Betting on Your Feelings: The Interplay between Emotion and Cognition in Gambling Affective Task.

Background: Gambling Disorder (GD) is a bio-psycho-social disorder resulting from the interaction of clinical, cognitive, and affective factors. Impulsivity is a crucial factor in addiction studies, as it is closely linked to cognitive distortions in GD by encompassing impulsive choices, motor responses, decision-making, and cognitive biases. Also, emotions, mood, temperament, and affective state are crucial in developing and maintaining GD. Gambling can be used as a maladaptive coping strategy to avoid or escape problems and distress. Methods: The aim of the present study is to explore differences in personality traits and emotion regulation of people suffering from GD, substance-dependent gamblers (SDGs), and healthy controls (HCs). Additionally, the study proposes a new experimental task: the "Gambling Affective Task" (GAT) to investigate the influence of affective priming on risk-taking behaviors. Results: Our findings indicate that participants placed lower bets following positive priming. Additionally, SDGs wagered significantly higher amounts than HCs, regardless of priming type. In general, participants exhibited longer response times after positive priming trials, compared to negative and neutral priming trials. These findings suggest that experiencing positive emotions can act as a protective factor by delaying and lengthening gambling behaviors. By comparing gamblers with and without substance comorbidity, we can gain insight into the exclusive factors of GD and improve our understanding of this disorder. Conclusions: By elucidating the impact of emotional states on risk-taking, the research also provides new insights into the prevention and treatment of GD.

Gambling and virtual reality: unraveling the illusion of near-misses effect.

Introduction: Studying gambling behavior is a crucial element in reducing the impact of problem gambling. Nevertheless, most current research is carried out in controlled laboratory settings rather than real-life situations, which raises concerns about how applicable the findings are in the broader context. Virtual reality (VR) has proven to be a valuable tool and has been utilized in various experimental scenarios. A limited number of studies have employed VR to investigate gambling behaviors, and few have explored them in an older adolescent context. Methods: This study examined the behavioral and physiological effects of gambling behavior, including problem gambling, gaming addiction, and risk-taking decision-making in a sample of 36 high-school students aged between 18 to 20 years using an ad-hoc constructed VR scenario designed to simulate a slot-machine platform. Results: The behavioral results highlighted that participants reporting more problem gambling were sensitive to near-misses: i.e., they bet more after near-misses than after losses. This result may reflect the false belief that gamblers, after near-misses, are closer to winning. Physiological data showed that participants exhibited heart rate deceleration during the anticipation of the outcome, which has been suggested to represent a marker of feedback anticipation processing and hyposensitivity to losses. Discussion: Overall, this study provides evidence for a new VR tool to assess gambling behaviors and new insights into gambling-related behavioral and physiological factors. Implications for the treatment of problem gambling are discussed.

Exploring Social Bonds and Well-Being in Young Adults during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Young adults, aged between 17 and 25 years, experienced a strong impact on both their mental health and well-being due to COVID-19. Indeed, they were simultaneously faced with the normative tasks of their age and stressors associated with the long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic. This study offers further insights into the perceptions of the well-being (stress, anxiety, and depression) and social bonds in young Italian adults during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The first survey was conducted between December and February 2021 (i.e., during the second wave in Italy) and included a total sample of 347 participants. The second survey took place between April and May 2022 (i.e., at the end of the health emergency in Italy) and consisted of a total sample of 313 participants. RESULTS: T-tests, correlations, and linear regressions were performed. Overall, our findings showed an increased mood disturbance was positively correlated with having contracted COVID-19 and negatively associated with social connectedness. Furthermore, social assurance was found to negatively predict mood disorders during COVID-19. CONCLUSION: While numerous studies have focused on mental health, there has been limited exploration of protective factors, which could represent a different perspective that emphasizes individuals' resources rather than their vulnerabilities.

Psychosocial risk factors of technological addictions in a sample of Spanish University students: The influence of Emotional (Dys)Regulation, personality traits and Fear of Missing Out on internet addiction.

Perception of the need to be online can lead to the compulsive use of the Internet. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between Internet Addiction and Social Media Addiction and some psychological variables that could influence the onset of these disorders (FoMO, Emotional Dysregulation, Personality traits). The sample was composed by 598 Spanish university students aged from 18 to 35 (471 women and 118 men; average age = 21.56; standard deviation = 2.73). Participants responded to an online questionnaire regarding the use of Internet (IAT), the use of social media (BSMAS), Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Emotional (Dys)regulation (DERS) and personality traits (BFI-15). Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between FoMO, Social Media Addiction, Internet Addiction, Emotional (Dys)regulation and Neuroticism dimension of Big five. Also, we observed a negative relationship between Internet Addiction and Social Media Addiction, Conscientiousness dimension of Big Five, and gender. The tested mediation model highlighted that the total effect of the DERS on the IAT score was significant as well as its indirect effect via the BSMAS and FoMO scores was positive and significant. In conclusion, we proposed a new integrated model for understanding the characteristics, predictors, and risk factors of IA.

Did They Deserve It? Adolescents' Perception of Online Harassment in a Real-Case Scenario.

Online harassment, particularly cyberbullying and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, is a widespread phenomenon among adolescents and young adults. Descriptive research was carried out to investigate any differences among Italian school classes in the perception of cybercrime through a real-case scenario. Following the Italian school system, the final sample of 1777 adolescents (Mage = 15.37, SD = 1.65; Male = 52%) was divided into three groups based on the school class attended: middle school (N = 562; Mage = 13.37, SD = 0.48); high school biennium (N = 728; Mage = 15.55, SD = 0.50), and triennium (N = 487, Mage = 17.40, SD = 0.71). Participants completed a self-report questionnaire investigating the use of the Internet and the perception of a real case scenario involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and cyberbullying received by the National Centre for Combating Child Pornography Online (NCPO). Results showed differences among the three groups' perceptions of the event's features, motivations underlying the offense, victim-blaming and harassment justification (e.g., cyberbullying, in particular non-consensual sharing of intimate images, is recognized as a crime as age increases). The findings provide significant insights for future research and age-specific factors to consider when developing prevention programs for online risks.

Climate Changes, Natural Resources Depletion, COVID-19 Pandemic, and Russian-Ukrainian War: What Is the Impact on Habits Change and Mental Health?

Climate Change, Natural Resources Depletion, COVID-19, and Wars are some of the great challenges of our time. The consequences will affect psychological well-being and could have a harmful impact on mental health. This study aimed to assess the level of preoccupation and fears surrounding issues of the 21st-century and the implication for psychological well-being of the general population from Central/Southern Italy among different age groups. A questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, topics formulated ad-hoc about preoccupation, fears, habits, and willingness to change habits in the future related to the 21st-century challenges, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) was administered online. A sample of 1831 participants (61% F; mean age 47.71 ± 17.30) was obtained. Results showed that young adults and older adults, respectively, reported greater and less psychological well-being. Young adults reported higher scores for preoccupation, changing habits, and willingness to change habits in the future, while older adults reported the lowest scores except for changing habits, also controlling for gender. Results for this variable, as well as correlations between the many variables described, rely on the specificity of age, and 21st-century challenges. Moreover, the main fears related to the 21st-century concerns were different based on both age and gender. In conclusion, the various stresses of the 21st-century discussed in this study have a relationship with personal well-being, and it is important to consider potential global mental health issues resulting from these stressors.

The Fear of COVID-19: Gender Differences among Italian Health Volunteers.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fear of being infected was a major concern, resulting in both physical and psychological effects. Despite several studies on fear of COVID-19 in the general population, the effects on healthy volunteers who face COVID-19 on the frontlines have not yet been investigated. METHODS: An online survey on specific psychological variables related to COVID-19 was administered to 720 healthy volunteers, and gender differences were investigated. RESULTS: The primary finding was that females showed higher scores in all dimensions assessed. A multiple linear regression conducted on both genders exhibited a similar pattern of predictors, highlighting the pivotal role of negative affect in the male group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that COVID-19 had significant effects on healthy volunteers, especially in the female group. Although the previous literature did not report the crucial role played by the negative affect in the male sample, these results highlight the need to deepen how both genders use different emotional strategies to cope with stressful situations. This study may be useful in the development of specific psychological support and ad hoc training for healthy volunteers.

Can Emotion Regulation Affect Aggressive Responses? A Study on the Ukrainian-Russian Conflict in a Non-Directly Exposed Sample.

On 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade neighbouring Ukraine; a typical trend during the war is considering events in a one-sided way, emphasising the exclusive contribution of one opponent over the other for the outbreak of war. War may trigger the experience of emotions, such as anger, shame, and disgust. The present study reproduces previous studies on the influence of emotional regulation in support of aggressive reactions (AR) in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A questionnaire referring to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been implemented and spread in the Italian territory. A multiple moderated mediation model was proposed to evaluate the effect of emotional cognitive reappraisal on the propensity for AR, including conflict-related emotions (anger, shame, disgust) as mediators and political alignment and the appraisal of one's own emotions subscale of the brief emotional intelligence scale as moderators. The results show that cognitive reappraisal of emotions has a negative effect on AR; moreover, recognising and regulating emotions decreases anger, while taking sides with Ukraine or not siding seems to have an effect on AR depending on the emotion felt (anger or shame). The results are discussed according to the current literature on the topic, highlighting the practical implications and limits of the research.

Italian Validation of the Scale of Psychological Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence (EAPA-P).

Psychological and emotional forms of violence often represent a danger alarm and an important risk factor for other forms of intimate partner violence (IPV). Measuring psychological violence raises several issues of conceptualization and definition, which lead to the development of several assessment instruments; among them, the Scale of Psychological Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence (EAPA-P) showed good psychometric proprieties in a Spanish population and is used to identify which strategies are acted out to engage in psychological violence. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of EAPA-P among a group of Italian-speaking women (N = 343), thus evaluating its psychometric characteristics. Based on the English translation of the original Spanish version, an 11-item form of the EAPA-P was obtained, validity has been assessed through measures of emotion dysregulation, interpersonal guilt, conflict among partners and depression, anxiety, and stress symptomatology. Moreover, differences among groups were conducted to identify the capacity of the Italian version of EAPA-P to discriminate among women reporting experiencing psychological violence (N = 179), and who don't (N = 150). Results showed an excellent internal validity, good correlations, and a good discriminatory ability of the scale. Strengths, limitations, and practical implications of the study have been discussed according to recent literature.

Intimate Partner Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Phenomenon from Victims' and Help Professionals' Perspectives.

Social isolation is considered one of the main risk factors leading to intimate partner violence episodes; this evidence also emerged during the application of stay-at-home policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, we aimed to collect data on intimate partner violence over the last year, comparing data reported by victims with data collected by help professionals. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, through keywords related to abuse, pandemic and containment measures, 3174 articles were identified for screening. After full-text reading and risk of bias analysis, 19 studies were included, and a thematic synthesis was conducted according to two categories: "studies with victims" and "studies with help professionals". The results of the present review showed that there were significant differences between the data provided by victims and the data collected by health care facilities and police departments; additionally, differences among different forms and severity of victimization emerged. The results have been discussed according to the literature; in particular, we reflected on how containment measures have apparently made it more difficult for victims to report, thus making the existence of the dark figure of crime even more salient.

Older Adolescents Who Did or Did Not Experience COVID-19 Symptoms: Associations with Mental Health, Risk Perception and Social Connection.

After a decrease in detected cases in the summer, Europe faced the emergence of a second wave of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Few studies have investigated adolescents, who may constitute a target group with possible lower compliance to public health measures, particularly the social distancing measures. A total sample of 492 participants was included in the study, and the ages of the participants ranged from 18-24 years. According to the hypothesis of our study, the sample was divided into two groups: those who experienced COVID-19 symptoms and those who did not experience COVID-19 symptoms. Demographic characteristics, knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors related to COVID-19 were investigated with ad hoc items; in addition, mood disorders, self-efficacy, and social connectedness were explored. Our results showed significant differences in the variables of risk perception, self-efficacy, and measures of belongingness among older adolescents who did or did not experience COVID-19 symptoms. In this period, adolescents experienced unprecedented disruptions in their daily lives, leading them to isolation and loneliness. Compliance with restrictive measures is considered both a proactive behavior and a social responsibility, especially if supported by prosocial reasons to prevent others from getting sick; therefore, this must be the focus of raising awareness of anti-COVID-19 compliance among adolescents.