Alessia Rochira

Resilience and empowerment are key processes for IPV survivors' recovery. However, they have seldom been integrated in community psychology research on IPV. To address this gap, this study applies the Transconceptual Model of Empowerment and Resilience to the Italian context in order to unveil how power dynamics operate across multiple ecological levels to shape resilience and empowerment pathways of IPV survivors. To this end, eighteen semi‐structured interviews with IPV survivors (2020–2021) were collected in six anti‐violence services in southern Italy. The transcripts were submitted to thematic analysis through the software ATLAS.ti. Findings show that recovery processes operated in cyclical patterns, with survivors moving between resilience‐focused adaptation and empowerment‐oriented transformation depending on multilevel conditions: (1) pre‐existing individual resources (education, employment experience, self‐efficacy) and intersectional vulnerabilities, particularly for immigrant women; (2) family networks and institutional legitimization of violence; (3) institutional flexibility in balancing safety protocols with survivor autonomy; and (4) alignment between institutional timeframes and individual readiness for change. Taken together, these findings suggest that anti‐violence policies and interventions require reflexive practices to recognize when institutional protocols may reproduce disempowering dynamics, alongside flexible, culturally responsive approaches aligned with survivors' diverse needs and readiness for change.

This study investigated psychosocial profiles of potential renewable energy community (REC) participants in Italy, examining how individual-level, community-level, and societal-level factors combine to shape participation intentions. Latent Profile Analysis identified distinct profiles among Italian citizens (N = 580) using 11 indicators: Pro-environmental Values, Civic Engagement, Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation, RECs acceptability (individual level); Sense of Community, Institutional Trust, Common Good Orientation, Sense of Responsible Togetherness (community level); and communication clarity (societal level). Three distinct profiles emerged: Civic-minded Interested (35.5%), Uncommitted (56.4%), and Private-minded Uninterested (8.1%). Counterintuitively, the Private-minded profile showed the highest stated participation intention (72.3%), followed by Civic-minded (67.0%) and Uncommitted (60.2%), though this overall pattern was non-significant (p = 0.110). No significant differences emerged across profiles in preferred level of engagement. Findings reveal the multilevel, ecological nature of REC participation while highlighting the distinction between stated intentions and the psychosocial resources that typically sustain actual engagement. Results underscore the need for differentiated engagement strategies and community capacity building tailored to distinct psychosocial configurations.

This paper proposes an integrated model of cognitive, emotional, and community-related predictors of vaccine hesitancy. A multiple mediation model was run using Structural Equation Modeling to test the role of perceived job and economic insecurities, pandemic-related emotions, and Sense of Community (SoC) as to respondents’ vaccine hesitancy, through the mediation of safeguarding one’s own and others’ health and re-accessing pre-pandemic public and social life as motivations toward vaccination. Data was gathered from 432 Italian citizens through an online questionnaire. Results suggest that while emotional and community-related dimensions were effective in motivating individuals to protect their and others’ health up to reducing their vaccine hesitancy, the perception of material hardships and re-accessing pre-pandemic public and social life were not. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed, paying also attention to the contextual constraints stemming from the specific policies and approaches adopted in Italy to face COVID-19 outbreak.

Vaccine hesitancy (VH) among vaccinated individuals remains a relatively under investigated topic. This study contributes to fill this research gap by examining the social representations of COVID-19 vaccines among vaccinated Italian adults. Using a mixed-method approach, we analyzed data from 664 vaccinated Italian adults through hierarchical cluster analysis and similarity analysis. Results revealed distinct representational patterns between non-hesitant and slightly hesitant adopters despite their shared vaccination status. While safety emerged as a core element in both groups’ representations, non-hesitant participants expressed a more positive affective-cognitive orientation anchored in scientific trust whilst slightly hesitant adopters exhibited persistent ambivalence, with emotional elements (particularly fear and anxiety) playing a prominent role. The findings challenged the assumption that VH reflects complete vaccine refusal and suggests the need for tailored public health communication strategies. The results indicate that interventions should consider VH levels and variability beyond the mere dichotomy hesitant-not hesitant. Recommendations are discussed.

Third‐party intervention against gender‐based microaggressions in the university context helps mitigate harmful effects of these experiences and creates a more supportive environment. The present study aimed to contribute to this line of research by investigating the extent to which system justification ideologies—that is, hostile and benevolent sexism and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)—and contact with counter‐stereotypical women are related to third‐party intervention to stop gender microaggressions, both directly and indirectly through the mediation of perceptions of microaggression severity. A sample of 428 students living in southern Italy completed a self‐report questionnaire that included real‐life situations with male professors and peer aggressors, and measures of the study variables. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis. Results showed that for both professor and peer aggressors, SDO was negatively associated with perceived microaggression severity and intervention, whereas benevolent sexism was associated with a greater likelihood of intervention. Perceived microaggression severity mediated the effects of hostile sexism on bystander intervention for male participants when observing professors committing microaggressions against female students. For all participants, the relationship between contact with counter‐stereotypical women and intervention was mediated by perceived microaggression severity for professor aggressors. Limitations, future research, and implications for intervention are discussed.

To identify and confirm patterns of relationships connecting sense of community (SOC) and individual resilience with psychological well‐being, via the mediation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) impacts on life domains. An online survey was conducted with a sample of adults (n = 650) 1 year after the COVID‐19 outbreak in Italy and the United States (April–December 2021). Utilizing a Structural Equation Model, we tested a mediation model (n = 563) to identify the associations between SOC and individual resilience and the perceived impacts of the emergency situation and psychological well‐being. Results revealed that during the crisis, SOC had an influence on psychological well‐being, but only by mediating the effects of COVID‐19 impacts on life domains. Independently, individual resilience had a direct influence on psychological well‐being. The findings support the importance of the interaction of individual and collective variables that played different roles at different phases of the pandemic. The findings suggest for possible interventions to enhance well‐being during crises.

As immigration is one of the dominant issues in contemporary public discourse, it is important to explain the mechanism of prejudice against immigrants from a cultural psychology perspective. Several studies in the literature have confirmed a significant relationship between perceptions of the estimated size of the immigrant population and negative attitudes towards them. This study aims to investigate whether this relationship is moderated by symbolic universes, i.e., affect-laden generalized worldviews. The study involves a representative sample of 3020 Italians who participated in a computer-assisted web survey and completed a questionnaire containing items measuring their estimates of the size of the migrant population in Italy, political orientation, cultural worldviews (symbolic universes), and the perceived threat posed by migrants. The results confirm that the relationship between the estimated size of the migrant population and the perceived threat is moderated by symbolic universes, being stronger for participants who hold both pessimistic and idealizing symbolic universes. The results are interpreted within the framework of semiotic cultural psychology theory.