgments in moral sacrificial dilemmas, there is little research on adolescents. The present study aimed at: (1) adding further empirical evidence about adolescents' moral decisions (deontological vs. utilitarian) in sacrificial moral dilemmas and (2) investigating how these moral decisions relate with gender, school grade, emotional traits (callous-unemotional traits), context-related experiences (perceived parental rejection and community violence exposure), and moral-related factors (moral disengagement and universalism value). A sample of 755 Italian adolescents (54.7% females; Mean age=16.45, SD=1.61) attending the second and the fifth year of secondary school took part in the study. Two sacrificial trolley-type dilemmas (where harmful actions promote the greater good) were presented. In the "switch" scenario (impersonal sacrificial dilemma), the choice is whether to hit a switch to save five people killing only one person. In the "footbridge" scenario (personal sacrificial dilemma), the choice is whether to push a large man off a footbridge saving five persons. For each scenario, participants had to indicate whether the proposed action was "morally acceptable" or not. Data were analyzed performing generalized linear mixed models. Our results showed that: (1) Adolescents were more likely to indicate as admissible to hit the switch rather than to push the large man; (2) male adolescents, compared to females, were more likely to say it was morally acceptable to intervene in the footbridge dilemma, whereas younger adolescents said it was morally acceptable both in the switch and the footbridge situations; and (3) higher levels of callous-unemotional traits, perceived parental rejection, and moral disengagement, on the one hand, and lower levels of universalism, on the other hand, were associated to higher admissibility to intervene in the footbridge scenario. Higher community violence exposure was associated with a lower propensity to intervene in the switch scenario. Overall, the present study expands the research on sacrificial dilemmas involving a sample of adolescents. The findings support previous studies concerning the role of emotions in making moral decisions but, at the same, open new perspectives regarding the role of contextual experiences and moral-related factors.

Individual, Familial, and Socio-Environmental Risk Factors of Gang Membership in a Community Sample of Adolescents in Southern Italy.

Despite the growing social alarm generated by the recurrent news concerning violent episodes involving youth gangs, systematic research in Italy in this field, especially within a psychological framework, is still limited. Following a social-ecological approach, the present study aimed at investigating the role of self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs), parental rejection, and community violence witnessing in youth gang membership (YGM). Furthermore, we examined the mediating and/or moderating role of YGM in the association between risk factors and involvement in antisocial behaviors (ASBs). A community sample of 817 adolescents attending middle and high schools in a high-risk urban area in Southern Italy (46.9% males; 53% middle school students; Mage = 14.67; SD = 1.65) were involved in the study. One hundred and fifty-seven participants (19.2%) were found to be gang members. Employing counterfactual-based mediation analysis, we found that CDs and community violence witnessing were directly associated with YGM and ASBs. The association between CDs and ASBs was mediated by YGM. Parental rejection was directly related to ASBs but not to YGM. A significant interaction effect between parental rejection and YGM was found, revealing that high levels of parental rejection, along with being a gang member, amplified the involvement in ASBs. These findings pointed out that distorted moral cognitions and the experience of violence witnessing within the community may represent a fertile ground for gang involvement. Both individual and contextual factors should be considered in order to implement interventions aimed to prevent adolescents' risk of joining a gang.

Sexual Minority Status, Anxiety-Depression, and Academic Outcomes: The Role of Campus Climate Perceptions among Italian Higher Education Students.

Students from sexual minorities generally describe Higher Education contexts as unwelcoming and chilly environments. Based on the Minority Stress theory, these disparities in climate perceptions may lead sexual minority students to negative health and academic outcomes. To date, research documenting the experience of sexual minority students within European Higher Education Institutions is limited. Framed within campus climate literature, the current study aimed to expand on previous knowledge by investigating the associations between sexual minority status, students' perceptions of campus climate and psychological (i.e., anxiety-depression), and academic outcomes (i.e., intellectual and academic success and considering leaving the university) using a self-selected sample of 868 Italian university students (17.9% sexual minority students). The results showed that sexual minority status was associated with negative perceptions of campus climate, which, in turn, were associated with higher levels of anxiety-depression symptoms, lowered academic success, and a high probability of considering leaving university. Further research is needed to investigate the experience of sexual minority students within European Higher Education contexts and to explore possible actions that could contribute to fostering a greater sense of belonging to the campus community for all students, and particularly for students from sexual minority groups.

Muscle dysmorphia: what about transgender people?

Muscle dysmorphia is characterised by a strong preoccupation with being lean and muscular, with negative psychological and social consequences. The condition mostly affects men, mainly because of sociocultural messages promoting hyper-muscular forms as ideal male figures. Relatively few studies have examined muscle dysmorphia in transgender people. Using a sample of 293 Italian adults, in this study we compared muscle dysmorphia symptoms (drive for size, appearance anxiety/avoidance and functional impairment) across 60 binary transgender (women and men whose gender identity did not conform to their biological sex), 217 cisgender (women and men whose biological sex aligns with their gender identity) and 16 non-binary people (those whose gender identity did not fall within the binary gender system). We also investigated the effect of the internalisation of body ideals on the development of muscle dysmorphia, analysing the moderating role of gender identity. Findings showed that i) transgender and cisgender men scored similarly higher on drive for size, ii) transgender men scored higher on appearance anxiety/avoidance, compared to other gender groups, iii) no differences were found in functional impairment. The effect of internalisation of body ideals on drive for size was stronger in cisgender men. Findings signal the importance of investigating risk factors for muscle dysmorphia in transgender people.

Effortful Control and Community Violence Exposure as Predictors of Developmental Trajectories of Self-serving Cognitive Distortions in Adolescence: A Growth Mixture Modeling Approach.

Self-serving cognitive distortions are biased or rationalizing beliefs and thoughts that originate from the individual persistence into immature moral judgment stages during adolescence and adulthood, increasing the individual's engagement in antisocial or immoral conducts. To date, the literature examining trajectories of cognitive distortions over time and their precursors is limited. This study sought to fill this gap, by examining effortful control and community violence exposure as individual and environmental precursors to developmental trajectories of cognitive distortions in adolescence. The sample consisted of 803 Italian high school students (349 males; Mage = 14.19, SD = 0.57). Three trajectories of cognitive distortions were identified: (1) moderately high and stable cognitive distortions (N = 311), (2) moderate and decreasing cognitive distortions (N = 363), and (3) low and decreasing cognitive distortions (N = 129). Both low effortful control and high exposure to community violence were significant predictors for moderately high and stable trajectory of cognitive distortions. These results point to the importance of considering moral development as a process involving multiple levels of individual ecology, highlighting the need to further explore how dispositional and environmental factors might undermine developmental processes of morality.

Heterosexist microaggressions, student academic experience and perception of campus climate: Findings from an Italian higher education context.

While overt instances of harassment and violence towards LGBQ+ individuals have decreased in recent years, subtler forms of heterosexism still shape the social and academic experience of students in higher education contexts. Such forms, defined as microaggressions, frequently include environmental slights that communicate hostile and derogatory messages about one's sexual-minority status. However, there is some evidence suggesting that environmental microaggressions have deleterious effects on all students, regardless of their sexual orientation. The aim of the current study was to examine how heterosexist environmental microaggressions on campus contributed to heterosexual and non-heterosexual students' negative perceptions of campus climate. We also analyzed whether the effect of microaggressions on campus climate was mediated by student social integration on campus. Data were collected in 2018 through an anonymous web-based survey that involved students from a large university of Southern Italy. The sample consisted of 471 students from 18 to 33 years old. Thirty-eight (8.1%) students self-identified as non-heterosexual. Measures included self-reported experiences of environmental microaggressions on campus, student degree of satisfaction with peer-group and student-faculty interactions, perceptions of faculty concern for student development, and of the overall campus climate. The structural equation model showed that heterosexist environmental microaggressions on campus were associated with negative perceptions of campus climate through lowered satisfaction with peer-group interactions and perceptions of faculty concern for student development, for both heterosexual and non-heterosexual students. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that heterosexist microaggressions within campus environments are negatively associated with students' perceptions of campus climate, regardless of their sexual orientation. Both faculty and peers play an important role in creating an environment that supports the inclusivity of diversity and fosters a greater sense of belonging to the campus community.

Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury and its relationships with school bullying and peer rejection.

The central goal of this study was to examine the associations of school bullying and peer rejection with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as well as their interactive role in a sample of non-clinical adolescents. Six hundred and forty adolescents (253 Males, Mage = 15.60, SD = 1.65) self-reported measures of school bullying and NSSI and provided sociometric ratings of peer rejection. The results showed that being involved in bullying (as bullies, victims, or bully-victims) increases the likelihood to engage in NSSI; being rejected by peers amplifies the probability, for victims and bully-victims, of using NSSI at least once. The findings support the hypothesis that peer relationships play a key-role in determining NSSI and the importance to implement programs aimed to improve the school climate in order to avoid maladjusted behaviors in adolescence.

Pathways Linking Exposure to Community Violence, Self-serving Cognitive Distortions and School Bullying Perpetration: A Three-Wave Study.

School bullying is a social phenomenon stemming from a complex interrelationship between the individuals and their environments. Underpinned by the social-ecological models, this study investigated the mediation of self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs) in the relationship between community violence exposure, as a victim and as a witness, and bullying perpetration. Bidirectional associations between violence exposure and bullying perpetration, and between CDs and bullying perpetration over time were also hypothesized. The study used a three-waves cross-lagged panel modeling in a sample of 829 Italian high school adolescents (46% males; Mage [Time 1; T1] = 12.71; Standard deviation [SD] = 1.68). The results showed that being exposed to community violence as a witness at T1 increased the development of CDs at Time 2 (T2), which in turn promoted the bullying perpetration at Time 3 (T3). Being exposed to community violence as a victim was not a significant predictor of CDs and bullying perpetration over time. Bidirectional associations were found between witnessing violence and bullying perpetration, and between CDs and bullying perpetration. The association between community violence exposure and individual moral cognitions over time plays a crucial role in predicting bullying perpetration. These findings highlight the need to consider both contextual and individual factors in understanding and preventing bullying perpetration.

Parenting Desire and Minority Stress in Lesbians and Gay Men: A Mediation Framework.

Despite the rapid increase in lesbian and gay (LG) people who desire and decide to become parents, LG childless individuals may encounter serious obstacles in the parenthood process, such as minority stress. Notwithstanding, the psychological processes by which prejudice events might affect the desire to become parents are still understudied. As an extension of the minority stress theory, the psychological mediation framework sheds light on these psychological processes, as it encompasses a more clinical view of stress. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing the role of prejudice events in affecting parenting desire in 290 childless Italian LG individuals (120 lesbians and 170 gay men), as well as the role of internalized heterosexism and sexual orientation concealment in mediating the relationship between prejudice events and parenting desire. The results suggest that only in lesbians prejudice events were negatively associated with parenting desire, and that sexual orientation concealment and internalized heterosexism were also negatively associated with parenting desire. Furthermore, sexual orientation concealment, and not internalized heterosexism, mediated the relationship between prejudice events and parenting desire in lesbians, but not gay men. The findings have important implications for clinical practice.

Internalized Transphobia, Resilience, and Mental Health: Applying the Psychological Mediation Framework to Italian Transgender Individuals.

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people are a highly-stigmatized population. For this reason, they might internalize society's normative gender attitudes and develop negative mental health outcomes. As an extension of the minority stress model, the psychological mediation framework sheds light on psychological processes through which anti-transgender discrimination might affect mental health. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing in 149 TGNC Italian individuals the role of internalized transphobia as a mediator between anti-transgender discrimination and mental health, considering resilience as the individual-level coping mechanism buffering this relationship. The results suggest that both indicators of internalized transphobia (i.e., shame and alienation) mediate the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and depression, while only alienation mediates the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety. Furthermore, the results suggest that the indirect relation between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety through alienation is conditional on low and moderate levels of resilience. Findings have important implications for clinical practice and psycho-social interventions to reduce stigma and stress caused by interpersonal and individual stigma.