Observatory on Social Changes in Act (MSA-COVID19)

Survey on the Italian population

In a press release dated April 16, the first results of the MSA COVID19 investigation were disclosed.
For information, visit the CNR website or download the PRESS NOTE or the SYNTHETIC REPORT

External investments in Italy: Dr. Federica La Longa (INGV), dott. Massimo Crescimbene (INGV), Prof. Maria Rita Parsi (Fabbrica della Pace and Movimento Bambino ONLUS Foundation), dr. Marco Lautieri, Enrico Petrangeli and Giacomo Mencarelli (CNR-Iret), Prof. Annalisa Versari (Unimore-DESU).

The "Social Changes in Atto-COVID19" observatory (MSA-COVID19) is a project of the National Research Council (CNR-Irpps) created in collaboration with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the ONLUS Child Movement Foundation . The Observatory investigates the attitudes and behaviors of the population in the COVID19 emergency in relation to "social distancing". Since the issue of the #IoRestoaCasa decree by the Council of Ministers regarding the movement of individuals within the national territory, there has been a sudden and radical change in the habits and lifestyles of Italians with a drastic reduction of every form of sociality, changes in social interaction and in the holding and organization of work.

The project, in a diachronic perspective, aims to explore, analyze, understand and propose predictions about the psychosocial effects of social distancing and phenomena related to the contraction of social interaction and prolonged living together, to then define interventions to support the welfare of the population. The study concerns the interpersonal, individual and economic dimensions of the crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Areas of investigation, methodology and operational objectives

The MSA-COVID19 observatory conducts surveys at national level and by means of electronic and semi-structured research questionnaires and qualitative-quantitative analysis of psycho-social phenomena that have arisen or changed as a consequence of the spread of COVID-19 . The activities of the Observatory began at the principle of social distancing and envisaged 3 PHASES of research. The first 2 phases are related to statistical surveys carried out on the population in subsequent times with the aim of investigating four areas of interest: 1) socio-personal information of the respondents; 2) Interaction in social distancing / approach (detects changes in social interaction and use of the web and forms of deviance and discomfort); 3) Trust and opinions (concerns the evaluation of public organizations, opinions and orientations); Emotions and resilience (analyzes self-evaluation, primary emotions and resilience). Again with reference to the interpersonal, individual and economic dimension of the crisis due to the coronavirus, PHASE 3 of the research aims to deepen and analyze the attitudes and behaviors of the population in the face of the reacquisition of greater freedom of movement and the restoration of social relations. . The primary objective of PHASE 3 will be to verify the existence of a stabilization / chronicization of the problems under study.

The main study dimensions are as follows: Housing and working conditions; Free time activities; Behavior on the net and virtual communication; Digital divide; Hyperconnection; Interaction and deviance in the home; Ontological trust; Systemic trust; Proxemics; Cyberbullying; Gender, ethnic and diversity stereotypes; Individual states; General guidelines and opinions; Primary emotions; Resilience.

Regarding the first 3 PHASES of research, surveys on non-probabilistic population samples were chosen and the web and the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) method were chosen as the place for administering the questionnaires. The statistical surveys are anonymous and the CAWI method guarantees the immediate recording of the data collected directly on the CNR server with the help of the Lime Survey software.

The activities of the MSA-COVID19 Observatory foresee actions for the enhancement and visibility of the results. The primary purpose of the Observatory is the dissemination and communication of research results, i.e. the production of scientific publications, the transfer of the knowledge produced to the mass media, the scientific and health world, political decision-makers and citizens, also through guidance interventions and also through of institutional sites and related social pages. The plan for the dissemination of the research results avails itself of the support of the Press Office and the Communication and Public Relations Unit of the CNR, the press offices of INGV and the ONLUS Movimento Bambino Foundation.

Data processing and research protocol

The research is conducted through questionnaires administered via CAWI with the Limesurvey software, installed on a CNR server. The web space is secure (HTTPS) and managed by the systems engineers of the CNR. The questionnaire does not detect identification data, does not track the IP, does not store the respondents' cookies (not even the technical ones that are necessary for navigation), does not store identification data deriving from access to the questionnaires through social media and does not detect inferior territorial data. to the regional dimension. The following characteristic information is required: gender, age, region of current domicile, size of the locality, educational qualification, presence of family members, size of the house, technological availability, type of occupation. All other requested information includes an optional answer.
The questionnaires are placed on the institutional pages of the CNR-IRPPS, on the website and on the social pages, and they are advertised on traditional media (press and television). Each user of the network has the right to notify via personal channels.

The data collected is analyzed exclusively by the research group of the Observatory and is not expected to be delivered to third parties, either on the national territory or abroad. Only the aggregate results will be disclosed.

The research obtained the approval of the Ethics Committee of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS issued on 04/04/2020 Opinion 56_2020. In addition, the project was subjected to scrutiny by the RDP of the CNR.

Some scientific publications

• Tintori A. (2021). The mass, adolescents, Covid-19 and mediated adaptations, The new frontiers of school, n. 56, Mediation, Year XVIII, October, La Medusa Editrice, pp. 84-91 [ISSN: 2281-9681];

• Tintori A., Ciancimino G. (2021). Delphi MIX for the construction of future critical scenarios in social distancing. In: Punziano G., Delli Paoli A. (edited by), Handbook on research on advanced research methodologies for a digital society, chapter 24, p. 390-404, IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018 / 978-1-7998-8473-6.ch024.

• Tintori A., Cerbara L., Ciancimino G. (2021). The effects of agile work during the 2020 lockdown in Italy. Between Opportunity and Alienation, 1-2021, p.33-43. Analysis, Patron Editore. ISSN 1591-0695;

• Tintori A., Cerbara L., Ciancimino G., Palomba R. (2021). The spread of gender stereotypes in Italy during the COVID-19. In: 4th International Conference on Gender Research ICGR 2021, Academic Conferences International. Doi: 10.34190 / IGR.21.019;

• Tintori A. (2021). Physical distancing and domestic confinement. The effects of Covid-19 on attitudes and emotions in Italy. Welfare post. CNR-Irpps. ;

• Tintori A., Cerbara L., Ciancimino G. (2020). Geography of primary emotions and attitudes during social distancing at the time of covid-19 in Italy. In: Virus migrations. Numbers and languages ​​(edited by Bonifazi C., Cadeddu ME, Marras C.). CNR Edizioni, II, [DOI https://doi.org/10.36173/PLURIMI-2020-2/04];

• Tintori A., Cerbara L., Ciancimino G., Geography of primary emotions and attitudes during social distancing at the time of covid-19 in Italy, in Bonifazi C., Cadeddu ME., Marras C., Migrations of viruses. Numbers and languages, Multilingualism and Migration, CNR Edizioni, 2021.

• Tintori A., Ciancimino G., Oksay A., Senal S., Bulgan G., Büyüker D., Cerbara L. (2020). Comparing the influence of gender stereotypes on well-being in Italy and Turkey during the COVID-19 lockdown. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. 24 (24): 13037-13043 [DOI: 10.26355 / eurrev_202012_24209];

• Tintori A., Cerbara L., Ciancimino G., Crescimbene M., La Longa F., A. Versari (2020). Adaptive behavioral coping strategies as reaction to COVID-19 social distancing in Italy. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. 24 (20): 10860-10866 [DOI: 10.26355 / eurrev_202010_23449];

• Cerbara L., Ciancimino G., Crescimbene M., La Longa F., Parsi MR., Tintori A., Palomba R. (2020). A nation-wide survey on emotional and psychological impacts of COVID-19 social distancing. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. Vol. 24 - No. 12, 7155-7163, [DOI: 10.26355 / eurrev_202006_21711];