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This is a critical perspective paper discussing the theoretical bases and methodological issues regarding dyadic decision-making processes in the oncological domain. Decision-making processes are of a central interest when one partner in a couple has cancer, and patients and partners make decisions together under an interactive and dynamic process. Given that, the attention in research is progressively shifting from patient and partner considered as individuals to a more holistic view of patient-partner considered as a dyad. The consideration of the dyadic nature of the decision-making represents a challenge from a theoretical and methodological point of view. The Interdependence Theory and the Dyadic Model of decision-making provide the theoretical bases to consider, respectively, the interdependence of the dyadic decision-making and the mechanisms affecting the couple-based decision-making. Dyadic processes require also an appropriate data analysis strategy that is discussed in the study as well. Conclusions of the present critical review suggest to develop a new line of research on dyadic decision-making in the oncological domain, testing the Dyadic Model presented in the study and considering the interdependence of the data with appropriate levels of analysis.

The ubiquity of media in children's lives makes it increasingly difficult for parents to keep track of their children's screen time, leading to considerable discrepancies in parent- and child-report. In the present study, we aimed to examine if and how these discrepancies can be explained by parent-child communication, in terms of children's self-disclosure, secrecy, and parental solicitation, and to what extend the quality of the parent-child relationship can influence these communication patterns. We tested two structural equation models to investigate the absolute discrepancy between parent and child estimates of children's screen time and parental underestimation, using dyadic data from 854 11-year-olds and their parents, in Switzerland. Our results showed that children's self-disclosure and secrecy behaviors were significantly associated with parental knowledge, where the relationship between self-disclosure and parental knowledge of children's screen time was the stronger among the two. Moreover, a good parent-child relationship, especially parents' ability in perspective taking, was significantly related to increased self-disclosure and decreased secrecy behaviors by children.

AbstractThis research aimed to develop the children's trust in general social workers (CTGSW) scale. Psychometric properties, structural validity, construct, and concurrent validity of the scale were evaluated. Both linear and quadratic patterns between children's trust beliefs in social workers and their engagement with social workers were examined. A sample of 112 Italian vulnerable children (M = 11.4 years, SD = 1 month) were administered the Italian‐Children's Generalized Trust Beliefs scale, the CTGSW scale, and a measure of engagement with social workers. The CTGSW scale demonstrated the expected (a) structure validity; (b) acceptable psychometric properties; (c) construct validity by correlations with trust in significant others; and (d) concurrent validity by associations with children's engagement with social workers. Reliability and honesty bases of trust in social workers were associated with engagement with social workers. In comparison to the middle range, children who held very low trust in social workers demonstrated very low quality of relation with social workers. The pattern was asymmetrical. Children who held high trust beliefs in social workers demonstrated a modest decrease in quality of relation with social workers. The findings demonstrated validity and utility of the CTGSW and yielded support for the basis, domain, and target framework.

The relation between children's trust beliefs and trusting behavior in peer interaction was examined. One hundred and 5 Italian children (54 boys; mean age = 10 years-7 months) completed standardized scales of reliability (i.e., promise keeping) trust beliefs in parents and peers. The children participated in mixed-motive interactions with classmates which assessed behavior-dependent reliability trust on peers. The children's reliability trustworthiness towards peers/classmates was assessed by peer reports. The SEM analyses supported the hypothesized model by showing: (1) a path between trust beliefs in parents and trust beliefs in peers; (2) paths between both types of trust beliefs and behavior-dependent trust on peers; (3) a path between behavior-dependent trust in peers and trustworthiness towards peers. Trust beliefs in peers were found to mediate the relation between trust beliefs in parents and behavior-dependent trust in peers. The findings yielded support for the basis, domain, and target trust framework and attachment theory.

The project was guided by the overarching question: "What does smartphone-mediated communication feel like?". The primary goal was to assess perceptions of mediated communication, using an experimental design and both self-report and psychophysiological data.
This project included two experimental studies where we manipulated synchronicity (immediate or delayed interactions), modality (text with or without emojis), and message valence (positive or negative). The use of psychophysiological data in the second experiment was an innovative element as these data have rarely been collected to study the context of mediated communication.
In addition to the two experimental studies, self-report data collected from the pre-questionnaires of both studies were analyzed to test: a) a moderated mediation model on the role of dispositional trust, social anxiety, and smartphone use in predicting problematic smartphone use, and b) the role of personality traits (including negative affectivity, impulsiveness, and delay of gratification) in association with problematic smartphone use, and their physiological effects on smartphone-mediated communication.

The project was guided by the overarching question: "What does smartphone-mediated communication feel like?". The primary goal was to assess perceptions of mediated communication, using an experimental design and both self-report and psychophysiological data.
This project included two experimental studies where we manipulated synchronicity (immediate or delayed interactions), modality (text with or without emojis), and message valence (positive or negative). The use of psychophysiological data in the second experiment was an innovative element as these data have rarely been collected to study the context of mediated communication.
In addition to the two experimental studies, self-report data collected from the pre-questionnaires of both studies were analyzed to test: a) a moderated mediation model on the role of dispositional trust, social anxiety, and smartphone use in predicting problematic smartphone use, and b) the role of personality traits (including negative affectivity, impulsiveness, and delay of gratification) in association with problematic smartphone use, and their physiological effects on smartphone-mediated communication.

The present study focused on the psychological impact that the lockdown due to coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) had on families in Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian government imposed a strict lockdown for all citizens. People were forced to stay at home, and the length of the lockdown was uncertain. Previous studies analyzed the impact of social distance measures on individuals' mental health, whereas few studies have examined the interplay between the adults' functioning, as parents, during this period and the association with the child's adjustment. The present study tested if maternal distress/coping predicts children's behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdown, hypothesizing a mediation effect via children's emotional experience. Participants were 144 mothers (M(age) = 39.3, 25–52, SD = 5.6) with children aged 5–10 years (M(age) = 7.54, SD = 1.6, 82 boys); mothers answered to an online survey. Results indicated that mothers with higher exposure to COVID-19 showed higher levels of distress and higher display of coping attitudes, even if in the structural equation modeling model, the COVID-19 exposure was not a predictor of mothers' distress. Compared with mothers with good coping skills, mothers with higher stress levels were more likely to attribute negative emotions to their children at the expense of their positive emotions. Moreover, children's emotions acted as mediators between maternal distress/coping and children's adaptive/maladaptive behaviors. In conclusion, it is important to support parents during pandemic emergence, by providing them with adequate information to manage the relationship with their children, to reduce their level of distress and to enhance their coping abilities.