Marina Everri | London School of Economics and Political Science (original) (raw)
Papers by Marina Everri
Journal of Family Studies, 2014
Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dello Sviluppo, 2011
Psicologia Clinica Dello Sviluppo, 2010
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2016
Systemic Practice and Action Research, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper describes an action research study that illustrates the potential of group di... more ABSTRACT This paper describes an action research study that illustrates the potential of group discussion to enhance reflexivity on professionals’ theoretical and technical models that foster a change in their practice when facing contemporary family diversity. Focus groups were carried out with thirty-five experienced professionals (females, N = 22; males, N = 12; mean age = 45 years) working in the Italian Health Care System (IHCS). Group discussions centered on clinical cases involving same-sex families, an emerging phenomenon in Italy and still subject to social stigma. Our results showed that group discussion allowed professionals to develop a communicative process through which they changed their initial prejudiced positions. This process was named the group re-orienting process and four progressive phases were recognized: (a) defense (b) familiarization with novelty (c) self-reflection and (d) generation. Each phase is described in detail using extracts from focus group data. Implications for training and intervention are discussed.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2014
There is a lack of systematic empirical evidence for a link between parental behavior and family ... more There is a lack of systematic empirical evidence for a link between parental behavior and family functioning; although there have been studies showing that both family functioning and parenting practices, specifically parental monitoring, influence children's wellbeing, their joint impact on developmental outcomes has not yet been investigated. In the research reported here we address this gap. The relationships among family functioning, parental monitoring and familiar responsibility were examined in a sample of 320 Italian adolescents in two age ranges 14-15 years (n = 186) and 18-19 years (n = 133) in respectively the first and last years of secondary school. A questionnaire containing scales of the studied dimensions was administered in the classroom. A simple mediation model to investigate mediation of parental monitoring and a mediated moderation model to test the indirect conditional effect of adolescents' age were run. Our results showed that parental monitoring amplified the positive impact of healthy family functioning on adolescent familiar responsibility and buffered the negative impact of problematic family functioning. Contrary to predictions, adolescent age did not moderate the strength of the observed relationships. Taken together these results confirm the protective function of parental monitoring during adolescent development and provide support for the concept of familiar responsibility as a relational competence indicating psychosocial maturity and linked to family variables, rather than a simply characteristic of the individual. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
The increase of migration and the second generation are changing the configuration and the cultur... more The increase of migration and the second generation are changing the configuration and the cultural composition of adolescents who attend the Aggregation Youth Centers’(ayc). In order to explore whether the ayc were represented as intercultural spaces, 26 adolescent immigrants (mean age = 15 years; M = 18, F = 8) were interviewed and 3 focus groups with their educators (N = 15; mean age = 32 years; M = 7, F = 8) were carried out in the aycs of a Northern Italian province. The results of the Content Analysis showed many discrepancies in the representations of adolescents and adults. For example, for the adolescents, the ayc offers positive opportunities to experience a multicultural context: integrating in the host environment, experiencing the meanings of their own ethnicity and then sharing their own experiences with those who are living similar conditions of immigration. The educators represented this bicultural strategy, adopted by the adolescents, as a sign of ambiguity and lack...
Journal of Family Therapy, 2013
The individual-system relationship is one of the core, and most controversial, issues that have a... more The individual-system relationship is one of the core, and most controversial, issues that have animated family therapy discussions since their origins. We advance the idea that an important point of departure for addressing this issue is the contamination of family therapy with constructs and methods coming from systemic research into normal family processes, such as the notion of stance-taking. Relying on empirical data taken from a study conducted with families dealing with adolescents, we introduce and discuss the notion of stance-taking as an innovative methodological procedure that can illuminate the individual-system relationship while family interactions unfold. For the purpose of this article, we present and describe three selected family cases that document the potentialities of the stance-taking process analysis for studying the individualsystem relationship, thus offering cues to systemic research and practice in family therapy.
Rivista di studi familiari, 2010
Rassegna di psicologia, 2010
L'incremento del fenomeno migratorio e delle seconde generazioni sta modificando la configur... more L'incremento del fenomeno migratorio e delle seconde generazioni sta modificando la configurazione e la composizione culturale degli adolescenti che frequentano i Centri di aggregazione giovanile (CAG). Al fine di esplorare se i CAG fossero rappresentati come spazi di interculturalità dagli adolescenti immigrati e dai loro educatori, in una provincia emiliana, sono stati intervistati 26 adolescenti immigrati (Età media= 15 anni; M= 18, F= 8) e sono stati condotti 3 focus group con i loro educatori (N= 15, Età media= 32 anni; M= 7, F= ...
Eta Evolutiva, Aug 4, 2011
Drawing on some excerpts extracted from the interviews, our results show that families' inte... more Drawing on some excerpts extracted from the interviews, our results show that families' interactions differ as far as power negotiation is concerned. More in particular, we describe four interactive patterns. Two of them express a tension toward convergence (homeostatic and instable forms) and the other two reveal instead a tension toward divergence (symmetrical and generative forms). In the conclusion we discuss the implications of our work pointing out that the different forms of negotiating power during adolescence can be ...
Giornale di Psicologia dello sviluppo-Journal of Developmental Psychology n. 99-giugno 2011, Mar 16, 2012
L'utilizzo della videoregistrazione come principale fonte di raccolta dei dati nasce dal des... more L'utilizzo della videoregistrazione come principale fonte di raccolta dei dati nasce dal desiderio di cogliere le caratteristiche di complessità e triadicità dei processi interattivi. La possibilità di preservare questa ricchezza attraverso le diverse fasi del processo di analisi comporta tuttavia la necessità di riflettere innanzitutto sulle procedure di organizzazione e sistematizzazione dei dati, di cui la trascrizione fa parte. Similmente a quanto avviene nella stesura di una sceneggiatura, dove lo sforzo è quello di creare una sorta di “narrazione ...
Psicologia clinica dello …, 2010
The present paper presents a method for the observation of interactions in families with adolesce... more The present paper presents a method for the observation of interactions in families with adolescent children, aimed at studying families' microtransitions. The data include six family interviews which were video-recorded in laboratory; each family had at least one ...
This paper presents a qualitative observational study aimed at exploring microtransitions in the ... more This paper presents a qualitative observational study aimed at exploring microtransitions in the relational dynamics of family functioning when the children are adolescents. Three concurrent levels were considered central for family functioning in this period: the acknowledgment of emerging competences, the redefinition of the power structure, and the regulation of interpersonal distances. Twenty-eight non-clinical Italian families with at least one adolescent child were interviewed and video-recorded in their homes. A stance-taking process analysis was carried out on the family interactive sequences arising in the course of the interviews. This analysis was based on the stances taken by all family members in relation to their reciprocal evaluations, positions, and alignments, which allowed us to point out the interlocking of competences, power and distances. Out of all the possible theoretical combinations of these three dimensions, we identified four forms of interaction. In two forms, the emerging changes were not incorporated in the families' interactive repertoires by either reconfirming family stability or resisting family changes. In these ways of interacting competences, power, and distances were not reorganized. In the other two forms, instead, family microtransitions were observable in the extent to which family members either explored family changes or legitimated family reorganizations. In these processes, they could redefine and readdress their ways of interacting.
This article presents a qualitative research intended to explore the characteristics of the relat... more This article presents a qualitative research intended to explore the characteristics of the relationship between educators of educational/rehabilitation services, children with disability and their family members. Specifically, we considered: (a) the educators' implicit theories, or representations, of families with a child with disability and their effect on the educators' professional practices, (b) the family representations of the educational/rehabilitation services and (c) the processes of resilience activated to cope with the disability. Twenty-two educators participated in three focus groups, and three families with a child with disability (age range: 9-15) were interviewed and video-recorded in their homes. Results show a partial overlap between educators' and families' representations. Implications for the development of a participatory and co-evolutionary approach that strengthen the resilience of families and their children with disability are discussed.
The aim of the study is to explore the process of microtransitions in families with adolescent ch... more The aim of the study is to explore the process of microtransitions in families with adolescent children. Original methodological procedures were designed in order to have families as the objects of study and to analyze data with particular attention to the family process of change. A family interview focused on the adolescent and family change was conducted with 12 families having an adolescent child. As indicators of change, we used coordination and oscillation. Our results highlight different patterns of family interactions, illustrating various ways through which families deal with change. Conclusive remarks focus on the theoretical relevance of the study, the method and the implications for family practice and policy.
Abstract In the present study, we adopt an observational method for the analysis of family member... more Abstract In the present study, we adopt an observational method for the analysis of family members' interactions during a problem-solving task. The specific focus of our work is to put the family as a whole beneath the lens of observation, as well as to analyze how the parents and the adolescent separately contribute to the task solution. Twenty-eight non-clinical families with adolescents (13 to 16 years old) were filmed in their homes during a problem-solving task.
Journal of Family Studies, 2014
Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dello Sviluppo, 2011
Psicologia Clinica Dello Sviluppo, 2010
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2016
Systemic Practice and Action Research, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper describes an action research study that illustrates the potential of group di... more ABSTRACT This paper describes an action research study that illustrates the potential of group discussion to enhance reflexivity on professionals’ theoretical and technical models that foster a change in their practice when facing contemporary family diversity. Focus groups were carried out with thirty-five experienced professionals (females, N = 22; males, N = 12; mean age = 45 years) working in the Italian Health Care System (IHCS). Group discussions centered on clinical cases involving same-sex families, an emerging phenomenon in Italy and still subject to social stigma. Our results showed that group discussion allowed professionals to develop a communicative process through which they changed their initial prejudiced positions. This process was named the group re-orienting process and four progressive phases were recognized: (a) defense (b) familiarization with novelty (c) self-reflection and (d) generation. Each phase is described in detail using extracts from focus group data. Implications for training and intervention are discussed.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2014
There is a lack of systematic empirical evidence for a link between parental behavior and family ... more There is a lack of systematic empirical evidence for a link between parental behavior and family functioning; although there have been studies showing that both family functioning and parenting practices, specifically parental monitoring, influence children's wellbeing, their joint impact on developmental outcomes has not yet been investigated. In the research reported here we address this gap. The relationships among family functioning, parental monitoring and familiar responsibility were examined in a sample of 320 Italian adolescents in two age ranges 14-15 years (n = 186) and 18-19 years (n = 133) in respectively the first and last years of secondary school. A questionnaire containing scales of the studied dimensions was administered in the classroom. A simple mediation model to investigate mediation of parental monitoring and a mediated moderation model to test the indirect conditional effect of adolescents' age were run. Our results showed that parental monitoring amplified the positive impact of healthy family functioning on adolescent familiar responsibility and buffered the negative impact of problematic family functioning. Contrary to predictions, adolescent age did not moderate the strength of the observed relationships. Taken together these results confirm the protective function of parental monitoring during adolescent development and provide support for the concept of familiar responsibility as a relational competence indicating psychosocial maturity and linked to family variables, rather than a simply characteristic of the individual. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
The increase of migration and the second generation are changing the configuration and the cultur... more The increase of migration and the second generation are changing the configuration and the cultural composition of adolescents who attend the Aggregation Youth Centers’(ayc). In order to explore whether the ayc were represented as intercultural spaces, 26 adolescent immigrants (mean age = 15 years; M = 18, F = 8) were interviewed and 3 focus groups with their educators (N = 15; mean age = 32 years; M = 7, F = 8) were carried out in the aycs of a Northern Italian province. The results of the Content Analysis showed many discrepancies in the representations of adolescents and adults. For example, for the adolescents, the ayc offers positive opportunities to experience a multicultural context: integrating in the host environment, experiencing the meanings of their own ethnicity and then sharing their own experiences with those who are living similar conditions of immigration. The educators represented this bicultural strategy, adopted by the adolescents, as a sign of ambiguity and lack...
Journal of Family Therapy, 2013
The individual-system relationship is one of the core, and most controversial, issues that have a... more The individual-system relationship is one of the core, and most controversial, issues that have animated family therapy discussions since their origins. We advance the idea that an important point of departure for addressing this issue is the contamination of family therapy with constructs and methods coming from systemic research into normal family processes, such as the notion of stance-taking. Relying on empirical data taken from a study conducted with families dealing with adolescents, we introduce and discuss the notion of stance-taking as an innovative methodological procedure that can illuminate the individual-system relationship while family interactions unfold. For the purpose of this article, we present and describe three selected family cases that document the potentialities of the stance-taking process analysis for studying the individualsystem relationship, thus offering cues to systemic research and practice in family therapy.
Rivista di studi familiari, 2010
Rassegna di psicologia, 2010
L'incremento del fenomeno migratorio e delle seconde generazioni sta modificando la configur... more L'incremento del fenomeno migratorio e delle seconde generazioni sta modificando la configurazione e la composizione culturale degli adolescenti che frequentano i Centri di aggregazione giovanile (CAG). Al fine di esplorare se i CAG fossero rappresentati come spazi di interculturalità dagli adolescenti immigrati e dai loro educatori, in una provincia emiliana, sono stati intervistati 26 adolescenti immigrati (Età media= 15 anni; M= 18, F= 8) e sono stati condotti 3 focus group con i loro educatori (N= 15, Età media= 32 anni; M= 7, F= ...
Eta Evolutiva, Aug 4, 2011
Drawing on some excerpts extracted from the interviews, our results show that families' inte... more Drawing on some excerpts extracted from the interviews, our results show that families' interactions differ as far as power negotiation is concerned. More in particular, we describe four interactive patterns. Two of them express a tension toward convergence (homeostatic and instable forms) and the other two reveal instead a tension toward divergence (symmetrical and generative forms). In the conclusion we discuss the implications of our work pointing out that the different forms of negotiating power during adolescence can be ...
Giornale di Psicologia dello sviluppo-Journal of Developmental Psychology n. 99-giugno 2011, Mar 16, 2012
L'utilizzo della videoregistrazione come principale fonte di raccolta dei dati nasce dal des... more L'utilizzo della videoregistrazione come principale fonte di raccolta dei dati nasce dal desiderio di cogliere le caratteristiche di complessità e triadicità dei processi interattivi. La possibilità di preservare questa ricchezza attraverso le diverse fasi del processo di analisi comporta tuttavia la necessità di riflettere innanzitutto sulle procedure di organizzazione e sistematizzazione dei dati, di cui la trascrizione fa parte. Similmente a quanto avviene nella stesura di una sceneggiatura, dove lo sforzo è quello di creare una sorta di “narrazione ...
Psicologia clinica dello …, 2010
The present paper presents a method for the observation of interactions in families with adolesce... more The present paper presents a method for the observation of interactions in families with adolescent children, aimed at studying families' microtransitions. The data include six family interviews which were video-recorded in laboratory; each family had at least one ...
This paper presents a qualitative observational study aimed at exploring microtransitions in the ... more This paper presents a qualitative observational study aimed at exploring microtransitions in the relational dynamics of family functioning when the children are adolescents. Three concurrent levels were considered central for family functioning in this period: the acknowledgment of emerging competences, the redefinition of the power structure, and the regulation of interpersonal distances. Twenty-eight non-clinical Italian families with at least one adolescent child were interviewed and video-recorded in their homes. A stance-taking process analysis was carried out on the family interactive sequences arising in the course of the interviews. This analysis was based on the stances taken by all family members in relation to their reciprocal evaluations, positions, and alignments, which allowed us to point out the interlocking of competences, power and distances. Out of all the possible theoretical combinations of these three dimensions, we identified four forms of interaction. In two forms, the emerging changes were not incorporated in the families' interactive repertoires by either reconfirming family stability or resisting family changes. In these ways of interacting competences, power, and distances were not reorganized. In the other two forms, instead, family microtransitions were observable in the extent to which family members either explored family changes or legitimated family reorganizations. In these processes, they could redefine and readdress their ways of interacting.
This article presents a qualitative research intended to explore the characteristics of the relat... more This article presents a qualitative research intended to explore the characteristics of the relationship between educators of educational/rehabilitation services, children with disability and their family members. Specifically, we considered: (a) the educators' implicit theories, or representations, of families with a child with disability and their effect on the educators' professional practices, (b) the family representations of the educational/rehabilitation services and (c) the processes of resilience activated to cope with the disability. Twenty-two educators participated in three focus groups, and three families with a child with disability (age range: 9-15) were interviewed and video-recorded in their homes. Results show a partial overlap between educators' and families' representations. Implications for the development of a participatory and co-evolutionary approach that strengthen the resilience of families and their children with disability are discussed.
The aim of the study is to explore the process of microtransitions in families with adolescent ch... more The aim of the study is to explore the process of microtransitions in families with adolescent children. Original methodological procedures were designed in order to have families as the objects of study and to analyze data with particular attention to the family process of change. A family interview focused on the adolescent and family change was conducted with 12 families having an adolescent child. As indicators of change, we used coordination and oscillation. Our results highlight different patterns of family interactions, illustrating various ways through which families deal with change. Conclusive remarks focus on the theoretical relevance of the study, the method and the implications for family practice and policy.
Abstract In the present study, we adopt an observational method for the analysis of family member... more Abstract In the present study, we adopt an observational method for the analysis of family members' interactions during a problem-solving task. The specific focus of our work is to put the family as a whole beneath the lens of observation, as well as to analyze how the parents and the adolescent separately contribute to the task solution. Twenty-eight non-clinical families with adolescents (13 to 16 years old) were filmed in their homes during a problem-solving task.
Nel nostro paese l'omogenitorialità sta occupando il discorso e l'immaginario pubblico suscitando... more Nel nostro paese l'omogenitorialità sta occupando il discorso e l'immaginario pubblico suscitando reazioni di sdegno, passione, rabbia, desiderio di riscatto e, recentemente, interventi legislativi che hanno (finalmente) sancito il riconoscimento delle unioni civili tra coppie dello stesso sesso. Ma a che punto è la ricerca su questo tema in Italia? I professionisti, che strumenti hanno per fare fronte alle richieste delle famiglie omogenitoriali? E le istituzioni politico-legislative stanno davvero accogliendo le rivendicazioni delle persone omosessuali, quali quelle di essere riconosciute cittadini al pari degli altri, ma anche genitori come gli altri e tra gli altri? Il volume intende rispondere a questi interrogativi raccogliendo i contributi di ricercatori, professionisti, rappresentanti delle istituzioni politico-legislative per fornire una panoramica su che cosa significa essere genitori omosessuali oggi in Italia. La prima parte è dedicata alle ricerche scientifiche che hanno preso in esame le dinamiche della coppia e della genitorialità omosessuale. La seconda parte fornisce strumenti operativi attraverso le esperienze di professionisti dei servizi educativi, clinici e sociali che hanno iniziato ad interrogarsi su come rispondere in modo adeguato ai bisogni delle nuove famiglie. Infine, la terza parte si proietta verso il futuro e interpella i rappresentanti delle istituzioni giuridiche e politiche e dell'associazionismo sulla necessità di aprire la strada ad un cambiamento a livello macro-sociale che possa includere quelle diversità che, nelle varie forme, stanno caratterizzando l'assetto socio-culturale del nostro paese. Nei diversi capitoli del volume abbiamo voluto mettere in risalto come sia necessario definire una prospettiva di studio e di intervento nuova, che non necessariamente sia circoscritta a queste famiglie. Le famiglie omogenitoriali, infatti, ci obbligano a vedere che la trasformazione socio-culturale nel nostro paese è in atto, a interrogarci e a intervenire su più fronti. Infine, la struttura e le finalità rendono il volume adatto ad un pubblico di studenti, professionisti o, in generale, di persone che vogliono capire meglio che cosa significa essere genitori omosessuali in Italia. Marina Everri è una psicologa sociale, ricercatrice, e psicoterapeuta. I suoi interessi di ricerca riguardano lo studio delle relazioni e dei processi comunicativi delle famiglie contemporanee e la definizione di metodologie in grado di cogliere le specificità del funzionamento di forme familiari diverse da quelle tradizionali. Il suo percorso di formazione e ricerca è stato influenzato dall'approccio sistemico e socio-costruzionista e da discipline affini alla psicologia come l'antropologia e la sociolinguistica. Collabora con l'Università di Parma in Italia e le Università della California di Los Angeles (UCLA) e di Berkeley (UCB) negli Stati Uniti. Nel 2015 ha ottenuto un premio di ricerca Europeo, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, presso il Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science della London School of Economics, UK, dove lavora attualmente ad un progetto di ricerca sul ruolo dei media digitali nella comunicazione tra genitori e figli adolescenti.