Luca Rollè

Bio: Luca Rollè is an academic researcher from University of Turin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Domestic violence & Anxiety. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 29 publications receiving 1469 citations.

Parenting Stress, Mental Health, Dyadic Adjustment: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract: Objective: In the first year of the postpartum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents. Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples) of healthy babies. At 12 months postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. A multi-group analysis further found that the paths did not differ across mothers and fathers. Discussion: The results suggest that mental health is an important dimension that mediates the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment in the transition to parenthood.

Perinatal Parenting Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Outcomes in First-Time Mothers and Fathers: A 3- to 6-Months Postpartum Follow-Up Study.

Abstract: Objective: Although the proven link between parenting stress, postnatal depression and anxiety, no study has investigated such relationship among fathers and mothers. The specific aims of this study were: 1) to investigate whether there were any differences between first-time fathers’ and mothers’ postnatal parenting stress, anxiety and depression symptoms and to see their evolution between 3 and 6 months after the child’s birth; 2) to explore how one’s own parenting stress and anxiety levels and the anxiety-depressive symptoms of the partner contribute to parental postnatal depression. Method: The sample was composed by 362 parents – 181 couples - (mothers’ MAge = 35.03, SD = 4.7; fathers’ MAge = 37.9, SD = 5.6) of a healthy baby. At three (T1) and six months (T2) postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results: Analyses showed that, compared to fathers, mothers reported higher scores on postpartum anxiety, depression and parenting stress. Scores on all measures for both mothers and fathers decreased from T1 to T2. However, path analyses suggested that the persistence of both maternal and paternal postnatal depression were influenced directly by one’s own levels of anxiety and parenting stress as well as by the presence of partner’s depression. Discussion: The study pointed out the relevant impact and effects of both maternal and paternal stress, anxiety and depression symptoms during the transition to parenthood. Therefore, in order to provide efficacious, targeted, early interventions, perinatal screening should always be directed to both parents.

Loneliness, Resilience, Mental Health, and Quality of Life in Old Age: A Structural Equation Model.

Abstract: Objectives: In the scientific literature on aging, a recent core issue has been the role of individuals' internal and external resources, which are considered intrinsically connected, in contributing synergistically to physical and psychological quality of life (QoL). The current study investigates the way in which psychological factors-such as, loneliness, resilience, and mental states, in terms of depression and anxiety symptoms-affect the perceived QoL among elderly individuals. Method: Data from 290 elderly Italian participants were used to study the mediation effects of both mental health and resilience to elucidate the relationship between loneliness and psychophysical QoL. Results: The best model we obtained supports the mediation effect of both resilience and mental health between loneliness and mental and physical QoL. These results highlight that loneliness influences mental and physical QoL via two pathways, with the impact of loneliness mediated by mental health and resilience dimensions. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of the support that elderly people receive from social relationships. In terms of clinical interventions, the reduction of loneliness could be an important factor in primary prevention or the recovery process. A way to reduce levels of mental distress could be represented by the increasing of resilience and self-efficacy and reduction of loneliness dissatisfaction. A high degree of resiliency contributes to increasing perceived life quality at the physical and psychological levels, and at the same time, reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms.

When intimate partner violence meets same sex couples: A review of same sex intimate partner violence

Abstract: Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same sex couples, that is, same sex IPV (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors. Our findings show there is a lack of studies that address LGB individuals involved in IPV; this is mostly due to the silence that has historically existed around violence in the LGB community, a silence built on fears and myths that have obstructed a public discussion on the phenomenon. We identified the main themes discussed in the published studies that we have reviewed here. The reviews lead us to the conclusion that it is essential to create a place where this subject can be freely discussed and approached, both by LGB and heterosexual people.

Intimate Partner Violence in the Golden Age: Systematic Review of Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is identifiable as a major public health concern worldwide. The international literature highlights how this phenomenon is complex and transversal to all age groups. While the global population is becoming older, the scientific research about risk and protective factors related to IPV in the golden age is diverse, and the different findings of the various studies have not been systematized so far. Thus, in this systematic review, we aim to analyze the scientific studies that investigate the risk and the protective factors of violent dynamics between elderly couples. From the perspective of the theoretical frameworks and the methodological approaches used, we present the main conceptual themes that emerge. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement, we review the articles that report the analyses of protective and risk factors of IPV perpetration. Our results indicate social support, help-seeking behavior, and the availability of community-based services addressing the issues of abuse as the main protective factors. The risk factors are related to economic conditions, belonging to an ethnic minority, cognitive or physical impairment, other conditions associated with cultural background and relational dynamics, such as intrapartner dependence and intergenerational transmission of violence and trauma, and caregiving stress. We discuss possible future directions of research to improve the understanding of IPV in the elderly population and the implications for the development of intervention policies at preventive and supportive levels.

The Ecology of Human Development

Abstract: This chapter explores the ecology of human development, those forces in the person's environment that affect and influence development. Urie Bronfenbrenner's model of the human ecosystem guides the discussion, making connections between children in families and in communities and the larger society that surrounds them. The human ecosystem model is much like the study of the natural ecology, focusing on the interactions between subjects at various levels of the environment as they affect each other. The interaction between individual and environment forms the basis of an ecological approach to human development. This view sees the process of development as the expansion of the child's conception of the world and the child's ability to act on that world. Risks to development can come from both direct threats and the absence of opportunities for development. Sociocultural risk refers to the impoverishment in the child's world of essential experiences and relationships.

Parenting Stress, Mental Health, Dyadic Adjustment: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract: Objective: In the first year of the postpartum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents. Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples) of healthy babies. At 12 months postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. A multi-group analysis further found that the paths did not differ across mothers and fathers. Discussion: The results suggest that mental health is an important dimension that mediates the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment in the transition to parenthood.

Family, Socialization and Interaction Process

Abstract: This book is altogether unlike any other sociological treatise on the family. There are two generally recognized types of books on marriage and the family. One, theoretical in nature, deals with the family as a social institution. The other deals with the problems of courtship, marriage and parenthood—more or less as a manual for youths in contemporary society. The book at hand does not structure the family as a social institution, but neither is it in any sense a popular, practical manual for the guidance of youth in pursuit of marital bliss!

Diagnosing postpartum depression in mothers and fathers : Whatever happened to anxiety?

Abstract: Although anxiety disorders are documented in the literature for new mothers (but less so for fathers), rates of postpartum caseness tend to include only those with depression when diagnostic interviews or self-report measures validated on such interviews are used. This methodology therefore underestimates the true percentage of women and men who experience significant psychological difficulties postpartum. This has implications for assessment, treatment and screening for postnatal mood disorders. Two studies were conducted on a total of 408 women and 356 men expecting their first child. They were recruited antenatally, and interviewed at 6 weeks postpartum using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. DSM-IV criteria were applied to determine the presence since birth of depression (major or minor), panic disorder, acute adjustment disorder with anxiety (meeting the criteria for generalised anxiety disorder except for the duration criterion), and phobia. The inclusion of diagnostic assessment for panic disorder and acute adjustment disorder with anxiety increased the rates of caseness by between 57 and 100% for mothers, and 31-130% for fathers, over the rates for major or minor depression. Inclusion of assessment for phobia further increased the rates of disorder in both samples.