This study contributes to the debate on the meaning of community and sense of community, and attempts to clarify the relationship between sense of community and civic and political participation. The authors interviewed 76 participants about their views and feelings about community. Forty‐seven were active members of political parties, neighborhood and cultural associations, and volunteers helping disadvantaged people. Twenty‐nine had never been involved in any kind of social or political group. Results showed that (a) the experience of community emerging from participants' discourse is not remarkably different from the academic meaning of community, and (b) the way individuals perceive community is linked both to sense of community and to civic and political participation. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In two studies we analyzed the predictors of participation in an Italian Lulu mobilization, rooted in the Susa Valley, a North-Western Italian valley where a high speed railway (HSR) should be sited. Based on the data of qualitative Study 1, performed interviewing 12 anti-HSR militants and 12 non anti-HSR militants, we hypothesized that Klandermans' (1997) model on participation (centered on group identification, sense of injustice, and collective efficacy) is suitable to predict the Lulu mobilization we studied, and that three contextual variables (community involvement, the perception of the existence of a vast majority in the community favoring the mobilization, and place attachment) may be added to Klandermans' to predict such a mobilization. We formally tested such hypotheses in quantitative Study 2 (representative sample of the people living in the Susa Valley, N = 250). Results supported the role of Klandermans ' (1997) variables and confirmed the influence exerted by our contextual variables, thus suggesting that an integration of the two models would be fruitful in the analysis of Lulu mobilizations. Limits and future developments of this research are discussed.

Purpose -The concept of alienation boasts a long history in the academic literature.However, their empirical relations are not clear. The present study aimed at testing a model of correlates of alienation. Since occupational status plays a key role in alienation processes, such model was tested with high and low-status workers.Design/Methodology/Approach -Participants were 340 workers holding high-status (N=98) and low-status (N=242) positions. Data was collected through a self-report questionnaire. We verified the hypothesized relationships by means of a structural equation modeling, simultaneously tested on high-and low-status workers.Findings -Results showed that individual determinants of alienation, i.e. locus of control, appear to play a more relevant role for high-status professionals, whereas organizational dimensions, i.e. perception of decision making, have an impact only for low-status workers. Relational variables, i.e. work-family conflict, fostered alienation, regardless the status. Concerning outcomes, alienation decreased both job satisfaction and job involvement. Research limitations/implications -The specificities of the cultural context have to be considered. Generalising our results to other cultural contexts requires caution.Practical implications -Work alienation has a negative influence on work attitudes that can be better managed by the knowledge of alienation's correlates and peculiarities.Originality/Value -The study confirms the relevance of alienation for workers' satisfaction and involvement highlighting the difference between high and low-status workers.

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The central aim of the present research was to examine the psychometric properties of adapted versions of the sense of community (SOC) responsibility scale in three Italian samples. We examined the psychometric properties of three modified versions of the sense of community responsibility (SOC‐R) scale. Consistent with the original scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the scale was unidimensional and exhibited excellent internal consistency. In addition, factor analyses revealed that SOC responsibility and SOC are two separate, albeit related, constructs. The results also provided evidence of the discriminant validity of SOC and SOC‐R on key outcomes. Taken together, these results provide support for the Community Experience Model, which posits that community experiences are a function of resource and responsibility components, as well as for the adaptable nature of the SOC‐R scale to the Italian context.

The study is aimed at examining the relationship between emotional and self-regulated learning self-efficacy, subjective well-being (SWB) and positive coping among adolescents and youths, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 485 Italian students (74% girls; mean age 19.3) filled in an online questionnaire during the lockdown period. The hypothesized model in which both the forms of self-efficacy were predictors of SWB and positive coping, and SWB partially mediated the relation between self-efficacy measures and positive coping was tested by means of Structural equation modeling. Results largely supported the hypothesized relationships and suggested paying special attention to adolescents’ self-efficacy in regulating basic negative emotions, in order to promote positive coping strategies to face challenges coming from everyday life and from non-normative events.

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Literature has conceptualized well-being in the work domain through specific constructs, such as job satisfaction, work alienation, work-family conflict, and the perception of decision-making. Research from a gender perspective has examined gender differences in relation to these variables, showing thatcompared to men -women in most cases experience lower job satisfaction, less decision-making, and higher work-family conflict. Another body of studies has driven the attention to the impact of the occupational status, demonstrating a general positive effect of high-status occupations. However, considering disparities between men and women in career success, the documented gender differences may also be influenced by the fact that women generally hold lower positions, as well as the effects of status may be related to the prevalence of men in high-status job.The purpose of the present study was to extend past research by examining the effects of both gender and status on job satisfaction, work alienation, work-family conflict, and decision-making. To this aim 238 workers (52.5% males) holding high-status (N=98) and low-status (N=140) positions were involved in the research. Results indicated that when the relative salience of both gender and status is considered to understand well-being at work, status counts more than gender. Nevertheless, gender remains a significant dimension that may not be neglected, as it plays a relevant role, along with status, on job satisfaction and perception of decision-making. Implications are discussed.