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Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari"

Development of communication, language, cognition, and relationships

Communicative-linguistic, cognitive and relational development in typical, at risk and atypical populations from infancy to school age. Head: Alessandra Sansavini

Areas: Developmental and educational psychology

Research lines of the group documented by publications in the period 2019-2023 

  • Communicative-linguistic, cognitive, relational, motor and learning development from infancy to school age in children with typical, at-risk and atypical development: developmental trajectories, biological and environmental risk factors, early indicators, observation and assessment tools, experimental tests. 
  • Preterm birth: parent-child interactions, psychological follow-up, intervention projects with parents during hospitalization and after discharge, projects in collaboration with neonatologists and paediatricians. 
  • Language delay: early indicators, observation and assessment tools, intervention projects with parents and training with educators and teachers, projects in collaboration with child care centers, kindergartners, and paediatricians. 
  • Maternal linguistic input and communicative-linguistic development. 
  • Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural comparisons in communicative-linguistic, cognitive and relational development. 

Head

Alessandra Sansavini, PhD, Full Professor 

Members

Valentina Graziosi

PhD Student

Annalisa Guarini

Full Professor

Laura Menabò

Adjunct professor

Alessandra Sansavini

Full Professor

Chiara Suttora

Associate Professor

Caterina Verganti

PhD Student

Mariagrazia Zuccarini

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

ERC Sectors  

  • SH4_1 Cognitive basis of human development and education, developmental disorders; comparative cognition
  • SH4_8 Language learning and processing (first and second languages) 

Scientific Disciplinary Sector: M-PSI/04 Developmental and Educational Psychology 

Selected publications of the group for the period 2019-2023

  1. Zuccarini M., Guarini A., Gibertoni D., Suttora C., Aceti A., Corvaglia L., Bello A., Caselli, M.C., Sansavini A., (2023). Describing communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers. Journal of Communication Disorders, 104, 106336, 1-18. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2023.106336
  2. Sansavini A., Zuccarini M., Gibertoni D., Bello A., Caselli, M.C., Corvaglia, L., Guarini A. (2021). Language profiles and their relation to cognitive and motor skills at 30 months of age: an online investigation of low-risk preterm and full-term children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64, 2715-2733. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00636
  3. Franco F., Suttora C., Spinelli M., Kozar I., Fasolo M. (2021). Singing to infants matters: Early singing interactions affect musical preferences and facilitate vocabulary building. Journal of Child Language, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000921000167
  4. Guarini A., Tobia V., Bonifacci P. Faldella G., Sansavini A. (2021). Magnitude comparisons, number knowledge and calculation in very preterm children and children with specific learning disability: A cross-population study using eye-tracking. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 54(2), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420950651
  5. Suttora C., Zuccarini M., Aceti A., Corvaglia L., Guarini A., Sansavini A. (2021). The Effects of a Parent-Implemented Language Intervention on Late-Talkers’ Expressive Skills: The Mediational Role of Parental Speech Contingency and Dialogic Reading Abilities. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.723366
  6. Sansavini A., Guarini A., Zuccarini M., Lee J. Z., Faldella G., Iverson, J. M. (2019). Low Rates of Pointing in 18-Month-Olds at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Extremely Preterm Infants: A Common Index of Language Delay? Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2131, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02131

Funding for the period 2019-2023 

 International Projects 

  • Spanish National Program I + D + I (2016-2019). Responsabile: M. Perez-Pereira, Santiago University, Spain 
  • Erasmusplus (2016-2022) con Kings College London, UK. Responsabile: A. Sansavini 
  • Erasmusplus (2016-2023) con University of Haifa, Israel. Responsabile: A. Sansavini 
  • Erasmusplus (2015-in corso) con University of Rijeka, Croatia. Responsabile: A. Sansavini 

 National Projects 

  • PRIN 2022 (2023-2025 Prot. 2022P7WP37) “PAROLA. Parenting APP for promoting language acquisition”. National and Bologna Unit PI: A. Guarini 
  • PRIN 2017 (2020-2023 Prot. 2017HRCPE4) “Early markers of Language-Learning Impairment”. Bologna Unit PI: A. Sansavini 
  • Alma Idea Unibo (2017-2020) “Ritardo di linguaggio nei bambini nati pretermine: screening valutazione e intervento”. PI: A. Sansavini. 
  • Con i bambini (2018-2021): “Educativa di casa- Trame educative per nuove comunità”. PI: A. Guarini 

 

 

Active National and International Collaborations for the period 2019-2023 

 International collaborations 

  • Bosch (Barcelona, ES);
  • M. Filippa (Geneva, CH);
  • F. Franco (London, UK);
  • L. Girolametto (Toronto, CA);
  • J. Iverson (Pittsburgh, USA);
  • C. Nosarti (London, UK);
  • M. Perez-Pereira (Santiago, ES);
  • A. Scher (Haifa, IL).
  • van Baar A.L., M. Verhoeven (Utrecht, NL),
  • D. Wolke (Warwick, UK).

National collaborations 

  • Bello, M.C. Caselli, O. Capirci, V. Volterra (Roma); M. Cuttini (Roma); D’Amico S. (L’Aquila);
  • De Cagno A.G., Rossetto T. (Roma);
  • E. Dellacasa, F. Ferrari (Modena); M. Fasolo, M. Spinelli (Chieti-Pescara);
  • M.C. Levorato (Padova);
  • C. Lunardi (Firenze);
  • V. Macchi-Cassia (Milano);
  • A. Marini (Udine);
  • O. Picciolini (Milano);
  • M. Roch (Padova);
  • N. Salerni (Milano);
  • V. Tobia (Milano);
  • E. Valenza (Padova).

Unibo collaborations 

  • A. Aceti, C. Bisi, P. Bonifacci, A. Ceciliani, D. Cordelli, L. Corvaglia, L. Dallolio, D. Gori, M. Lanari, S. Martini, R. Stagni, A. Tessari.

Collaboration agreements 

  • Collaboration agreement between the Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari” University of Bologna, the IRCCS University Hospital of Bologna Policlinico di Sant'Orsola and the Associazione Cucciolo odv-ets, Association in Bologna of Parents of Children Born Preterm, concerning "Follow-up, intervention and research projects to support the neuropsychological development and well-being of preterm children and their families and psychological counseling for parents of newborns hospitalized at the Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the IRCCS University Hospital of Bologna Policlinico di Sant'Orsola”.
    PI: A. Sansavini, L. Corvaglia, A. Guarini, A. Aceti.
  • Collaboration agreement between the Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari” University of Bologna and the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of the Health Service of Bologna, concerning “Assessment and intervention programs to support the neuropsychological development of children born preterm and/or neurological risk".
    PI: A. Sansavini, D. Cordelli. 

Editorial activities in the period 2019-2023

Alessandra Sansavini (2019-2023) 

Chiara Suttora (2023) 

Guest Editor per Special Issues

 

Fellow in scientific academies and / or executive committees of scientific associations for the period 2019-2023 

Alessandra Sansavini