In the “CNEL Report 2024 – Demographics and Labor Force“, Corrado Bonifazi and Angela Paparusso analyze the growing impact of immigration on Italian demographics and economy, highlighting how migration flows are essential to sustain the country’s labor market.
With a constantly aging population and a declining labor force, immigration emerges as a fundamental factor for demographic renewal and strengthening of the production system.
Bonifazi and Paparusso propose more effective migration policies and integration strategies that can strengthen the positive contribution of immigrants, fostering greater social cohesion and more sustainable management of human resources.
According to a study by the MUSA research group (Social Change, Evaluation and Methods), suicidal thoughts now affect approximately half of Italian adolescents.
The article The developmental process of suicidal ideation among adolescents: social and psychological impact from a nation-wide survey – just published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal – investigates the mechanism that leads to the development of such thoughts.
From the survey conducted by Antonio Tintori, Loredana Cerbara and Giulia Ciancimino, IRPPS, with Maurizio Pompili, UniSapienza, and Gianni Corsetti, ISTAT, the psychological distress that fuels suicidal thoughts does not constitute the origin of the problem, which is instead found in particular dynamics of social interaction and specific socio-demographic characteristics.
The interdisciplinary epistemological approach adopted has also made it possible to show how factors usually considered influential, such as tolerance to the use of alcohol and psychotropic substances in general, are in fact only secondary in explaining the phenomenon.
IRPPS, with the Viva project, has published the results of the national survey on centers for men who use violence (CUAV). The Viva project represents an important piece of the socio-cultural change necessary to combat gender-based violence.
IRPPS, together with CNR, adheres to Scholars at Risk, an international network that promotes protection activities for scholars in danger, advocacy, and training for academic freedom. A course on “Guidelines for the reception of scholars at risk,” necessary for those wishing to actively participate in the network, is scheduled.
Increasing amounts of pornography for increasingly younger users. This is what emerges from a study recently published in the journal Societies, by Loredana Cerbara, Giulia Ciancimino and Antonio Tintori, IRPPS, and Gianni Corsetti, ISTAT.
In addition to highlighting the increase in pornography use associated with a decrease in the age of its consumers, the research confirmed its impact on the development of social and sexual identity. These are negative impacts on primary emotions, self-esteem, and body satisfaction in male and female adolescents. However, the study particularly notes how early exposure to pornography also has positive effects, but only on girls.
In boys, it actually produces a reinforcement of gender stereotypes in the context of relationships, adherence to gender roles even within the sexual sphere, and an increase in tolerance towards discriminatory, violent, and deviant behaviors. Conversely, for girls, pornography represents an experience of sexual empowerment which, unlike for males, transcends the boundaries of stereotyped hierarchies of social spaces. According to the authors, this diversity is the result of the “binary” socialization that is still predominant today, which reproduces gender stereotypes from generation to generation, leading to a passive adherence to predefined male and female social roles.
The results of this research suggest the importance and urgency of sexual education to be offered, if possible, in a school environment and with the mediation of professionals. This is in order to promote a critical approach — and not just a passive one — capable of overcoming the taboo of sex and moving beyond mainstream, heterosexual, and masculinized pornography, which provides a standardized and unrealistic image of bodies, sexual performance, and social relations.
The study was conducted using a psychosocial research approach and is based on the results of the national survey The State of Adolescence 2023, which involved 4,288 young high school students across the country.
At an international level, many studies have investigated the negative effects of early exposure to pornography, but the results are often controversial due to the use of different research techniques and both methodological and theoretical shortcomings.
A study conducted among staff of the National Research Council (CNR) on the medium-term perceived effects of forced work from home (WFH) on life and work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health: The medium-term perceived impact of work from home on life and work domains of knowledge workers during COVID-19 pandemic: A survey at the National Research Council of Italy.
More than 95% of the 748 respondents report that at least one area of personal life has changed, a percentage that reaches 97% for perceived changes in at least one area of professional life. According to the participants, these are mostly positive impacts.
The objective of the study—conducted in early 2022 by researchers from four CNR Institutes in collaboration with the University of Genoa—was to assess how knowledge workers experienced changes to their work habits after 18 months from the start of pandemic-related restrictive measures. The survey is part of the body of research initiated worldwide, especially during the first lockdowns, on worker well-being.
How smart was working from home during the pandemic?
The research was conducted through an online questionnaire. Among other things, CNR staff were asked to rate from 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive) the impact of working from home on various areas.
With respect to personal life, the areas that benefited most from working from home were the quality of interpersonal relationships within the family and general lifestyle (including eating habits and health status) with 60% and 58% of “very positive” or “positive” responses, respectively. Working from home does not appear to have impacted sleep quality and friendships (48% and 55% responded “none,” respectively). The most frequent negative impact (20%) was recorded in relation to psychological state. (Details on the responses in Figure 1)
Figure 1: Responses regarding the impact of working from home on five areas of personal life. Percentages are reported without decimals to facilitate reading; the sum of reported values does not always equal 100% due to rounding.
At the professional level, respondents benefited from working from home particularly with respect to flexibility (organization of personal workspace and management of working hours), taking initiative, and quality of work. Three areas in which positive perceptions prevailed over both negative ones and the absence of impact.
Participatory and relational aspects are those in which the perception of no impact prevails. At the same time, however, relationships with colleagues and participation in the work context are those that appear to have been most affected by the different working conditions and that received the highest number of negative responses (27% and 25%, respectively).
Figure 2: Responses regarding the impact of working from home on seven areas of professional life. Percentages are reported without decimals to facilitate reading; the sum of reported values does not always equal 100% due to rounding.
This perception was influenced by personal and organizational factors. In particular, a reduced number of days working on-site and a longer home-to-work commute time are associated with a positive perception of the impact of working from home on personal life. Those who reduced their sedentary lifestyle also evaluated the impact of working from home on all areas of personal life as positive. Conversely, having abandoned one’s hobbies and having had to share the room used for work with other household members favor a negative perception.
As the authors of the article emphasize, the results obtained suggest that measures to promote the physical and mental health of employees, strengthen inclusion, and maintain a sense of community are necessary to improve worker health and prevent perceived isolation in research activities when working from home is employed, especially where work-life balance policies are lacking.
Insights from the frontline antiviolence work during the pandemic in Italy
Pietro Demurtas and Caterina Peroni have published an article titled “We must draw a different future! Insights from the front line antiviolence work during the pandemic in Italy” in the Open Journal of Sociopolitical Studies “PArtecipazione e COnflitto“.
“In this article we analyze the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Italian anti-violence system, through the eyes of the practitioners of anti-violence centers, who are historically at the forefront in supporting women survivors of male violence. Their perspective is particularly relevant because, in Italy, anti-violence centers hold a “borderline” position, which lies between the political role of transformation and that of an actor of the private social provider of an ‘essential’ public service. On the basis of international recommendations, our analysis distinguishes two main areas of intervention on which national policies have been called to intervene: on one side, the protection of women victims of violence, and on the other their empowerment. Analyzing either official statistics and data collected through an online survey addressed to the practitioners of anti-violence centers during the lockdown, we highlight strengths and weaknesses of the policy measures implemented in Italy from their situated perspective, with reference both to the protection and the empowerment of survivors.”
The article is published in Open Access and is freely available to read and download.
