A large body of research has shown that parental divorce is linked to youths' psychological adjustment in Western societies, but less is known about how this life event may impact on adolescents living in the Chinese cultural context, which highlights losing face and dignity. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between parental autonomy support and psychological adjustment in middle to late adolescents from divorced and intact families in China, postulating moderation by grit. Participants were 210 adolescents (67.1% girls) from divorced families and 420 adolescents (58.6% girls) from intact families, aged between 14 and 18 years, who completed a questionnaire survey. Results indicated that adolescents from divorced families reported more problem behavior and less prosocial behavior than their peers from intact families. In regression analyses, grit moderated the association between parental autonomy support and prosocial behavior. Specifically, gritty adolescents were engaged in more prosocial activities than their nongritty peers when autonomy support was high. Furthermore, adolescents from divorced families fared less well when autonomy support was low. Chinese families may benefit from interventions focusing on the enhancement of both parental autonomy support and adolescents' self-regulatory skills to boost psychological adjustment in postdivorce settings.

Background and aims: Recent research used attachment theory and the metacognitive tenet as frameworks to explain problematic Facebook use (PFU). This study aims to test, in a single model, the role of different attachment styles and metacognitions in PFU among adolescents. Methods: Two separate studies were conducted in order to establish the link between security (Study 1) and insecurity (Study 2), metacognitions, and PFU. A total of 369 and 442 Italian adolescents (age: 14-20 years old) participated in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively. Results: Path analyses revealed the relative importance of different attachment dimensions with mother and father in predicting PFU and the mediating role of metacognitions between attachment styles and PFU. Discussion and conclusion: In conclusion, since attachment styles and PFU may significantly affect adolescents' development and well-being, the results of this study may provide some practical indications for researchers and practitioners.

The recently developed short form of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised Child version (ECR-RC) is a promising tool to assess anxious and avoidant attachment in children and adolescents. Yet, evidence concerning its validity in middle childhood is limited. This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the 12-item ECR-RC for both mother and father forms in a sample of 448 Italian children (50.2% girls) aged between 8 and 13 years. The scale was adapted by changing the response format to make it more understandable for young children. Psychometric proprieties of the brief ECR-RC were investigated by testing its factor structure and internal consistency, invariance across middle childhood and early adolescence, and concurrent and convergent validity. A series of confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the two-factor structure (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) of the ECR-RC, and multi-group confirmatory factor analyses supported its invariance across middle childhood and early adolescence. Older children reported significantly higher latent mean values in avoidant attachment to both parents compared to their younger counterparts. Furthermore, the questionnaire showed evidence of concurrent and convergent validity. Our results indicate that the 12-item version of the ECR-RC is a psychometrically robust instrument to assess avoidance and anxiety toward mother and father among Italian children and early adolescents.

IntroductionThe COVID‐19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale (C‐19ASS) is a reliable scale assessing dysfunctional coping strategies activated in response to COVID‐19 fear and threat. The present study aimed to provide a validation of the Arabic version of the C‐19ASS and to explore the association between the C‐19ASS and psychological symptoms syndrome.MethodIn Study 1, a community sample of 404 participants completed the Arabic version of the C‐19ASS and results were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, a community sample of 903 participants completed the Arabic version of the C‐19ASS and a series of measures assessing depressed mood and anhedonia, generalized anxiety and health anxiety. Internal consistency, construct validity and incremental validity were assessed. Associations between C‐19ASS and psychological symptoms were assessed.ResultsFactor analysis identified a two‐factor solution (i.e., C‐19ASS‐Perseveration and C‐19ASS‐Avoidance), and confirmatory factor analysis suggested a two‐factor model best fits the data. The Arabic version of the C‐19ASS showed good internal consistency, good construct and incremental validity. COVID‐19 anxiety syndrome was associated with more severe anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms and health anxiety. Females had higher levels of COVID‐19 anxiety syndrome than males. Participants diagnosed with COVID‐19, and those who had experienced loss as a consequence of COVID‐19, had higher levels of COVID‐19 anxiety syndrome (Perseveration).ConclusionsThe Arabic version of the C‐19ASS appears to be a reliable and valid measure of the COVID‐19 anxiety syndrome. The COVID‐19 anxiety syndrome could be a suitable therapeutic target to improve psychological recovery during the COVID‐19 pandemic among Arabs.

The Security Scale (SS) is a widely used questionnaire measuring attachment towards mother and father in school-aged children. Whilst existing evidence supports concurrent and discriminant validity of the SS, its factorial structure remains largely underexplored. The current study examined the factorial structure of the SS, explored its measurement invariance across mother and father, and evaluated its convergent validity with the Coping Strategies Questionnaire in a sample of 149 Italian children aged 8–10 years. In statistical analyses, we accounted for the ordinal nature of the data and adopted an ad hoc bootstrap procedure for the estimation of measurement invariance. Results supported the factorial validity\ud of the SS and the structural invariance of its underlying construct across parents. Evidence for convergent validity was also found. Overall, the Italian version of the SS is a promising tool to assess attachment in school-aged children