Italian Adolescents (italian + adolescent)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Sense of community, civic engagement and social well-being in Italian adolescents,

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2007
Cinzia Albanesi
Abstract This study investigates the relationship between sense of community, civic engagement and social well-being in a sample of Italian adolescents. Participants were 14,19 year-old high school students (N,=,566) from two demographically distinct cities. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing sense of community, social well-being (Keyes, 1998), involvement in structured group activities (group membership) and civic engagement. Results showed that involvement in formal groups is associated with increased civic involvement and increased sense of community. Sense of community predicts social well-being and explains some of the association between civic engagement and social well-being. Findings suggest that, to increase social well-being, it is important to provide adolescents with more opportunities to experience a sense of belonging to the peers' group and promote prosocial behaviours in the community context. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Prevalence of self-perceived allergic diseases and risk factors in Italian adolescents

PEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
Sonia Brescianini
The aim of the study was to assess the symptoms prevalence of allergic diseases in a population of 11,15 yr old schoolchildren, to evaluate the associations between asthma and other symptoms and identify risk factors for asthma, rhinitis and eczema syndromes. A sample of 481 students was studied using an International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. Prevalence of different kind of self-reported symptoms was calculated. Using a logistic regression approach, we tried to identify risk factors for three syndromes , rhinitis, eczema and asthma. The highest and the lowest prevalence rates of self-reported symptoms were recorded for rhinitis (43.6%) and for eczema (8.1%), respectively. The prevalence of asthma was 15.7%. Univariate analysis showed a mutual association between wheeze and rhinitis symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression model for eczema syndrome revealed female gender as a significant risk factor. The polytomic logistic multivariate regression revealed female gender and family history of allergy as significant risk factors for rhinitis syndrome only, and maternal smoking and familial allergy for rhinitis and asthma together. In particular, familial allergy yields a 400% higher chance of developing asthma and rhinitis together. The synergistic effect of familial allergy on rhinitis and asthma syndromes suggests the implementation of preventive measures in children with family history of these diseases. [source]


Healthcare service use in adolescents with non-specific musculoskeletal pain

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 8 2010
Stefano Masiero
Abstract Aim:, To estimate occurrence of non-specific musculoskeletal pain in a wide population sample of Italian adolescents, and to investigate their use of healthcare services (seeking of medical attention, referral for diagnostic tests and treatment use). Methods:, We investigated 7542 high-school adolescents (aged between 12 and 16 years) by a structured questionnaire and consisting of personal data, presence of pain, health provider consulted, referral for diagnostic tests and compliance with the prescribed treatments. Results:, In 3399 (45.1%) reported musculoskeletal pain (the most affected sites being the spine and knees), 2525 (74.2%) of whom had sought medical attention. Of the 2525 subjects who had sought healthcare, 1061 (42.0%) had consulted more than one health provider, 2410 (95.4%) had been referred for diagnostic tests, and some form of treatment had been recommended for 2445 (96.8%), but only 1694 (69.2%) had complied with prescribed therapies. The most important factors linked to health seeking behaviour were pain intensity, pain lasting longer than 3 months, injury, interruption to or absence of physical activity and localization in the spine and knee. Conclusion:, Non-specific musculoskeletal pain is a frequent event in Italian adolescents and that a large number of these subjects consult a healthcare service. [source]