Andrea Caputo | Università degli Studi "La Sapienza" di Roma (original) (raw)

Papers by Andrea Caputo

FOR Rivista per la formazione, 2015

Psihologija, 2013

ABSTRACT

RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA, 2000

Psychology, health & medicine, Jan 20, 2014

Euthanasia has received increasing attention in both academic and public debates as one of the mo... more Euthanasia has received increasing attention in both academic and public debates as one of the most controversial issues. However, the contribution of psychology-related themes to the topic has had little role on these ongoing debates. The aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to explore the main themes relating to euthanasia as provided by psychology-related research; (2) to analyze the temporal trends of psychology-related research on euthanasia over the last decades. A comprehensive search of academic literature was conducted on PsychINFO database. A qualitative software-based thematic analysis was carried out on 602 journal abstracts published from 1935 to 2014. This study highlighted four different thematic areas which characterized the scientific discourse on euthanasia: (1) moral values, in terms of religious, philosophical, and social implications concerning the individual's decision to die; (2) professional ethics, in terms of health and social workers' legal res...

Psychology, Health and Medicine, 2014

The present study used a narrative-based approach to identify common themes that characterized th... more The present study used a narrative-based approach to identify common themes that characterized the illness experience and quality of life of patients affected by rare disease (RD). Textual data were comprised of illness stories written by 32 adult Italian patients (eight men and 24 women), with the following RD diagnoses: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 12), anorectal atresia (n = 4), Poland syndrome (n = 4), and idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (n = 12). Computer-aided content analysis was performed to detect the main themes (cluster analysis) and latent factors (correspondence analysis) emerging in patients' narratives, and to test their association with gender and diagnosis. Four thematic domains were detected in the textual corpus, which are respectively referred to as: hopelessness (12.74%), need for autonomy (38.43%), search for normalcy (11.89%), and expectations of recovery (36.94%). Three latent factors explained the overall data variance: the relationship with social and medical healthcare providers (F1), adjustment processes to disease and social limitations (F2), and self-beliefs and coping (F3). Some differences were revealed with respect to patient gender and diagnosis. Illness stories highlight the significant relationship of RD patients with healthcare services and their need for a holistic approach because of the lack of effective treatment. Physical limitation and emotional distress do not necessarily seem to overlap for adjustment and quality of life (QoL). Overall, the perception of illness chronicity is likely to affect patients' self-beliefs and coping with more than their feeling of abnormalcy, that is the less salient theme.

This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology that explores ... more This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology that explores affective symbolizations, which structure their relationship with hosting bodies in internship experience. This is in order to detect students’ main representations about their role as interns, professional activities and functions they have to comply with and the perceived integration between university education and real work contexts. A questionnaire was administered for the analysis of students’ motivational dynamics and expectations activated by imagining their future internship. Four clusters of students have been identified, through multivariate statistical techniques, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Results were as follows: a general powerlessness, distrust and disinvestment toward internship (17.7%); affiliation with hosting bodies in order to gain increasing acceptance and power (33.8%); high pragmatism, task-orientation and compliance with what the hosting bodies propose (30.8%) and a demand for recognition without any negotiation (17.7%). No relationship is detected between clusters and some illustrative variables related to sex and indicators of academic success, problems and participation. These clusters are conceived along three latent dimensions, which explain 57.9% of the total variance and refer to: disengagement/involvement toward internship experience; owerlessness/omnipotence about using competences and devaluation/idealization of the hosting body in relation to university training. Overall, two critical issues emerge: the first refers to a gap between university training and internship, the second one deals with discontinuity between the internship and the labor market. Some reflections and implications for practice are discussed.

PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE, 2014

Educational Assessment, 2013

Psychology, Health & Medicine, 2013

This research aims to explore the link between health demand and representation of medical functi... more This research aims to explore the link between health demand and representation of medical function in a sample of 86 individuals (aged between 18 and 74) from Italy. A questionnaire has been administered for the analysis of cultural models (Carli & Paniccia 1999) in terms of affective symbolisations characterising physician-patient relationship. The questionnaire has been constructed according to a socio-constructivist methodology and allows to explore two specific emotional areas: (1) The view about medical profession and health care setting in general, (2) the experience referred to one's own general practitioner. Five clusters of subjects have been identified, thanks to multivariate statistic techniques (multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA). They show respectively: A deep concern for health and a paternalistic dynamics with physician (20.9% of the sample); a general distrust of the health service and a fatalistic view about health leading to avoid the use of visits (16.3%); a passive and dependent position in relation to physician seen as a skilled and powerful technician (20.9%); a little compliance with physician considered as a bureaucrat that must satisfy any request (20.9%); an active role in health management and a greater confidence in medical function for a better quality of life (20.9%). Results point out some differences by age, education and occupation. In particular, participants with university schooling (p < 0. 01) and professionals (p < 0. 05) show less motivation to use primary care services, while participants aged from 45 to 74 years (p < 0.05) and with elementary-middle schooling (p < 0.05) are more confident in medical function for health promotion. Findings suggest some indications on health demand and provide development lines for improving communication in primary care context.

From an analysis of the Italian journalistic production, this study aims to detect cultural model... more From an analysis of the Italian journalistic production, this study aims to detect cultural models that organize cybersex discourse in order to overcome an individualistic and medicalized paradigm proposed by the main research traditions. The emotional text analysis (Carli and Paniccia, 2002), conducted on a corpus of 52 articles of the major national newspapers, allowed to explore the social representation of the phenomenon. The study detected 4 cultural models that refer to different cultural functions of technology for the development of online sexual practices and match specific conceptualization of cybersex as a substitute, protomental, proteiform and mythical space. Cybersex seems to be represented in terms of a process of re-territorialization of identity which suggests the crisis of the individual-context relationship, connected to the strong need of individualization, dynamic of social control and feeling of progressive isolation. The work proposes some reflections on the growing demand for virtual sex and on the relationship between Internet and sexuality in a dynamic psychological perspective.

Background: Italy is a country showing low math achievement, especially in the Southern regions. ... more Background: Italy is a country showing low math achievement, especially in the Southern regions. Moreover, national student assessments are recent and rigorous policy evaluation is lacking. This study presents the results of one of the first randomized controlled trials implemented in Italian schools in order to measure the effects of a professional development (PD) program for teachers on student math achievement. The program was already at scale when it was being evaluated.
Objective: Assessing the effects of a PD program for math teachers on their students’ achievement and making suggestions for future policy evaluations.
Design: A large-scale clustered randomized control trial has been conducted. It involves 175 lower secondary schools (sixth - eighth grade) in four among the Italian lowest performing regions. Alongside national standard math assessments, the project collected a wide amount of information.
Subjects: Math in lower secondary schools.
Measures: Math achievement as measured by standardized tests provided by the National Education Assessment Institute (Istituto Nazionale per la Valutazione del Sistema di Istruzione e Formazione); teacher and student practices and attitudes collected through questionnaires.
Results: Findings suggest that the program had no significant impact on math scores during the first year (when the program was held). Nonetheless some heterogeneity was detected, as the treatment does seem “to work” with middle-aged teachers. Moreover, effects on teaching practice and student attitudes appear.
Conclusion: Some effects attributable to the intervention have been detected. Moreover, this project shows that a rigorous approach to evaluation is feasible also in a context lacking attention towards evidence-based policies, such the Italian school system.

This study explored the different conceptualizations of envy in scholarly psychological publicati... more This study explored the different conceptualizations of envy in scholarly psychological publications, in terms of cultural models shared in scientific community, which contribute to the social construction of this emotional experience. A text analysis based on social representation theory was conducted on a corpus of 450 abstracts consulted in PsycINFO Database and allowed the detection of five main representations of envy in psychological literature as primary destructiveness, subjective unfairness, narcissistic defense, competitive tendency and malicious joy. They are conceived along four latent dimensions respectively, regarding source (internal/external agency), function (self-development/other-derogation), self-awareness (low/high control) and legitimacy (moral/amoral values) of envy. The results highlight the psychoanalytic and psychosocial perspective about envy and its paradoxical function for social order.

This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology which explores... more This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology which explores affective symbolizations which structure their relationship with hosting bodies in internship experience. This is in order to detect students’ main representations about their role as interns, the professional activities and functions they have to comply with and the perceived integration between university education and real work contexts. A questionnaire was administered for the analysis of students’ motivational dynamics and expectations activated by imagining their future internship. Four clusters of students have been identified, through multivariate statistical techniques, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Results were as follows: a general powerlessness, distrust and disinvestment toward internship (17.7%); affiliation with hosting bodies in order to gain increasing acceptance and power (33.8%); high pragmatism, task-orientation and compliance with what the hosting bodies propose (30.8%) and a demand for recognition without any negotiation (17.7%). No relationship is detected between clusters and some illustrative variables related to sex and indicators of academic success, problems and participation. These clusters are conceived along three latent dimensions which explain 57.9% of the total variance and refer to: disengagement/involvement toward internship experience; powerlessness/omnipotence about using competences and devaluation/idealization of the hosting body in relation to university training. Overall, two critical issues emerge: the first refers to a gap between university training and internship, the second one deals with discontinuity between the internship and the labor market. Some reflections and implications for practice are discussed.

This article describes the development and initial validation of the Collaboration and Support fo... more This article describes the development and initial validation of the Collaboration and Support for Inclusive Teaching, a measure of perceived support in special education teachers regarding the degree of collaboration with regular teachers for inclusive practice at school. The scale was validated on a sample of 276 special education teachers coming from lower and higher secondary schools by using both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The resulting 12-item scale was characterized by a one-factor solution explaining 46.59% of data variance and had good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of .876. Associations with other measures supported convergent and divergent validity of the scale. The usefulness of this scale is highlighted with regard to the improvement of cooperative teaching supporting school inclusion, as well as to the prevention of the risk of burnout in special education teachers.

FOR Rivista per la formazione, 2015

Psihologija, 2013

ABSTRACT

RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA, 2000

Psychology, health & medicine, Jan 20, 2014

Euthanasia has received increasing attention in both academic and public debates as one of the mo... more Euthanasia has received increasing attention in both academic and public debates as one of the most controversial issues. However, the contribution of psychology-related themes to the topic has had little role on these ongoing debates. The aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to explore the main themes relating to euthanasia as provided by psychology-related research; (2) to analyze the temporal trends of psychology-related research on euthanasia over the last decades. A comprehensive search of academic literature was conducted on PsychINFO database. A qualitative software-based thematic analysis was carried out on 602 journal abstracts published from 1935 to 2014. This study highlighted four different thematic areas which characterized the scientific discourse on euthanasia: (1) moral values, in terms of religious, philosophical, and social implications concerning the individual's decision to die; (2) professional ethics, in terms of health and social workers' legal res...

Psychology, Health and Medicine, 2014

The present study used a narrative-based approach to identify common themes that characterized th... more The present study used a narrative-based approach to identify common themes that characterized the illness experience and quality of life of patients affected by rare disease (RD). Textual data were comprised of illness stories written by 32 adult Italian patients (eight men and 24 women), with the following RD diagnoses: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 12), anorectal atresia (n = 4), Poland syndrome (n = 4), and idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (n = 12). Computer-aided content analysis was performed to detect the main themes (cluster analysis) and latent factors (correspondence analysis) emerging in patients' narratives, and to test their association with gender and diagnosis. Four thematic domains were detected in the textual corpus, which are respectively referred to as: hopelessness (12.74%), need for autonomy (38.43%), search for normalcy (11.89%), and expectations of recovery (36.94%). Three latent factors explained the overall data variance: the relationship with social and medical healthcare providers (F1), adjustment processes to disease and social limitations (F2), and self-beliefs and coping (F3). Some differences were revealed with respect to patient gender and diagnosis. Illness stories highlight the significant relationship of RD patients with healthcare services and their need for a holistic approach because of the lack of effective treatment. Physical limitation and emotional distress do not necessarily seem to overlap for adjustment and quality of life (QoL). Overall, the perception of illness chronicity is likely to affect patients' self-beliefs and coping with more than their feeling of abnormalcy, that is the less salient theme.

This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology that explores ... more This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology that explores affective symbolizations, which structure their relationship with hosting bodies in internship experience. This is in order to detect students’ main representations about their role as interns, professional activities and functions they have to comply with and the perceived integration between university education and real work contexts. A questionnaire was administered for the analysis of students’ motivational dynamics and expectations activated by imagining their future internship. Four clusters of students have been identified, through multivariate statistical techniques, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Results were as follows: a general powerlessness, distrust and disinvestment toward internship (17.7%); affiliation with hosting bodies in order to gain increasing acceptance and power (33.8%); high pragmatism, task-orientation and compliance with what the hosting bodies propose (30.8%) and a demand for recognition without any negotiation (17.7%). No relationship is detected between clusters and some illustrative variables related to sex and indicators of academic success, problems and participation. These clusters are conceived along three latent dimensions, which explain 57.9% of the total variance and refer to: disengagement/involvement toward internship experience; owerlessness/omnipotence about using competences and devaluation/idealization of the hosting body in relation to university training. Overall, two critical issues emerge: the first refers to a gap between university training and internship, the second one deals with discontinuity between the internship and the labor market. Some reflections and implications for practice are discussed.

PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE, 2014

Educational Assessment, 2013

Psychology, Health & Medicine, 2013

This research aims to explore the link between health demand and representation of medical functi... more This research aims to explore the link between health demand and representation of medical function in a sample of 86 individuals (aged between 18 and 74) from Italy. A questionnaire has been administered for the analysis of cultural models (Carli & Paniccia 1999) in terms of affective symbolisations characterising physician-patient relationship. The questionnaire has been constructed according to a socio-constructivist methodology and allows to explore two specific emotional areas: (1) The view about medical profession and health care setting in general, (2) the experience referred to one's own general practitioner. Five clusters of subjects have been identified, thanks to multivariate statistic techniques (multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA). They show respectively: A deep concern for health and a paternalistic dynamics with physician (20.9% of the sample); a general distrust of the health service and a fatalistic view about health leading to avoid the use of visits (16.3%); a passive and dependent position in relation to physician seen as a skilled and powerful technician (20.9%); a little compliance with physician considered as a bureaucrat that must satisfy any request (20.9%); an active role in health management and a greater confidence in medical function for a better quality of life (20.9%). Results point out some differences by age, education and occupation. In particular, participants with university schooling (p < 0. 01) and professionals (p < 0. 05) show less motivation to use primary care services, while participants aged from 45 to 74 years (p < 0.05) and with elementary-middle schooling (p < 0.05) are more confident in medical function for health promotion. Findings suggest some indications on health demand and provide development lines for improving communication in primary care context.

From an analysis of the Italian journalistic production, this study aims to detect cultural model... more From an analysis of the Italian journalistic production, this study aims to detect cultural models that organize cybersex discourse in order to overcome an individualistic and medicalized paradigm proposed by the main research traditions. The emotional text analysis (Carli and Paniccia, 2002), conducted on a corpus of 52 articles of the major national newspapers, allowed to explore the social representation of the phenomenon. The study detected 4 cultural models that refer to different cultural functions of technology for the development of online sexual practices and match specific conceptualization of cybersex as a substitute, protomental, proteiform and mythical space. Cybersex seems to be represented in terms of a process of re-territorialization of identity which suggests the crisis of the individual-context relationship, connected to the strong need of individualization, dynamic of social control and feeling of progressive isolation. The work proposes some reflections on the growing demand for virtual sex and on the relationship between Internet and sexuality in a dynamic psychological perspective.

Background: Italy is a country showing low math achievement, especially in the Southern regions. ... more Background: Italy is a country showing low math achievement, especially in the Southern regions. Moreover, national student assessments are recent and rigorous policy evaluation is lacking. This study presents the results of one of the first randomized controlled trials implemented in Italian schools in order to measure the effects of a professional development (PD) program for teachers on student math achievement. The program was already at scale when it was being evaluated.
Objective: Assessing the effects of a PD program for math teachers on their students’ achievement and making suggestions for future policy evaluations.
Design: A large-scale clustered randomized control trial has been conducted. It involves 175 lower secondary schools (sixth - eighth grade) in four among the Italian lowest performing regions. Alongside national standard math assessments, the project collected a wide amount of information.
Subjects: Math in lower secondary schools.
Measures: Math achievement as measured by standardized tests provided by the National Education Assessment Institute (Istituto Nazionale per la Valutazione del Sistema di Istruzione e Formazione); teacher and student practices and attitudes collected through questionnaires.
Results: Findings suggest that the program had no significant impact on math scores during the first year (when the program was held). Nonetheless some heterogeneity was detected, as the treatment does seem “to work” with middle-aged teachers. Moreover, effects on teaching practice and student attitudes appear.
Conclusion: Some effects attributable to the intervention have been detected. Moreover, this project shows that a rigorous approach to evaluation is feasible also in a context lacking attention towards evidence-based policies, such the Italian school system.

This study explored the different conceptualizations of envy in scholarly psychological publicati... more This study explored the different conceptualizations of envy in scholarly psychological publications, in terms of cultural models shared in scientific community, which contribute to the social construction of this emotional experience. A text analysis based on social representation theory was conducted on a corpus of 450 abstracts consulted in PsycINFO Database and allowed the detection of five main representations of envy in psychological literature as primary destructiveness, subjective unfairness, narcissistic defense, competitive tendency and malicious joy. They are conceived along four latent dimensions respectively, regarding source (internal/external agency), function (self-development/other-derogation), self-awareness (low/high control) and legitimacy (moral/amoral values) of envy. The results highlight the psychoanalytic and psychosocial perspective about envy and its paradoxical function for social order.

This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology which explores... more This paper presents a case study of 213 university students of Clinical Psychology which explores affective symbolizations which structure their relationship with hosting bodies in internship experience. This is in order to detect students’ main representations about their role as interns, the professional activities and functions they have to comply with and the perceived integration between university education and real work contexts. A questionnaire was administered for the analysis of students’ motivational dynamics and expectations activated by imagining their future internship. Four clusters of students have been identified, through multivariate statistical techniques, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Results were as follows: a general powerlessness, distrust and disinvestment toward internship (17.7%); affiliation with hosting bodies in order to gain increasing acceptance and power (33.8%); high pragmatism, task-orientation and compliance with what the hosting bodies propose (30.8%) and a demand for recognition without any negotiation (17.7%). No relationship is detected between clusters and some illustrative variables related to sex and indicators of academic success, problems and participation. These clusters are conceived along three latent dimensions which explain 57.9% of the total variance and refer to: disengagement/involvement toward internship experience; powerlessness/omnipotence about using competences and devaluation/idealization of the hosting body in relation to university training. Overall, two critical issues emerge: the first refers to a gap between university training and internship, the second one deals with discontinuity between the internship and the labor market. Some reflections and implications for practice are discussed.

This article describes the development and initial validation of the Collaboration and Support fo... more This article describes the development and initial validation of the Collaboration and Support for Inclusive Teaching, a measure of perceived support in special education teachers regarding the degree of collaboration with regular teachers for inclusive practice at school. The scale was validated on a sample of 276 special education teachers coming from lower and higher secondary schools by using both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The resulting 12-item scale was characterized by a one-factor solution explaining 46.59% of data variance and had good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of .876. Associations with other measures supported convergent and divergent validity of the scale. The usefulness of this scale is highlighted with regard to the improvement of cooperative teaching supporting school inclusion, as well as to the prevention of the risk of burnout in special education teachers.