The aims of this study were to evaluate the reliability, validity and factorial structure of Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, Version IV (FACES IV), investigate the relevance of sex and age on family functioning and study the relationship between family functioning and adolescents' perception of parent and peer attachment. The sample consisted of 1,416 participants (672 women, 744 men, M-age = 17.38 years; age range = 13-22 years) divided into three age groups: 13-15, 16-18, and 19-22 years. Factor analysis confirmed the dimensions formulated to define the construct of family functioning: all the items of each dimension were loaded in the same factor with a correlation of at least 0.30. Groups differed with regard to the age on Cohesion, Enmeshed and Rigid scales: Younger adolescents (age 13-15 years) showed significantly higher scores than adolescents (age 16-18 and 19-22). Sex differences revealed that females had a higher mean score on Cohesion and Flexibility, whereas males had a higher mean score on Disengaged, Enmeshed and Chaotic. Correlations between FACES IV and Parent and Peer Attachment Scale demonstrated the convergent validity of the FACES IV. Data confirmed the validity of FACES IV's Italian version and suggested that the Circumplex Model has a cross-cultural applicability and it could be a useful instrument in the Italian context

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The present study examined the association between quality of attachment, perception of the father's bond, and binge eating symptoms in a sample of female late adolescents. In total, 233 female students aged between 18 and 20 years completed measures on binge eating, quality of attachment and parent-child relationship. Data showed that respondents with binge symptoms reported lower scores on secure attachment and father's care, and higher scores on preoccupied and fearful attachment. Binge eating symptoms were associated with father's care, but not with father's overprotection. Also, binge symptoms were negatively associated with secure attachment styles, and positively with preoccupied and fearful attachment. The data, finally, provided evidence that at higher levels of preoccupied attachment, the impact of binge symptoms tended to be lower when father's care was high.

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Overuse of the smartphone causes negative consequences on the health and behavior of younger people. It is necessary to know which factors can determine the problematic use of the smartphone. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between problematic smartphone use, attachment styles, and perceived family functioning in young adults. Three hundred and thirteen Spanish young adults took part in the study (255 women, 58 men) and completed the following instruments: the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES IV). The results of the path analyses show that the cohesion and enmeshed functioning variables were the best predictors of problematic smartphone use. The preoccupied attachment scale was the only one whose score also showed indirect effects on problematic smartphone use through the variable of enmeshed family functioning.

The current study explored the influence of belonging to a different areas, South of Italy and Spain, on perception of parenting and family functioning adolescents in order to highlight the similarities and differences among two samples and verify if Mediterranean model of family exists". Empirical evidence of the existence of a Mediterranean family model has been conducted to verify which common and differentiating features exist in the perception of family ties among adolescents. Data highlighted that adolescents belonging to these areas report similar levels in different component of familial ties that can be defined as "Links and

Introduction: This paper evaluated the relationships between the dyadic adjustment of expectant parents and prenatal maternal and paternal depression. Method: Participants were 98 couples who were expectant parents in the third trimester of pregnancy. Most couples (97%) were primiparous. Participants' prenatal depression, psychiatric symptomatology, perinatal affectivity, and dyadic adjustment were evaluated. Results: Hierarchical regression and relative weight analyses showed the importance of various marital adjustment dimensions in predicting prenatal maternal and paternal depression. In particular, the marital relationship variables of dyadic consensus and affective expression of both partners was related to prenatal depression in expectant mothers, with the relationship even stronger in expectant fathers. The results suggested that for both partners, perception of marital relationship quality contributes to the development of depressive symptoms in new mothers and fathers to a greater degree than the single perception of one partner. Discussion: Clinically, the results suggest that clinicians should focus on partner relationships in the perinatal period. The provision of psychological interventions to improve a couple's functioning may help to protect new parents against depressive symptomatology.