One of the many drastic changes caused by Covid-19 was the quick implementation of distance learning which represented a great technological challenge to many teachers and students. In fact, Italy ranks 24th amongst the 27-EU member countries in digital competitiveness which testifies to the significant delays and gaps in basic digital skills amongst the population. Based on the difficulties encountered in organizing distance learning, we assumed that teachers' perceived stress increased. Given that transversal skills can be associated with this relationship, we hypothesized that among these skills, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between the difficulties in organizing distance learning and perceived stress. Since we targeted teachers from Italy and other European countries, we also hypothesized that this mediator effect would be different for both samples. Our sample was composed of a total of 366 primary/middle school teachers of which 86% female. After doing a mediation analyses with Process, Hayes' Model 4, we confirmed H1 but not H2: resulting in a partial mediation effect of self-efficacy for each individual group of teachers. Since difficulties of distance learning can affect the perception of stress, we believe that the promotion of transversal skills, such as self-efficacy, can better equip teachers when facing stressful situations.

This study examined the effect of a secondary motor task on walking ability, whether performance differed according to age and the possible relationship between cognitive abilities, specifically working memory, and dual-task costs in children with typical development. Fifty-three female children (mean age M = 10 ± 2 years), were divided into two different age groups: a young (7–9 years; n = 17) and an older group (10–13 years; n = 36). First, participants performed a Walking Test (WT) without additional tasks; afterward, they performed the same walking test while performing each of the following tasks: carrying (1) a glass of water, (2) a ball on a round tray and (3) the combination of both tasks (1) and (2). The Test of Memory and Learning were used to assess working memory. WTs under a dual-task condition generally produced worse results compared to a single-task condition [ F (3,135) = 32.480, p < 0.001]. No age-related difference was observed [ F (1,45) = 0.497, p = 0.485]. Age, digit forward and backward, facial memory, and paired recall accounted altogether for 28.6% of variance in dual-task ability during WT while carrying a glass of water and a ball on a round tray. Specifically, facial memory significantly accounted for the variance of DTC in WTWT ( β = −0.381, p = 0.016). Moreover, a trend toward a statistical significance was observed for digit forward ( β = −0.275, p = 0.085). Results underlined that regardless of the age, a dual-task performance might affect walking performance depending on the required secondary task. Moreover, our results showed the association between working memory skills and dual-task cost in walking ability.

Covid-19 restrictions in Italy have significantly reduced the ‘in-presence’ time spent with classmates and teachers. As a result, this new way of relating to one another has challenged many students by increasing anxiety and depression. In such reality, protective factors such as sense of belonging (SB) and Grit (GR) can reduce anxiety (ANX).  Considering the pandemic context,  the scope of this study is to explore the relationship between SB/GR and ANX, as a risk factor and to understand whether the relationship between these variables changes based on students’ grade level (GL): middle school (MS) versus high school (HS). For this purpose, a total of 451 students from North/Central Italy, 71% F (M=15.07, ±2.46), of which 266 from HS, answered an online questionnaire in Spring 2021. Data was analyzed by doing a correlation analysis, difference between groups based on GL and hierarchical regression with SPSS 27. Results for the correlation analysis confirm that SB and GR are positively related; when controlling for differences in GL via t-test analysis, SB and GR are higher for MS. When measuring the SB/GR (Panorama Education, 2016) and its impact on the state of ANX (Spielberger et al., 1983) via the hierarchical regression, SB/GR decrease while ANX increases in particular for HS students.  These results highlight that anxiety has had a greater impact specially on HS students. For these reasons we encourage schools to create environments in which they find  strategies, as a community, to assist students in developing a sense of belonging and grit.

BackgroundTwo years after the outbreak of the pandemic, several studies look at the consequences for the well-being and mental health of young people. In particular, creativity and resilience are cited in the scientific literature as resources that promote this well-being in adolescents and young adults.PurposeThis mini-literature review was created with the aim of examining how many articles have explored the relationship between creativity and resilience in adolescents and young adults since the onset of the pandemic.MethodsParticular attention was paid to how many of the articles actually related to the consequences of the pandemic, in which country they were published, their target population, and the models, instruments and variables used to analyze them.ResultsOnly 4 articles emerged from the screening, of which only one was actually related to pandemic consequences. All articles were published in Asian countries with a target group of university students. Three of the articles used mediation models to examine the relationship between resilience as an independent variable and creativity as a dependent variable. All articles used self-assessment instruments for creativity and resilience, both at the individual and group level.SignificanceThis mini-review offers us the opportunity to reflect on the lack of studies that have addressed the issue of youth resources in the form of creativity and resilience since the beginning of the pandemic. The results show us a still underdeveloped interest in creativity in the scientific literature, in contrast to what the media reports on the promotion of creativity in daily life.

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