Edizioni FrancoAngeli - Last issue of PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE (1/2013)

The psychosocial dimension in the treatment of thalassemia: a review of the literature

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Umberto Bani, Francesca Barile, Umberto Mazza
Thalassemia major is a genetic disorder that requires very frequent blood transfusion and an iron chelation treatment as well as a multidisciplinary management. Like any chronic disease causes a great impact on quality of life, psychological well-being and family background of these subjects. The medical advances of the last 30 years have improved the life expectancy of these patients who now may reach adulthood, have a work, have children, but they need a constant compliance to treatment. The aim of this work it to review the results of the last 10 years of research in relation to psychosocial difficulties of patients and families, the quality of life and the presence of psychopathology in thalassemic patients, also across different cultural contexts. The data emerging from the review show a greater level of psychopathology compared with control subjects and a lower quality of life for both patients with thalassemia and their family members, suggesting a greater effort towards the spread of psychosocial interventions that already exist in some situations.

Organizational justice, social support and burnout amongst health care workers: direct and moderating effects of social support

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Barbara Loera, Silvia Gattino, Daniela Converso
This contribution explains the results of a research conducted on the relationships between organizational justice and social support - from colleagues and superiors - and burnout. The aim is to highlight the direct effects of those organizational variables on the onset of such syndrome. More specifically, the possible effects of moderation of social support in the relationship between organizational justice and burnout will be identified. This study was carried out in the biggest Hospital of the Piemonte region and it involved 503 operators, working in three different Units (different for patients’ characteristics and intensity of treatment system: emergency medicine, internal medicine and radiology, ICU and not-ICU). Results highlight both the direct effects of justice and social support on burnout and, differently in the three Units, moderation effects of social support on the relationship between justice and the dimensions of burnout.

Psychological reactions in subjects with limb amputation: a review

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Martina Luchetti, Andrea Giovanni Cutti, Ornella Montebarocci, Gennaro Verni, Nicolino Cesare Franco Rossi
The aim of this paper is to clarify the current state of knowledge on psychological adjustment post-amputation, providing a critical analysis of methodological issues and illustrating some tools specifically ideated to investigate psychosocial problems faced by amputees. Research results show the presence of significant anxiety-depressive symptoms in the short period after the trauma, as well as at a distance of several years. However, some potentially critical phase, such as the period immediately after discharge from rehabilitation centers in which the support of therapy is reduced, remain insufficiently explored. Due to the complex nature of the adjustment process to limb loss, several authors have highlighted the need for further longitudinal studies to investigate the evolution of psychological reactions in different stages of rehabilitation and prosthetic fitting, in short- and long-term postamputation. Consider not only medical-prosthetic factors, but also psychosocial ones is relevant for both research and clinical practice.

Work-family conflict and sense of entitlement: a research in a Swedish firm

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Simona Ricotta, Chiara Ghislieri, Lara Colombo, Claudia Piccardo
Work-family conflict due to incompatibility between work and family role demands has been increasingly studied because of its possible negative consequences, including personal, familiar and work-related outcomes. This research involved 641 employees of a Swedish company, with the aim of examining how the work-family conflict is influenced by certain variables (i.e. workload and number of working hours, quality of relationships, organizational support to work-family reconciliation) and observing differences within the antecedents of work-family conflict in relation to the sense of entitlement associated with organizational support. Responses indicate high level of sense of entitlement and point out that work-family conflict increases according to the workload and decreases in case of good relationship with management and in presence of organizational support; the latter, however, reduces conflict perception only for those with high sense of entitlement.

Job autonomy and well-being in the nurse profession: the influence of the workplace and the training course

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Stefano Toderi, Guido Sarchielli, Luca Giani
The lack of autonomy is a particularly important risk factor for the work well-being of nurses, especially after the reform that from the mid-90s has profoundly changed their professional profile. The goal of this research is to study the relationship between job autonomy and wellbeing of nurses, that are considered as an heterogeneous category on the base of workplace (wards) and type of training received (training course). The data obtained through a questionnaire administered to 69 nurses confirmed the moderating effect of both variables. Autonomy predict well-being only in the geriatricrehabilitation ward and mainly for nurses of professional training course. The results, that confirm the necessity to consider nurses as an heterogeneous category, are discussed concerning the different meaning that autonomy has in different wards and the different value that nurses with particular personal characteristics can attribute to it. These differences are fundamental in order to plan targeted interventions to reduce risk of workrelated stress.

The role of social support, gender, and level of education on social well-being in old age

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Manuela Zambianchi, Bitti Pio Enrico Ricci
The study evaluated the influence of perceived social support comming from a special person, family and friends, of physical and psychological health, gender and level of education on social well-being in a group of 69 old people, mean age 73, that filled the questionnaire on social well-being, the questionnaire on perceived social support, and two single item measuring the perceived physical and psychological well-being. They were recruited in senior social centers. Old people show a medium level of overall social well-being. The highest level of social support comes from family and partner. Social well-being is predicted by gender, social support and level of education. Women perceive a lower level of social well-being than men; moreover possessing a high level of cultural resources influences positively social well-being. The findings indicate the need to further investigate the factors that can promote social well-being in this stage of life.

Women and breast cancer: effects of guided. Written disclosure protocol on post-traumatic stress

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT

Maria Luisa Martino, Raffaella Onorato, Veronica D'Oriano, Maria Francesca Freda
Breast cancer appears as a traumatic event that undermines the sense of continuity and integration of own life story often producing psychopathological outcomes. In the expressive writing paradigm this paper assesses the effect of the Guided Written Disclosure Protocol on symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among 40 women with breast cancer in post-operative drug treatment - 20 under chemotherapy and 20 under biological therapy - through repeated measurements over time of test IES-R. We have performed a series of Repeated Measures Anova. Among the women who have benefit from writing protocol the results show a significant reduction in the intrusion and irritability subscale scores in comparison between sperimental/control group over time. On the contrary, among the control group the increasing trend of the intrusion and irritability subscale scores would suggest that the flow of time, without a psychological space of support, isn’t a "natural remedy" against psychological distress. In addition, the analysis shows that the experiences related to the different therapeutic phases do not affect the possibility to benefit of writing. Within the present study the protocol of writing is configured, therefore, as a useful support tool during the different phases of therapy, which in synergy with medical care, allows to contain the effects of the trauma and to perform, in this way, a preventive function. To promote health, not only after recovery, but since the beginning of the illness.

Documentazione bibliografica

Sat, 15 Mar 2013 8:00:00 GMT