Suchergebnisse

PurposeIntroduction: The birth of a preterm child requires hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is a very stressful experience for parents. Aim: To determine the stress level of parents of preterm babies admitted to intensive and sub-intensive units in two hospitals in Northern Italy and its association with their sociodemographic variables and the clinical conditions of their newborns.Design/methodology/approachThe sampling was non-probabilistic and included parents of preterm babies admitted to intensive and/or sub-intensive care for at least 10 days. Instruments: (1) information deduced from the clinical record of preterm newborns; (2) sociodemographic determinants of parents' well-being deduced from a questionnaire; (3) parental stress scale: neonatal intensive care unit (PSS:NICU), which measures the perception of parents about stressors from the physical and psychological environment of the NICU.FindingsResults: A total of 104 parents of 59 hospitalized preterm babies participated in the study. The average parental stress level was 1.87 ± 0.837. The subscale score that got higher was parent-infant relationship subscale. Concerning the infant characteristics, the birth weight of the babies and the length of their hospitalization affected the parents' stress level. Looking at parents' sociodemographic characteristics instead, the greater predictors were gender, age and occupational social class.Originality/valueThe parental role alteration caused by infant premature birth and consequent hospitalization is a major stressor for parents and in particular for mothers. The variables that resulted positively associated with higher stress in parents of preterm infants hospitalized are specific parental characteristics, including not adequately or previously studied ones, and infant characteristics.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the extent to which family roles and settings can mediate the impact of unemployment on psychological well-being among Italian households.Design/methodology/approachUsing the European Health Interview Survey data for 2015, the authors adopt linear regression models to evaluate the effect of family settings on the mental health outcomes of unemployment, in particular on the likelihood of developing depression. The latter is measured using the internationally validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Since the gender gap in occupation has not ceased to exist in Italy, special attention is paid to the differences between males and females in the workforce.FindingsThe results suggest that involvement in parental roles has a moderating influence on unemployment mental health outcomes among both men and women, although it has a higher effect on the female workforce. Moreover, the study shows that "not living far from the family of origin" could be considered a crucial moderating factor for both gender categories.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper lies in its consideration of the implications the social definition of gender roles may have on gender-related expectancies and attributions in life domains, such as work and family.

A Comparison of Didactics Orders: Degree Courses at «Sapienza » University of Rome.The Italian university system has for several decades been seen as an over-dispersive one. Issues such as the delay in studies, the low number of graduates and the inadequate links with the job market feature in the country's political, social and academic debates. The problematic areas concern, on the one hand, effectiveness (defined as the achievement of objectives) and, on the other hand, efficiency (interpreted as the ratio between outcomes and costs incurred). This article discusses the issue of tertiary education system productivity, reporting data of a research on Rome's «Sapienza» University and comparing them with those available at national and international level (which shows that Italy has one of the lower rates of young graduates, scoring values of about 20 percentage points lower than the average of the OECD countries).The research considered a secondary analysis of longitudinal data on the careers of cohorts enrolled in ten years relating to the 509/1999 pre-reform period (academic years 1991/1992 through 2000/2001) and six post-reform years (academic years 2001/2002 through 2006/2007), proposing a new methodological instrument (multidimensional representations).The paper analyzes the obtaining of a university degree and, through a longitudinal perspective, provides a different comparative «reading» of the university system before and after the introduction of the university reform.

Il contributo si propone di analizzare gli usi della ricerca e della valutazione per qualificare il fare professionale degli/delle assistenti sociali e migliorare gli strumenti del welfare locale. Buone programmazioni territoriali necessitano di migliorare le scelte di policy e definire i contenuti del lavoro sociale come policy practice. La social work education, come ambito formativo e di ricerca, può veicolare temi rilevanti quali la partecipazione, l'advocacy, la co-produzione (co-progettare e co-programmare) e la ricerca valutativa applicata alle politiche di welfare locale.