Female-to-Male Sexual Assault: The Role of the Perpetrator's Attractiveness and Attributed Emotional States on Victim Blame

This study investigated the effect of the victim's gender and the perpetrator's attractiveness on the observer's blame on the male and female victims of coercive sexual contact. Two hundred and ninety-six participants (184 females) were enrolled in an experiment in which the victim's gender and the offender's attractiveness were manipulated using vignettes depicting cross-gender sexual assault. Participants rated emotions that the victims experienced in being assaulted and attributed victim blame. The results indicate that the male victim was blamed more than the female victim, especially when the female perpetrator was described as attractive. The female victim was perceived as having experienced more negative emotions and fewer positive emotions than the male victim. The effect of the victim's gender on victim blaming was mediated by both positive and negative emotions.

Free-Association Session Scale: factor structure and preliminary validity test

One of the main concepts of the psychoanalytic method postulated by Freud in 1912 is the fundamental rule, which involves asking the patient to say whatever comes to mind as the analyst follows the patient's speech with fluctuating attention. Despite different theoretical models, this concept has remained an invariant element that characterizes the psychoanalytic method. For this reason, the purpose of the current study is to present a new instrument that measures this process based on the clinician's assessment. The Free-Association Session Scale (FASS) has been designed according to the psychoanalytic framework. Study 1 presented the preliminary validation of the FASS factor structure. Experienced Italian psychoanalysts (N = 281; 196 women) completed the FASS and sociodemographic questionnaire. The following two factors were identified using exploratory factor analysis: (1) Perturbing, and (2) Associativity. Study 2 cross-validated the two factors using an independent sample (N = 259; 187 women) of experienced psychoanalysts and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The FASS has been tested for concurrent validity using the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) and Linguistic measures of the Referential process. The two-factor model achieved a close-fit test, and the FASS items were found to measure the corresponding factors with good reliability. The Perturbing factor is negatively associated with three SEQ factors (Depth, Smoothness, and Positivity) and negatively correlated with symbolization (IWRAD and IWRAD_IWRRL), confirming a more complex and unexpected session. The Associativity factor is positively associated with all four SEQ factors (Depth, Smoothness, Positivity, and Arousal). In conclusion, the FASS is a promising new questionnaire for assessing psychoanalytic session quality processes with satisfactory validity and reliability.

Further evidence that system justification amongst the disadvantaged is positively related to superordinate group identification

Members of disadvantaged groups sometimes support societal systems that enable the very inequalities that disadvantaged them. Is it possible to explain this puzzling system-justifying orientation in terms of rational group-interested motives, without recourse to a separate system motive? The social identity model of system attitudes (SIMSA) claims that it is. SIMSA proposes that the system justification shown by a disadvantaged group (e.g., African American women) can sometimes support identity needs that are tied to a more inclusive (superordinate) in-group (e.g., Americans). There is already some supportive evidence for this proposition, but it is not yet clear whether: (1) such trends are visible in a wider range of disadvantaged contexts, and (2) this explanation also applies to those who are strongly invested in their subgroup (e.g., feminists). In two waves of a large nationally representative survey from 21 to 23 European states (N_total = 84,572) and two controlled experiments (N_total = 290 women), we found that: (a) system justification was positively associated with superordinate ingroup identification across multiple cases of disadvantage (Studies 1-3), (b) system justification increased when this inclusive identity was made more salient (Studies 2 & 3), and (c) system justification was visible even amongst feminists when they activated their superordinate (Italian) identity (Study 3).

Short report: social identification, quality of professional life and emotional maladjustment in healthcare providers during the first wave of the COVID-19 emergency

This research analyzed the effect of professional, organizational and care-unit identifications on both healthcare professionals' quality of professional life and mental health. This research was done in a local hospital in a region of northern Italy which was one of the first regions to be impacted by the first wave of the pandemic. Using a cross-sectional research, a web-based questionnaire was sent to the healthcare professionals. Professional quality of life, professional identifications as well as emotional maladjustment in terms of stress, anxiety and depression were measured. Results indicated that professional and care unit identification were positively linked to increased compassion satisfaction and reduced burnout. Professional identification was negatively associated with secondary traumatic stress as well, while care unit identification was positively associated with vicarious trauma. The negative dimension of the professional quality of life had positive relations with emotional maladjustment. Professional and care unit identifications appeared to have an indirect effect via professional quality of life on maladjustment.

Perceptions of Safety and Stress Among Health Professionals: The Role of Care Unit Identification as a Protective Factor During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The present study aimed to investigate the role of motivational process and coping resources in health professionals during the COVID-19 emergency examining the role of Care Unit Identification and safety climate perception as resources that can help nurses to cope with stressors. A cross-sectional research design was used and 218 nurses completed a self-report questionnaire measuring: Perception of safety, Care Unit identification, Work Engagement, Psychological Distress, and Burnout. Results revealed that Work Engagement was significantly related with Burnout (b = −0.209, 95%CI [−0.309; −0.109]) and Distress (b = −0.355, 95%CI [−0.529; −0.18]) especially when the Care Unit identification is high (b = −0.303, 95%CI [−0.448; −0.157] and b = −0.523, 95%CI [−0.772; −0.275], respectively). The safety perception was positively related to Work Engagement (b = 0.315, 95%CI [0.198; 0.433]) and had an indirect effect on psychological Distress (b = −0.112, 95%CI [−0.181; −0.042]) and Burnout (b = −0.066, 95%CI [−0.105; −0.027]). High levels of both Care Unit identification and perception of safety, along with personal work engagement, appear to protect nurses from burnout and psychological distress. Findings suggest that the effort to improve teamwork identification and ensures an adequate degree of perceived safety for healthcare professionals need to be maintained and reinforced as they positively impact nurses’ wellbeing.

A study on COVID-19-related stigmatization, quality of professional life and professional identity in a sample of HCWs in Italy

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Perceived COVID-19-related stigmatizations have a strong impact on healthcare workers' wellbeing and quality of professional life, decreasing satisfaction and increasing fatigue. This work aims to investigate the role of professional identification in moderating the impact of COVID-19-related stigma on quality of professional life in a sample of healthcare professionals working in hospital.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design in which a web-based questionnaire was sent to professionals was used to collect answers from 174 participants, most of whom women and nurses.

RESULTS

Perceived stigma was negatively related with compassion satisfaction and positively related with an increase in both burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Professional identification had a positive correlation with satisfaction and a negative correlation with burnout, but this was not directly related with secondary traumatic stress. Importantly, stigma and identification interacted so that stigma decreased compassion satisfaction only when identification was low, and increased secondary traumatic stress only when identification was high. No interaction effect appeared with respect to burnout.

CONCLUSIONS

Experience of stigmatization has the potential to decrease the quality of professional life of healthcare professionals. Professional identification seems to help professional to maintain higher level of compassion satisfaction and reduced burnout. However, professional identification seems also be associated with vicarious trauma experienced following stigma. (www.actabiomedica.it).

Do Superordinate Identification and Temporal/Social Comparisons Independently Predict Citizens' System Trust? Evidence From a 40-Nation Survey

Do superordinate in-group bias as well as temporal and social comparisons offer standalone explanations for system justification? We addressed this question using the latest World Value Survey (7th Wave), combining the responses of 55,721 participants from 40 different nations. Results from a random slope multilevel model showed that superordinate (national) identification, temporal comparison (i.e., the outcomes of an individual relative to those of his/her parents at different time points), and social comparison (based on income levels) were independent and positive predictors of system justification. Specifically, system justification increased when national identification was high, when income increased (i.e., the socioeconomic comparison was positive), and when the outcomes of citizens improved relative to the outcomes of their parents at relevant time points (i.e., the temporal comparison was positive). Incidentally, we also observed an interaction between national identification and temporal comparison (but not with social comparison), indicating that positive temporal comparison seemed to have a reduced effect (but still significant) for highly identified citizens. These results are supportive of the social identity approach to system justification and suggest that support for societal systems is a positive function of people’s personal and group interests.

Association between coping strategies and drug use in a large cohort of students from a northern Italian University

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

Illicit drug (ID) use/abuse represent a social and economic burden for most countries worldwide which, in spite of the efforts to prevent this phenomena, is often a growing habit especially in the young adults. Preventive measurements, are needed to reduce the adverse health and social consequences of ID use/abuse.

METHODS

This study investigated the relationship between coping strategies and ID use in students (N=12316) from the University of Parma, Italy. Information about the ID use in the past 12 months and coping strategies were collected with a cross-sectional research design using an online questionnaire.

RESULTS

More than 25% of the participants used ID in the past year; men were more likely to use drugs than female; the likelihood of using drugs was inversely related to age. The relationship between coping strategies and ID use was analyzed with a multilevel logistic model taking into account the within-department nested structure of data. Analysis revealed that transcendence-orientation and problem-orientation were associated with a reduction of the likelihood to have used drugs. Conversely, avoidance and positive attitude were associated with an increase of the likelihood to have used drugs. Finally, seeking social support revealed a positive but modest association with increasing in drug use.

CONCLUSIONS

The ID use association factors identified in this study could be utilized by the appropriate institutions/authorities as a critical review in order to develop relevant public health policies and preventive measures aimed at minimizing the use of ID in this critical age group.

Exposure to animal suffering, adult attachment styles, and professional quality of life in a sample of Italian veterinarians

Contextual and individual risk factors of veterinarians’ professional quality of life are being debated. Research suggests that attachment styles are relevant predictors of professional quality of life; however, their role in work-related well-being of veterinarians is yet to be ascertained. In the present study, self-report measures on exposure to animal suffering, adult attachment styles, and professional quality of life were administered to 1,445 Italian veterinarians (70% females) aged 24 to 74 years old; sociodemographic information and information on workload were also collected. Female gender, higher levels of ordinary workload, on-call hours per week, exposure to animal suffering, together with fearful and preoccupied attachment styles were significantly associated with lower levels of veterinarians’ quality of life. This suggests that work-related factors may combine with individual psychological features in promoting or disadvantaging the professional quality of life of veterinarians. Implications of these findings for promoting veterinarians’ quality of life and directions for future research are discussed.

Intergroup alliance orientation among intermediate-status group members: The role of stability of social stratification

Three studies have tested the hypothesis that intermediate-status groups are more oriented to ally with outgroups when their social position is under threat. In study 1, participants believed that their ingroup was intermediate in status and social stratification was manipulated as either stable or status-detrimental unstable. Results indicated that participants were more likely to seek alliances a) with a high-status group and b) when social stratification was status-detrimental unstable. Study 2 showed that participants were more likely to seek alliances with a lower status group when social stratification was status-detrimental unstable rather than stable, while they were supportive of policies helping disadvantaged groups regardless of the stability of social stratification. Study 3 showed that when social stratification was status-detrimental unstable, intermediate-status group members were more oriented to ally with a low-status group, equally supportive of policies helping disadvantaged groups, but less oriented to supplying direct help to a low-status group.

Support for rejection and reception policies toward asylum seekers in Italy: The role of conservative ideologies and legitimizing myths

Based on Social Dominance Theory (SDT), this study investigates the relationships between ideologically conservative attitudes (social dominance orientation, SDO; right-wing authoritarianism, RWA), legitimizing myths (false belief in asylum seekers as bogus; perception of in-group threats), and citizens' support for restricted reception and rejection of asylum policies. A sample of 539 people living in Italy filled in an anonymous questionnaire administered using a cross-sectional design. The results support the expectations, showing that people high in SDO and RWA were more likely to hold the belief that asylum seekers are making false claims and to perceive that the latter pose a threat to the in-group, which in turn increased support for both of restrictive policies. Findings suggest that conservative ideologies can positively affect citizens' support for restrictive asylum seeker policies based on both rejection and restricted reception by supplying ideological justification for not accommodating them in the host society.

That's not fair! The effects of teacher justice and academic achievement on Self and Other's resistant agency

BACKGROUND

Notwithstanding the emphasis on the idea that students should be actively and accountably engaged in their educational pathways, little research has investigated learners' agentic behaviours that take the form of student resistance to adult authority.

AIMS

This paper presents an experimental study aimed to assess whether, and to what extent, student Self and Other resistant agency depends on perceptions of teacher justice and student achievement.

METHODS

Participants were asked to read one of four scenarios concerning a generic student asking for the possibility to retake a test she/he had previously failed, with an experimental design including two levels of teacher justice × 2 levels of academic achievement. Then, they answered two items regarding the likelihood of protest on the part of the student depicted in the scenario and enforced by themselves in having to deal with a similar situation.

RESULTS

The multilevel analysis indicated a principal effect of justice and target, with resistant agency rated as more likely in the unjust condition and for the Other. The justice effect was further qualified by an interaction with the achievement level, with resistant agency higher in the unjust and low achievement condition. Finally, a three-way interaction appeared, with Self resistant agency higher in the just and high achievement condition.

CONCLUSIONS

These results are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher practices, as they emphasize the importance just learning environments have in allowing students to express their opinions as well as dissent.

Emotional exhaustion among healthcare professionals: the effects of role ambiguity, work engagement and professional commitment

Background and aim:

The study aims at identifying the antecedents and consequences of emotional exhaustion in health professionals and, particularly, examining the process that leads from a hindrance demand, like role ambiguity, to exhaustion and job satisfaction. Emotional exhaustion is a phenomenon that affect health professionals with negative consequence on job satisfaction, and literature has underlined that job demands could be may be a cause of this chronic stress. However, the relationship among job demands, work engagement and exhaustion has produced results not always converging.

Method:

A self-report questionnaire was administered to 66 health professionals.

Results:

The results showed that the effect of role ambiguity on emotional exhaustion was mediated by work engagement and the emotional exhaustion impairs job satisfaction when workers are not committed to their profession.

Conclusions:

Role ambiguity represents a psychosocial risk factor that influence workers’ wellbeing diminishing the level of motivation and this process leads to emotional exhaustion. However, professional commitment appears to be a resource that can protect professionals preventing a decrease in satisfaction. These findings suggest that human resource management should remove hindrance stressors and enhance the mission of Healthcare Professionals in order to increase employees’ work engagement and prevent exhaustion. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Evidence of decreased system justification among extreme conservatives in non-American samples

Do extreme rightists criticize the system, or do rightwing extremists exhibit the higher system justification? These competing alternatives were tested across three studies. In Study 1 (N = 38,168), I examined the linear and quadratic relationship between political orientation and satisfaction with the existing national system across 23 nations. In Study 2 (N = 1,206), I investigated the linear and quadratic relationship between political orientation and confidence in the national institution in a representative sample of Italian people. In Study 3 (N = 190), I considered general system justification and investigated its linear and quadratic relations with political conservatism as measured with different indexes. In all the studies, I found some evidence of a positive linear relationship between political conservatism and system justification. Moreover, a quadratic and negative relationship emerged so that system justification appeared to decrease at the extremes of the political continuum.

Does the readiness for interprofessional education reflect students' dominance orientation and professional commitment? Evidence from a sample of nursing students

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education is an important factor in facilitating subsequent interprofessional collaboration. Therefore, implementing this teaching strategy is important to increase the chances that future professionals will work effectively together. Group membership, status and the power differential among professional groups are factors that can hinder both interprofessional education and collaboration. From a psychosocial point of view, interprofessional education may be described as an intergroup context in which members of different status groups interact. It involves at least two main psychosocial processes: commitment to the profession and acceptance or challenge of interprofessional hierarchy.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this research was to analyse the effects of professional commitment and social dominance orientation on attitudes toward interprofessional education.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design was conducted.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 137 nursing science students from an Italian university were enrolled in this research.

METHODS

Participants were surveyed using a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward interprofessional education, professional commitment and social dominance orientation.

RESULTS

The more that students showed social dominance orientation, the less they were willing to engage in interprofessional education. This effect was qualified by an interaction with professional commitment. When professional commitment was higher, social dominance orientation was weakly related to attitude toward interprofessional learning.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that there is a belief that professional hierarchy is deserved and that this may decrease a nursing student's engagement in interprofessional education; however, this may be contrasted by an increased professional commitment.

Hope for the future, ingroup threat and perceived legitimacy in three healthcare professional groups

Background and aims of the work: All societies are organised as hierarchies based on prestige or status. Similarly, healthcare organizations (as well as many other types of organization) are composed by professional hierarchies in which some professional groups are powerful and higher in status and other groups are powerless and lower in status. This research investigated the effects of social status and hope for future group advancement on perceptions of social identity threat and legitimacy of social stratification. Physicians (the dominant professional group), nurses and healthcare operators (the dominated professional groups) were led to believe that professional stratification would change in the future, but that the nature of the change was unforeseeable. Method: A quantitative study was conducted, proposing to the participants an instrument consisting of a series of validated questionnaires for the measurement of: group status, Ingroup threat, hope for future ingroup improvement, legitimacy of the professional hierarchy and Check for status differences. Results: The results indicate that in the context of social instability, the dominant group perceived greater ingroup threat than the dominated groups. Hope for future advancement was negatively associated with perception of ingroup threat, regardless of group membership. Perception of ingroup threat was negatively associated with the perceived legitimacy of social stratification. Finally, perceived threat mediated the relationship between group status and perceived legitimacy. These results support social identity theory’s contention that the legitimacy of social stratification is linked to social identity needs such as avoidance of ingroup threat.

Intergroup contact and team functioning among nursing students: the mediation role of intergroup anxiety

BACKGROUND AND AIM

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

The improvement of team effectivity is one of the main concerns for healthcare organizations. Moreover, healthcare organizations must cope with increasing multicultural composition of both workforce and patients. The intergroup contact theory suggests that frequent and positive face-to-face contact among professionals or students with different cultural heritage can help to reach both increasing team effectiveness and adequate care in a multicultural setting. The aim was then to verify whether intergroup contact during practical training would decrease intergroup anxiety and then increase team functioning.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was used in which a questionnaire was delivered to 83 nursing students.

RESULTS

According to the intergroup contact theory, frequent and positive contact with non-native professionals decreased the intergroup anxiety which, in turn, increased prejudice and, more importantly, decreased team functioning. Moreover, intergroup anxiety showed a complete mediation effect on the relations between intergroup contact during practical training and both negative attitude toward immigrants and team functioning.

CONCLUSIONS

Intergroup contact with non-native professionals or students during practical training is able to indirectly decrease prejudice and improve team functioning by lowering the anxiety that is aroused by encounter with non-native individuals.

Keeping secrets from friends: Exploring the effects of friendship quality, loneliness and self-esteem on secrecy

The tendency to keep secrets in adolescents has been studied in particular in their relationships with their parents and associated with psychosocial disadvantages. The current study focused on peer relationships and investigated the effects of friendship quality, loneliness in a multidimensional perspective, and self-esteem on secrecy from friends. Italian adolescents (N = 457; 47% male; 100% white) aged between 13 and 19 years (M = 16.11; SD = 1.53) reported their secrecy from friends, peer and parent-related loneliness, aversion and affinity for aloneness, their self-esteem and the quality of their relationships with their friends. The results showed that peer-related loneliness, affinity for aloneness and self-esteem in particular affect keeping secrets from friends, independent of the participant's gender. Moreover, peer-related loneliness and affinity for aloneness mediated the relationship between self-esteem and secrecy. The data were discussed in the light of adolescence developmental tasks.

Does contact at work extend its influence beyond prejudice? Evidence from healthcare settings

This article reports on two studies investigating the role of intergroup contact on the reduction of prejudice against migrants and on organizational and health outcomes. Study 1 enrolled 624 native healthcare professionals and showed that frequent and positive contact with non-native co-workers was associated with a decrease in the professionals' prejudice and an increase in the professionals' perception of team functioning. These effects were mediated by reduced in-group threat perception. Study 2 enrolled 201 native patients and showed that frequent and positive contact with non-native healthcare providers was associated with a decrease in patients' prejudice and an increase in patients' satisfaction for the care received. These effects were mediated by reduced in-group threat perception. These novel findings showed that frequent and positive contact with non-native individuals can improve health and organizational outcomes along with facilitating positive intergroup relations.

Intergroup contact and team functioning among nursing students: the mediation role of intergroup anxiety

BACKGROUND AND AIM

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

The improvement of team effectivity is one of the main concerns for healthcare organizations. Moreover, healthcare organizations must cope with increasing multicultural composition of both workforce and patients. The intergroup contact theory suggests that frequent and positive face-to-face contact among professionals or students with different cultural heritage can help to reach both increasing team effectiveness and adequate care in a multicultural setting. The aim was then to verify whether intergroup contact during practical training would decrease intergroup anxiety and then increase team functioning.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was used in which a questionnaire was delivered to 83 nursing students.

RESULTS

According to the intergroup contact theory, frequent and positive contact with non-native professionals decreased the intergroup anxiety which, in turn, increased prejudice and, more importantly, decreased team functioning. Moreover, intergroup anxiety showed a complete mediation effect on the relations between intergroup contact during practical training and both negative attitude toward immigrants and team functioning.

CONCLUSIONS

Intergroup contact with non-native professionals or students during practical training is able to indirectly decrease prejudice and improve team functioning by lowering the anxiety that is aroused by encounter with non-native individuals.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to explore hospital-based nurses' intention to use peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC): a survey study

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

The peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) have become an alternative to the traditional CVC. PICCs are usually inserted by trained nurses who decided to attend and complete a special training on PICC insertion and management. The present work aimed to investigate the intention of using PICC in a sample of hospital-based nurses using the theory of planned behavior as theoretical framework.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was used in which a questionnaire was delivered to 199 nurses.

RESULTS

According to the theory of planned behavior, the attitude toward the use of PICC, subjective norms and perceived self-efficacy predicted the intention to use PICC. Contrary to the expectations, the effect of subjective norms on intention to use PICC was mediated by attitude and self-efficacy. Finally, age of participants was negatively related to the intention to use the PICC.

CONCLUSIONS

The theory of planned behavior offers a useful framework to explain nurses' intention to use PICC. Shared norms favoring the use of PICC seem to increase both nurse's positive attitudes and self-efficacy whit respect to the use of these devices. Thus, it appears that to train professionals individually does not necessarily results in an increased use of PICC.

Perceived legitimacy follows in-group interests: Evidence from intermediate-status groups

In two experiments, the effect of (in)stability of status differences on the perception of perspective legitimacy and in-group threat among intermediate-status group members (i.e., nurses students or nurses) was analysed. Both studies indicated that in downwardly unstable condition, legitimacy was lower and in-group threat was higher than in stable condition. In upwardly unstable condition, perceived legitimacy was higher and in-group threat was lower than in stable condition. The indirect effects of (in)stability via in-group threat on perceived legitimacy were significant.

Testing the status-legitimacy hypothesis: A multilevel modeling approach to the perception of legitimacy in income distribution in 36 nations

The status-legitimacy hypothesis was tested by analyzing cross-national data about social inequality. Several indicators were used as indexes of social advantage: social class, personal income, and self-position in the social hierarchy. Moreover, inequality and freedom in nations, as indexed by Gini and by the human freedom index, were considered. Results from 36 nations worldwide showed no support for the status-legitimacy hypothesis. The perception that income distribution was fair tended to increase as social advantage increased. Moreover, national context increased the difference between advantaged and disadvantaged people in the perception of social fairness: Contrary to the status-legitimacy hypothesis, disadvantaged people were more likely than advantaged people to perceive income distribution as too large, and this difference increased in nations with greater freedom and equality. The implications for the status-legitimacy hypothesis are discussed.

Cultural Competence Assessment Instrument: Initial Italian validation and proposed refinement

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

Italy has become a target of immigration in the last three decades. Accordingly, the Italian population is progressively changing, becoming increasingly culturally different. Cultural competences are a fundamental requirement for many industries and, especially, for healthcare organizations. The aim of this paper is to propose an initial Italian validation of the Cultural Competence Assessment Instrument (CCAI) and to propose a refinement of this scale in terms of measured constructs.

METHODS

The CCAI was translated into Italian through a team-based iterative approach and then administered to a sample of 289 nurses with symbolic and realistic threat scale and social dominance orientation scale. An on-line cross-sectional survey questionnaire was used.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the original two dimensions of the CCAI can be divided into two other sub-scales, thus leaving us with the following dimensions: cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, seeking information and active behavior. These dimensions appeared to be sufficiently reliable and independent one from another. Moreover, they showed specific and different correlations with other measured constructs.

CONCLUSIONS

The Italian version of the CCAI would seem to be a useful instrument for measuring both attitudes and behavioral intention of nurses with respect to intercultural care. Using four dimensions instead of two appears to increase the understanding of professionals' cultural competence and supply a deeper picture of dimensions which compose cultural competence in healthcare settings.

The role of professional and team commitments in nurse-physician collaboration

AIM

To analyse the effect of both professional and care unit commitments on attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians.

BACKGROUND

The effects of both professional and care unit commitment on inter-professional collaboration have not been taken into account together, and previous research has analysed only one profession at a time, neglecting the nurse-physician comparison.

METHOD

A cross-sectional survey of 138 physicians and 359 nurses was used.

RESULTS

For physicians, professional commitment decreased attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration whereas care unit commitment had a positive influence. Conversely, for nurses, the professional commitment had a significant positive effect on attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration whereas care unit commitment had no significant effect.

CONCLUSION

Intergroup relations affect the extent to which nurses and physicians are inclined to engage in interprofessional collaboration. Professional and care unit commitments had different effects on attitude toward the inter-professional collaboration of nurses and physicians.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Inter-professional collaboration is affected by the relationship between physicians and nurse at the professional group level. Managers who want to change and improve inter-professional collaboration should pay close attention to the interplay between changes they are introducing and well-established identities and practices between professionals.

The role of professional and team commitment in nurse-physician collaboration: A dual identity model perspective

Nurse-physician collaboration involves healthcare operators from different professions working together. The dual identity model predicts that nurse-physician interprofessional collaboration could improve if these operators feel they belong to both their professional category and care unit. This study tested this prediction by analyzing the effect of professional and team commitments on interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians in a hospital based in Northern Italy. A cross-section questionnaire survey was administered to 270 nurses and 95 physicians. Results indicate that interprofessional collaboration is positively affected by team commitment, while professional commitment had no effect. In accordance with the dual identity model, results indicate that interprofessional collaboration is higher when: (i) both professional and team commitment is high, and (ii) when team commitment is high and professional commitment is low. These results support dual identity model predictions and suggest that interprofessional collaboration can be increased by bolstering both team and professional commitment of nurses and physicians.

Ambivalent stereotypes of nurses and physicians: impact on students' attitude toward interprofessional education

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

Nurse-physician stereotypes have been proposed as a factor hindering interprofessional collaboration among practitioners and interprofessional learning among nursing and medical students. Using socio-psychological theories about ambivalent stereotypes, the present work aimed to analyse: a) the content of nurse and physician stereotypes held by nursing and medical students and b) the role of auto-stereotype on students' attitude toward interprofessional education (IPE).  Methods. A cross-sectional on-line survey was adopted and a questionnaire was emailed to 205 nursing students and 151 medical students attending an Italian university.

RESULTS

Nursing and medical students shared the stereotypical belief that nurses are warmer but less competent than physicians. Nurses and physicians were basically depicted with ambivalent stereotypes: nurses were seen as communal, socially competent and caring but less competent, not agentic and less autonomous, while physicians were seen as agentic, competent and autonomous, but less communal, less collectivist and less socially competent. Moreover, a professional stereotypical image impacted the students' attitude toward IPE. More precisely, when nurses and physicians were seen with classic ambivalent stereotypes, both nursing and medical students were less favourable towards interprofessional education programmes.

CONCLUSIONS

The content of professional stereotypes of healthcare students was still linked to classical views of nurses as caring and physicians as curing. This seemed to limit students' attitude and intention to be engaged in IPE.

Nurse-physician collaboration: a meta-analytical investigation of survey scores

This meta-analysis investigated differences between nurses and physicians in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) ratings. Fifty-one surveys, representing a total of 18 782 professionals and students (13 132 nurses and nursing students, and 5650 physicians and medical students), were meta-analyzed, considering several moderating variables. Overall, nurses scored higher on IPC than physicians. Sensitivity analysis revealed that while physicians perceived more existing collaboration than nurses, nurses had a more positive attitude toward collaboration than physicians. Moreover, IPC ratings of nursing and medical students did not differ from those of practitioners. Finally, it appeared that interprofessional education interventions were able to reduce the difference in IPC between nurses and physicians.

Psychosocial predictors of collaborative practice between nurses and physicians working in hospitals

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

Works from healthcare management and organizational psychology prove that psychosocial variables linked to professional identity are strongly associated with nurse-physician collaborative practice. However, literature pays little attention to the role of these variables. Moreover, evidence for the relation between collaborative practice on psychosocial variables for physicians is rather sparse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among self-efficacy, team commitment, professional commitment, and collaborative practice in both nurses and physicians.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was adopted and questionnaire was distributed to 269 nurses and 124 physicians working in different hospitals.

RESULTS

The perception of collaborative practice enhanced the self-efficacy and team commitment of both professionals. For nurses, professional commitment and self-efficacy positively predicted a willingness to collaborate; for physicians, professional commitment hindered a willingness to collaborate, while self-efficacy had no effect.

CONCLUSIONS

The study indicates that collaborative practice is an important contextual resource bolstering self-efficacy and team commitment in both professional groups. However, strong professional commitment hinders the willingness of physicians to collaborate with nurses in a way that recognizes the autonomy of nurses