Violence and suicide
Violence toward others
Violence, in all its forms, is an important global problem. The literature on the topic has shown that difficulties in emotion regulation, excessive focus on impulsive physical action, hypersensitivity to others' reactions, and the enactment of primitive defense mechanisms are some of the nuclear characteristics of aggressive behavior.
The project aims to investigate a) the relationship between aggression, psychopathology and emotion regulation, identifying the different triggering mechanisms of violent behavior b) studying the specifics of violent bonds by contributing to the identification of target aspects of treatment.
Self-directed violence:
suicidal ideation and behavior
The role of emotional dysregulation and suppression-oriented emotion regulation strategies with respect to self-inflicted violence, including self-injury and suicide, has been widely demonstrated. Our group extended tthe data, already presented in literature, through recognizing the role played by suicidal ideation in predicting nonsuicidal self-injury. Despite the available evidences, some issues need further investigation. Regarding suicide risk assessment, there are no instruments in literature that can discriminate the frequency, intensity and type of suicidal ideation.
The current project concerns the analysis of the main psychological correlates associated with suicidal outcomes, with the aim of maximizing the understanding of factors that can contribute to the development and maintenance of suicidal ideations and attempts. Particular attention is given to the role played by implicit emotional regulation mechanisms, such as dissociation.