Papers by Elena Trifiletti
Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2009
Frontiers in Psychology, 2016
Ageing International, 2016
Journal of Nursing Measurement, 2015
The extent to which nurses feel comfortable about the use of touch may affect the frequency and q... more The extent to which nurses feel comfortable about the use of touch may affect the frequency and quality of nursing touch-based interventions. No valid instrument exists to assess nurses' feelings of comfort with touch. In this study, the nurses' scale was developed and preliminary validated. Items were generated through semistructured interviews. After testing the content validity with a team of experts, the psychometric properties were tested with a sample of 451 nurses. Explorative factor analysis yielded a five-factor solution, which was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Examination of concurrent validity revealed that comfort with touch was correlated with positive affective states and emotional self-efficacy. Future directions and implications for nursing research, education, and practice are discussed.
Self-efficacy beliefs do not reflect a generic sense of competence, but are instead context-speci... more Self-efficacy beliefs do not reflect a generic sense of competence, but are instead context-specific. Therefore, self-efficacy should be assessed by using an ad hoc scale measuring individual behaviors that allows social workers to exercise influence over events that affect their work life. The present study describes the development and initial validation of the self-efficacy scale for social workers (SESSW). Items were generated through the Critical Incident Technique. Sixteen social workers with at least 10 years of service participated in two focus groups; they were asked to recall critical incidents in their work and to indicate the most effective behaviors to manage the incidents. Content analysis of the focus group transcripts provided 13 key self-efficacy beliefs. The 13-item scale was validated with a sample of 805 social workers. Data were analyzed using a split-sample technique. Exploratory factor analysis on the first split sample (n = 402) revealed three dimensions of self-efficacy, corresponding to emotion regulation, support request, and procedural self-efficacy. The three-factor structure of the scale was further confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis on the second split sample (n = 403). Our results show that SESSW is an adequate instrument for assessment of self-efficacy beliefs in social work.
Child & Youth Care Forum, 2014
ABSTRACT Background In May 2012, Northern Italy was struck by a tremendous series of earthquakes,... more ABSTRACT Background In May 2012, Northern Italy was struck by a tremendous series of earthquakes, which had devastating consequences and persisted for several months. Previous research shows that coping strategies and Theory of Mind (ToM) can help sustaining cognitive performance after a traumatic experience. Objective We conducted a study to examine whether coping strategies used by elementary school children who were victims of the earthquakes were helpful in facing the consequences of these earthquakes by being positively associated with ToM and, in turn, with better cognitive performance. Methods We administered a questionnaire to 517 elementary school children a few months after the earthquakes of May 2012. Results Results revealed that active coping strategies were associated with greater ToM abilities that, in turn, were related with better cognitive performance. In contrast, negative coping strategies were negatively associated with the ability to mentalize others’ mental states and, in turn, with less positive cognitive performance. Avoidant coping strategies were positively associated with improved cognitive performance. Moreover, they were also associated with better cognitive performance via greater ToM abilities (this latter effect was present only among those perceiving stronger social support from their peers). Conclusions Active and avoidant coping strategies and ToM are important factors associated with better cognitive performance in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2015
ABSTRACT The contact hypothesis suggests that the interaction between members of different groups... more ABSTRACT The contact hypothesis suggests that the interaction between members of different groups decreases prejudice. Moderators and mediators shaping this link have been investigated. However, research about the factors that facilitate contact is not frequent. This article examines secure attachment as an antecedent of contact. Three studies provide information about various aspects of the relationship between secure attachment and contact: security is positively associated with (a) intergroup contact, which in turn is related to reduced prejudice (Study 1); (b) implicit approach tendencies toward the outgroup (Study 2); and, once again, (c) with contact through the indirect effect of openness to exploration (Study 3). In the discussion, we recommend priming both secure and insecure schemas to investigate their unique effects on intergroup contact.
Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 2012
ABSTRACT Image theory was used in this study to assess the images that Italian adults with differ... more ABSTRACT Image theory was used in this study to assess the images that Italian adults with different political ideologies have of the United States. In addition to the ally, barbarian, enemy, and imperialist images, a new image, that of the father, was introduced. It was found that right-wing respondents endorsed the father and ally images of Americans, while left-wing respondents perceived Americans as barbarians. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
The British journal of social psychology / the British Psychological Society, Jan 21, 2014
We conducted a field study to test whether the common ingroup identity model (Gaertner & Dovidio,... more We conducted a field study to test whether the common ingroup identity model (Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000, reducing intergroup bias: The common ingroup identity model. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press) could be a useful tool to improve intergroup relations in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Participants were majority (Italian) and minority (immigrant) elementary school children (N = 517) living in the area struck by powerful earthquakes in May 2012. Results revealed that, among majority children, the perceived external threat represented by the earthquake was associated with greater perceptions of belonging to a common ingroup including both ingroup and outgroup. In turn, heightened one-group perceptions were associated with greater willingness to meet and help outgroup victims, both directly and indirectly via more positive outgroup attitudes. Among immigrant children, perceived disaster threat was not associated with any of the dependent variables; one-group perceptions were p...
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2014
ABSTRACT In this article, dehumanization of patients was studied as a strategy used by nurses to ... more ABSTRACT In this article, dehumanization of patients was studied as a strategy used by nurses to cope with stress. Affective organizational commitment (AOC) and affective commitment to patients (ACP) were tested as moderators. We also explored how nurses' humanity attributions to their in-group relate to stress symptoms. Participants were nurses working in different wards of an Italian urban hospital. Findings showed that perceiving patients as not fully human was related to lower levels of stress symptoms for nurses with high AOC and ACP, but not for nurses with low AOC and ACP. Moreover, for highly committed nurses, the attribution of uniquely human traits to the in-group was associated with increased stress symptoms. Implications of findings for the relationship between nurses and patients are discussed.
Past research, based on explicit measures, has shown that Americans are rated as competent but no... more Past research, based on explicit measures, has shown that Americans are rated as competent but not warm. In the present study, we assessed the implicit stereotype of Americans along the two dimensions of competence and warmth. Participants (Italian university students) completed a Go/No-go Association Task, in which Americans and Italians were the target categories and competence and warmth the target attributes. They also completed a questionnaire measuring three individual difference variables, namely Social Dominance Orientation, national identification, and political orientation. We hypothesized that Americans would be more associated with competence than warmth; we also expected Americans to be more associated with competence and less with warmth than Italians. Predictions were supported. The implicit associations were not correlated with the individual difference variables, thus suggesting they are a reflection of a well-learned cultural stereotype of Americans.
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Papers by Elena Trifiletti