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BackgroundThe aims of the study were to assess prevalence and gender differences of addictive behaviors (substance- and non-substance-related) in an adolescent population, and their association with psychopathological features and academic performance.Material and methodsA sample of high school Italian students (n = 996; M = 240, F = 756) was examined using a self-report survey concerning sociodemographic characteristics, cigarette smoking, alcohol and substance use, perceived academic performance, activities, and behaviors (Internet use, gambling, and physical exercising). The Internet Addiction Test, the South Oaks Gambling Screen-revised Adolescent, and the Exercise Addiction Inventory-Short Form were administered to identify problematic behaviors. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale for Adolescent, the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale, the Dissociative Experience Scale for Adolescent, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale were used to investigate psychopathological dimensions.ResultsFrequent alcohol intake and lifetime substances consumption were more common among males. The occurrence of other addictive behaviors was 22.1% for problematic Internet use (M = F), 9.7% for at-risk/problematic gambling (M > F), and 6.2% for maladaptive physical exercise (M = F). We also found an association between substance-/non-substance-related addictive behaviors and psychopathological dimensions. Addictive behaviors were more frequent among students reporting poor school performance.ConclusionOur study showed a relevant prevalence of addictive behaviors in a sample of Italian high school students, with specific gender differences. We underlined the cooccurrence of substance and non-substance-related addictive behaviors, and their association with worse school performance. Dissociative proneness, anhedonia, alexithymia, and impulsivity were associated with addictive behaviors in adolescents and might represent vulnerability factors for the development of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. A better understanding of psychopathological features associated with addictive behaviors might be useful for the prevention/early intervention.

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BackgroundThe relationship between coping styles and mental disorders has received considerable attention and instruments have been developed to assess coping strategies. The measurement by means of category systems has been criticized and a functional hierarchy of action types linked to the adaptive processes is preferred. We aimed to determine which factors may exist within the Brief-COPE (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced – COPE – Inventory) in an Italian sample of patients with anxiety disorders; and if these factors correlate with the severity of psychopathology or with other characteristics.MethodsA total sample of 148 patients was recruited. The Brief-COPE inventory, the Symptom Check List 90-Revised, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the Zung Anxiety Status Inventory and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale were administered.ResultsFactor analysis of the Brief-COPE yielded nine factors accounting for 65.48% of the variance. Patients scored higher on Searching Support, followed by Acceptance, Changing Perspective, and Problem Solving. Associations between measures of psychopathology and factors of coping strategies, mostly Searching support and Avoidance, were found.ConclusionsData of the present study support a nine-factor structure of the Brief-COPE that includes five broad dimensions of coping. Psychopathology was mostly related to Searching support and Avoidance factors, showing that these strategies may reflect ineffective ways of coping; Problem solving and Changing perspective could be a valid approach to moderate anxiety/depression symptoms and psychopathology in general.

Empathy is a complex form of psychological inference in which observation, memory, knowledge and reasoning are combined to yield insights into the thoughts and feelings of others. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of empathy in a sample of alcohol-dependent patients in comparison to a control sample. One hundred and fifty alcohol-dependent subjects were consecutively recruited. All of the subjects successfully detoxified have been evaluated with the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and then compared with 107 control subjects. The level of empathy was significantly lower in the group of alcohol-dependent subjects than in the control sample (p <.001). Differences with respect to gender and psychiatric comorbidity have also been observed. A low level of empathy could be a psychological trait typically observed in pre-morbid alcoholic personalities. Further, the lack of empathy could lead latent abusers to find in the alcohol misuse something enabling them to compensate for their intrinsic weakness.

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