Papers by Annalisa Guarini
The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying perpetration a... more The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying perpetration among adolescents and to test the role of demographic (gender, age) and psychosocial variables (self-esteem, loneliness and school climate) associated with these aggressive behaviours. An anonymous questionnaire was fi lled in by 2.326 adolescents from Italian middle and high schools. Results showed that cyberbullying appeared to be less frequent as compared with traditional forms of bullying. Logistic regression analyses revealed a strong continuity between traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Loneliness perceived in the relationships with parents was a very relevant predictor of both forms of bullying (traditional and cyber): i.e. the adolescents who perceived parents as distant were more involved in bullying. A negative relationship with teachers and a low self-esteem about school were other signifi cant risk factors for traditional and cyber perpetration. Besides these common predictors, some differences were found among predictors in traditional bullying and cyberbullying. In fact, males and students of high schools declared to be more involved in the role of a traditional bully than female and younger preadolescents, while gender and age had no predictive role for cyberbullying. A high perception of self-esteem in relationships with peers, a low aversion to loneliness and a perception of unsafety at school triggered cyberbullying, while a high perception of self-esteem in sports activities and of a poor support at school increased the probability of becoming a traditional bully. The results have been discussed focussing on the family and school contexts as crucial relational environments to be considered for intervention programs aimed at preventing not only traditional bullying but also forms of aggression in the virtual world.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
Parent-implemented language interventions have been used for children with expressive language de... more Parent-implemented language interventions have been used for children with expressive language delays, but no study has yet been carried out using this intervention for low-risk preterm children. The current study examined the effect of a parent-implemented dialogic book reading intervention, determining also whether the intervention differently impacted low-risk preterm and full-term children. Fifty 31-month-old late talkers with their parents participated; 27 late talkers constituted the intervention group, and 23 constituted the control group. The overall results indicated that more children in the intervention group showed partial or full recovery of their lexical expressive delay and acquired the ability to produce complete sentences relative to the control group. Concerning full-term late talkers, those in the intervention group showed a higher daily growth rate of total words, nouns, function words, and complete sentences, and more children began to produce complete sentences...
Neuropsychologia, 2011
The present study involved a systematic longitudinal analysis, with three points of assessment in... more The present study involved a systematic longitudinal analysis, with three points of assessment in the second year of life, of gestures/actions, word comprehension, and word production in a sample of very preterm infants compared to a sample of full-term infants. The relationships among these competencies as well as their predictive value on language development at 24 months and the contribution of biological, medical and social risk factors on language delay at 24 months were also analysed. One hundred and four monolingual Italian very preterms (mean gestational age 29.5 weeks) without major cerebral damages, and a comparison group of 20 monolingual healthy Italian full-terms were followed at 12, 18 and 24 months by administering to their parents the Italian short forms of the MacArthur-Bates CDI. Preterms showed a slower acquisition in gesture/action production, word comprehension, and word production with an increasing divergence with respect to full-terms from 12 to 24 months, wh...
Journal of Child Language, 2010
The aims of this study were to investigate whether specific linguistic difficulties in preterm ch... more The aims of this study were to investigate whether specific linguistic difficulties in preterm children persist at eight years and to examine the interrelationships between language and literacy in this population, compared with a control group of full-term children. Sixty-eight monolingual Italian preterms and 26 chronologically matched controls were recruited. Language (grammar comprehension, lexical production and phonological awareness), literacy (reading comprehension, reading and writing) and general cognitive development were investigated. Results showed no general delay in preterms, but slight difficulties in specific linguistic abilities (grammar, lexicon, phoneme synthesis and [*]
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 2012
Cyberbullying may sometimes be an extension of traditional bullying. However, some particular fea... more Cyberbullying may sometimes be an extension of traditional bullying. However, some particular features of cyberbullying suggest that it may have a distinct causal pathway, due to the social context of a virtual environment within which peer social processes occur. Moreover, boys and girls may perceive and respond differentially to their social context, which may heighten the risk for victimisation. This
Child: Care, Health and Development, 2011
Background Extremely low and very low gestational age (ELGA and VLGA) constitutes a risk factor f... more Background Extremely low and very low gestational age (ELGA and VLGA) constitutes a risk factor for development even in absence of cerebral damage, as an immature central nervous system is exposed to invasive and inadequate stimulation. We tested the hypothesis that GA impacts developmental outcomes and trajectories of preterms without major cerebral damage in the first 2 years of life, expecting poorer developmental outcomes and higher rate of impairment with the decreasing of GA. We also evaluated whether GA, together with developmental outcomes in the first year of life, was related to developmental outcomes at 24 months. Methods Eighty-eight infants, divided into three GA groups (ELGA: Յ28 weeks; VLGA: 29-32 weeks; full term: >37 weeks) were assessed longitudinally at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales. Results Use of a repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance resulted in several significant findings. GA was associated with the developmental quotient (DQ) scores (P = 0.006); and locomotor (P < 0.001), eye and hand co-ordination (P = 0.016) and performance (P = 0.040) sub-scale quotient (SQ) scores; age of evaluation was also associated with DQ scores (P = 0.002), and locomotor (P < 0.001) and performance (P < 0.001) SQ scores. In particular, ELGAs exhibited lower DQ and SQ scores compared with the VLGA and full-term groups; some ELGAs showed mild, moderate or severe cognitive impairments, while few VLGAs mild impairments. Linear regression analysis showed that GA (P = 0.034) and 12-month developmental outcome (P < 0.001) were related to 24-month developmental outcome. Conclusions Different developmental trajectories emerged in relation to GA, with poorer developmental outcomes and higher rates of impairment in ELGAs and few mild impairments in VLGAs. The relevance of taking into account both GA and repeated assessments in the first 2 years of life was shown.
Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología, 2011
Editorial AELFA estrecha lazos con Iberoamérica 1 V. Acosta Atención interdisciplinar del daño ce... more Editorial AELFA estrecha lazos con Iberoamérica 1 V. Acosta Atención interdisciplinar del daño cerebral 3 O. Bruna, J. Subirana, S. Signo Originales Análisis de la producción científica en la REVISTA DE LOGOPEDIA, FONIATRÍA 7 Y AUDIOLOGÍA en el último decenio frente a 30 años de publicaciones M. Puyuelo, C. Salavera, R. Serrano Tipos de trastornos anómicos en las afasias 16 F. Cuetos, M.
Infant behavior & development, Jan 25, 2015
Extremely low gestational age children (ELGA, born below 28 weeks of GA) represent the most at-ri... more Extremely low gestational age children (ELGA, born below 28 weeks of GA) represent the most at-risk preterm group in terms of survival, developmental sequelae and rates of impairment and cognitive delays. However, the impact of an extremely preterm birth on mother-infant co-regulation and affective intensity which may affect early infant's development has not been investigated. Based on a relational dynamic system approach, our study aimed to investigate the quality of co-regulation and affective intensity during spontaneous play interaction in 20 mother-infant ELGA dyads compared to 20 full-term (FT) dyads at 12 months (corrected age for ELGA infants). Relationships between the quality of dyadic co-regulation and the infant's level of cognitive, motor and language development were also investigated. The quality of dyadic co-regulation was assessed using the Revised Relational Coding System (R-RCS) by Fogel et al. (2003), the mothers' and infants' affective intensity...
Developmental disabilities research reviews, 2011
Preterm birth is characterized by multiple interacting atypical constraints affecting different a... more Preterm birth is characterized by multiple interacting atypical constraints affecting different aspects of neuropsychological development. In the first years of life, perceptual, motor, and communicative-linguistic abilities, as well as attention, processing speed, and memory are affected by preterm birth resulting in cascading effects on later development. From school age to adolescence, a catch-up of simpler competencies (i.e., receptive lexicon) along with a more selective effect on more complex competencies (i.e., complex linguistic functions, math, motor, and executive functions) are observed, as well as a relevant incidence of behavioral outcomes. A wide heterogeneity in preterm children's neuropsychological profiles is described depending on the interaction among the degree of neonatal immaturity, medical complications, neurological damages/alterations, environmental and social factors. Severe neuromotor and sensory damages are not frequent, while low severity impairments...
Neuropsychologia, 2011
The present study involved a systematic longitudinal analysis, with three points of assessment in... more The present study involved a systematic longitudinal analysis, with three points of assessment in the second year of life, of gestures/actions, word comprehension, and word production in a sample of very preterm infants compared to a sample of full-term infants. The relationships among these competencies as well as their predictive value on language development at 24 months and the contribution of biological, medical and social risk factors on language delay at 24 months were also analysed. One hundred and four monolingual Italian very preterms (mean gestational age 29.5 weeks) without major cerebral damages, and a comparison group of 20 monolingual healthy Italian full-terms were followed at 12, 18 and 24 months by administering to their parents the Italian short forms of the MacArthur-Bates CDI. Preterms showed a slower acquisition in gesture/action production, word comprehension, and word production with an increasing divergence with respect to full-terms from 12 to 24 months, wh...
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Past research has demonstrated the effects of bullying can be severe and long term for the indivi... more Past research has demonstrated the effects of bullying can be severe and long term for the individuals involved. The main aim of this study is to analyze the emotional impact on victims of traditional bullying, both direct and indirect forms, and of cyberbullying through mobile phones and the Internet. A sample of 5,862 adolescents from three different countries, Italy (N = 1,964), Spain (N = 1,671), and England (N = 2,227), responded to a questionnaire that asked if they had experience of various forms of bullying, and the consequent emotional impact. The results show that both traditional bullying and cyberbullying have a significant prevalence in the samples. Emotional responses are linked to types of bullying. Analysis of answers identified specific emotional profiles for the different types of bullying and cyberbullying. Direct bullying and cyberbullying via mobile phone showed similar profiles, and also indirect bullying and cyberbullying using the Internet. Similarities and differences between profiles are discussed and some hypotheses are presented to explain the results. In addition, school grade, gender, country, and severity of bullying episodes were related to the specific emotional profiles of each type of bullying. Aggr. Behav. 38:342-356, 2012. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Encyclopedia of Language Development, 2014
Journal of Communication Disorders, 2014
Survival rate of extremely low gestational age (ELGA) newborns has increased over 80% in the last... more Survival rate of extremely low gestational age (ELGA) newborns has increased over 80% in the last 15 years, but its consequences on the short-and longer-term developmental competencies may be severe. The aim of this study was to describe growth trajectories of linguistic, motor and cognitive skills among ELGA children, compared to full-term (FT) peers, from the first to the third year of life, a crucial period for development. Growth curve analysis was used to examine individual and group differences in terms of initial status at 12 months and rate of growth through the second and the third year of life with five points of assessment. Twenty-eight monolingual Italian children, of whom 17 were ELGA (mean GA 25.7 weeks) and 11 were FT children, were assessed through the BSID-III at 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months for language skills and at 12, 24 and 30 months for motor and cognitive skills. ELGA children presented significantly lower scores than FT peers in language, motor and cognitive skills and they did not overcome their disadvantage by 3 years, even if their corrected age was taken into account. Concerning growth curves, in motor development a significant increasing divergence was found showing a Matthew effect with the preterm sample falling further behind the FT sample. In linguistic and cognitive development, instead, a stable gap between the two samples was found. In addition, great interindividual differences in rate of change were observed for language development in both samples. Our findings highlight the theoretical and clinical relevance of analyzing, through growth curve analyses, the developmental trajectories of ELGA children in language skills taking into account their inter-individual variability also across motor and cognitive domains.
Journal of Communication Disorders, 2007
There have been few investigations of the effects of very immature preterm birth on specific ling... more There have been few investigations of the effects of very immature preterm birth on specific linguistic competencies and phonological working memory at preschool age. Study 1 aimed to investigate early grammatical abilities in very immature healthy preterms, taking into account their cognitive development and biological and social factors. The linguistic and cognitive differences found between preterms and fullterms led to investigate in Study 2 the role of phonological working memory on preterms' grammatical development. Very immature preterm birth resulted to affect grammatical, cognitive and phonological working memory abilities until 3.5 years leading to persisting difficulties in comparison with fullterms, albeit not severe deficits. Tight relations between phonological working memory and grammar were found both in preterms and fullterms, that highlights the reciprocal support of these abilities in development. A partial compensatory effect by the maternal level of education on preterms' grammatical and cognitive abilities was also found. Learning outcomes: The reader will become familiar with the relations between grammatical and phonological working memory abilities in typical and preterm 3.5-year-old children. #
Journal of Child Language, 2010
The aims of this study were to investigate whether specific linguistic difficulties in preterm ch... more The aims of this study were to investigate whether specific linguistic difficulties in preterm children persist at eight years and to examine the interrelationships between language and literacy in this population, compared with a control group of full-term children. Sixty-eight monolingual Italian preterms and 26 chronologically matched controls were recruited. Language (grammar comprehension, lexical production and phonological awareness), literacy (reading comprehension, reading and writing) and general cognitive development were investigated. Results showed no general delay in preterms, but slight difficulties in specific linguistic abilities (grammar, lexicon, phoneme synthesis and [*]
Journal of Child Language, 2006
This study aimed to investigate early lexical and grammatical development and their relations in ... more This study aimed to investigate early lexical and grammatical development and their relations in a sample of very immature healthy preterms, in order to assess whether their linguistic development [*] Perrone for their help with the medical examination; the children and parents for their participation in the research. We would also like to thank Maria Cristina Caselli and Antonella Devescovi for their precious suggestions concerning the questionnaire and the test used in the research and Roberto Bolzani for statistical advice. Thanks also to the reviewers for their perceptive comments. Finally, we are grateful to Annette Karmiloff-Smith for her careful comments and helpful suggestions.
Gesture, 2010
Our study aimed to examine longitudinally early development of gestures, object-actions (short fo... more Our study aimed to examine longitudinally early development of gestures, object-actions (short for object-related-actions), word comprehension, and word production and their reciprocal relationships in typically developing infants. Twenty-two monolingual Italian infants were followed monthly from 0;10 up to 1;5 with the Italian short form of MacArthur-Bates CDI -Gestures and Words. Results showed that gestures, object-actions, and word comprehension increased significantly from 0;10 to 1;5, with an earlier development of gestures with respect to object-actions, while production started to increase significantly from 1;0. A developmental advantage of girls with respect to boys was found in gestures, object-actions and word comprehension. Relationships were evident between object-actions and word comprehension at all ages, between gestures and both word comprehension and word production in their phase of emergence, and between word comprehension and word production at the emergence of word production. Our findings suggest that gestures support the emergence of verbal abilities, while object-actions contribute to the construction of the representation of meanings.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2007
This study sought to identify and compare the characteristics of the social pedagogic context of ... more This study sought to identify and compare the characteristics of the social pedagogic context of cognitive activities in a sample of early education settings in six European countries (England, Finland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden). Previous research concerning the ...
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 2012
Cyberbullying may sometimes be an extension of traditional bullying. However, some particular fea... more Cyberbullying may sometimes be an extension of traditional bullying. However, some particular features of cyberbullying suggest that it may have a distinct causal pathway, due to the social context of a virtual environment within which peer social processes occur. Moreover, boys and girls may perceive and respond differentially to their social context, which may heighten the risk for victimisation. This
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Papers by Annalisa Guarini