A non-random sample of 560 Italian high school students completed a questionnaire consisting of demographic items and questions about gambling behaviour, motivations, and perceived social, self-regulatory, and academic self-efficacy. Among these participants, 49 of them were classified as at-risk gamblers, 21 as problem gamblers, and the rest as nonat-risk/problem gamblers or non-players. Chi-square tests showed that gambling, several game types, some motivations to gamble, and at-risk /problem gambling were more common among males than females. Logistic regression was employed to predict the risk of being an at-risk /problem gambler and results showed that medium and high levels of self-efficacy halves this risk; however, the halving of the risk was not statistically significant with respect to perceived academic self-efficacy. It was concluded that the three forms of self-efficacy taken into consideration can be protective factors for at-risk/problem gambling.

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Transition into higher education (HE) has received increased interest in recent years, since it represents a challenging period for students. The aim of this study was to further understand the associations between self‐efficacy, academic achievements, and regulation in first‐year university students during their transition into HE. The convenience sample consisted of 374 first‐year university students (230 females, 61.5%), aged from 18 to 33 (M = 19.86, SD = 1.51) and recruited from an Italian university. Self‐efficacy was assessed using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire; regulation strategies were assessed with the Inventory of Learning Patterns of Students; and a self‐reported grade point average was taken as an indicator of each student's academic performance. Result shows that students' self‐efficacy was positively associated with self‐regulation and negatively associated with a lack of regulation. Students with higher self‐efficacy and self‐regulation strategies had better academic performance. Female students performed better in academic activities and adopted more external regulation strategies. The findings represent an opportunity for university institutions to consider the interventions they provide to first‐year students in order to facilitate the successful transition from secondary school; they also provide researchers with further knowledge about the effect of self‐efficacy, and regulation strategies on students' adjustment to HE.

Limited research in the psychology literature has addressed the specifics of children’s future orientations. Using a thematic approach, the present study investigates children’s personal aspirations for their adult lives via a questionnaire that addressed (1) the types of aspiration profiles present in a sample of 456 Italian students aged 8–13 and balanced for gender, and (2) how these profiles differ according to demographics, the number of aspirations, academic and social self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and academic achievement. Using cluster analysis, three aspiration profiles emerged, which include individualistic (focused on the possible future self), independent (concentrated on one’s own future family and independence), and social (focused on future friends and the family of origin). The independent profile demonstrated better overall psychological and academic adjustment than did the other two profiles. The article discusses the results of the study using the framework of self-determination theory in the context of Italian society.

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