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Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari"

Perinatal Psychopathology, parenthood and child development

The research group is involved in the study, assessment and intervention on the transition to parenthood in at-risk contexts, focusing on the psychopathological risk for parental function, the clinical implications for mental health during childhood and the caregiver-infant relational dimension. Head: Francesca Agostini

Areas: Psychodynamics and developmental psychopathology

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

  • Study of the psychological processes of the transition to parenthood in different at risk-contexts (e.g. premature birth, medically assisted procreation): analysis of maternal and paternal parental representations, assessment of parental stress, identification of risk and protective factors, study of parenting support interventions. 
  • Research on parental perinatal psychopathology: study and validation of assessment and screening tools for maternal and paternal psychopathology, study of risk factors and trajectories of perinatal psychopathology over time, evaluation of effects on child development and mental health. 
  • Research on the Outdoor Education approach: study of the effects on psychological development and developmental trajectories in childhood, assessment of indicators of psychological well-being and mental health in children (0-6 years) and educators/teachers. 
  • Assessment of dyadic interactions from the perspectives of Infant Research, Developmental Psychopathology and Developmental Psychoanalysis: clinical observation, observational scales and assessment of risk factors in child-caregiver interactions in the first 3 years of life. 

Head:

Francesca Agostini, Full Professor  

Members

Francesca Agostini

Full Professor

Erica Neri

Associate Professor

Alessandra Provera

PhD Student

ERC Sectors  

  • SH4_2 Human life-span development  
  • SH4_5 Social and clinical psychology 
  • LS5_12 Psychiatric disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive   compulsive disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity   disorder) 
  • LS7_8 Health services, health care research 

Scientific Disciplinary Sector: M-PSI/07 

Selected publications of the group indexed in Scopus/WOS in the period 2019-2023

  1. Provera, A., Neri, E., & Agostini, F. (2023). Infant-Directed Speech to 3-Month-Old Severe Preterm Infants: The Influence of Birth Weight and Maternal Depressive Symptoms. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 11(12), 1807. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11121807 
  2. Baldoni F., Agostini F., Terrone G., Casu G., Giannotti M. (2023). A Psychometric Study of the Perinatal Assessment of Maternal Affectivity (PAMA) for the Screening of Perinatal Affective Disorders in Mothers. Healthcare, 11(6), 907. Doi: 10.3390/healthcare11060907 
  3. Genova, F., Neri, E., Trombini, E., Stella, M., Agostini, F. (2022). Severity of preterm birth and perinatal depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers: trajectories over the first postpartum year. Journal of Affective Disorders, 298, 182-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.10.080 
  4. Neri, E., De Pascalis, L., Agostini, F., Genova, F., Biasini, A., Stella, M., Trombini, E. (2021). Parental book-reading to preterm born infants in NICU: the effects on language development in the first 2 years. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 11361. https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph182111361 
  5. Neri, E., Genova, F., Monti, F., Trombini, E., Biasini, A., Stella, M., Agostini, F. (2020). Developmental dimensions in preterm infants during the first year of life: the influence of severity of prematurity and maternal generalized anxiety. Frontiers in Psychology, 11:455. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00455 
  6. Agostini, F., Andrei, F., Neri, E., Trombini, E., Nuccini, F., Villani, M.T., Aguzzoli, L., Paterlini, M. (2020). Characteristics of early mother-infant and father-infant interactions: a comparison between Assisted Reproductive Technology and Spontaneous Conceiving parents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218215 

Funding for the period 2019-2023

National Projects

  • Project “Supporting early development in preterm infants:  the role of vocal qualities and emotional co-regulation in dyadic interactions”: Doctoral Fellowship in Psychology funded by CARISBO Foundation
  • Third mission fundings (Psychological service Convention for students at the Johns Hopkins University- SAIS, European sede in Bologna)

Active National and International Collaborations documented by publications/ funding/ scientific agreements for the period 2019-2023

International collaborations

  • Fiona Alderdice, National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Oxford University, UK
  • Maya Gratier, Université Paris Nanterre, Paris
  • Ismaël Zosso, Haute Ecole Pédagogique du canton de Vaud, Lausanne
  • Stephen Matthey, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia
  • Nancy Snidman, Child Development Unit, University of Massachusetts, Boston

National collaborations

  • Marcello Stella, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Bufalini Hospital, Ausl Romagna, Cesena
  • Marcella Paterlini, Department of Obstetrics and Paediatrics, Santa Maria Nuova Hopsital, Ausl-IRCCS, Reggio Emilia

Unibo collaborations

  • Department for Life Quality Studies (Alessandro Bortolotti, Roberto Farnè)
  • Department of Educational sciences (Giannino Melotti, Michela Schenetti)

Editorial activities in the period 2019-2023

Prof. Francesca Agostini

  • Behavioral Sciences, Editorial Board Member
  • Psicologia della Salute, Section Editor
  • Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, Editorial Board Member
  • Frontiers in Psychology - Developmental Psychology, Associate Editor
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health “Screening and Treatment of Perinatal Depression and Anxiety” (2022), Guest Editor for Special Issue


Prof. Erica Neri

  • Pediatric Reports - Pediatric Psychology section, Editorial Board Member
  • Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine - Pediatric Psychology and related issues section, Editorial Board Member
  • Frontiers in Psychology - Developmental Psychology, Reviewer Editor
  • Frontiers in Psychology - Pediatric Psychology, Reviewer Editor
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health “Child Psychology and Parenting Interventions” (2022), Guest Editor for Special Issue
  • Healthcare “Global Care of Preterm Children: The Role of Individual, Family and Environmental Factors” (2023), Guest Editor for Special Issue

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

  • Società Italiana Ricerca Clinica e Intervento Perinatale - S.I.R.C.I.P. (Francesca Agostini: founding partner) 
  • Associazione Italiana di Psicologia A.I.P. – Sezione di Psicologia clinica e dinamica (Alessandra Provera: member of Executive Committee)