Alessia Cadamuro
Biographic Data
| ID | 4437027 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alessia Cadamuro |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alessia |
| FAMILY NAME | Cadamuro |
| SIGNATURE | CADAMURO A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Modena and Reggio Emilia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3374-2348 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Theory of mind predicts emoji comprehension in a sample of early adolescents
Despite the widespread use of social media and communication apps among early adolescents, little is known about which psychological variables affect their comprehension of emojis, i.e., pictograms delivering emotional cues in digital messages. To fill this gap, the present study explores the role of Theory of Mind (ToM) in emoji comprehension at the boundary condition of low vs high Social Media Use (SMU), in a sample of 303 Italian early adoles…
Our Team Cares
We conducted a field intervention aimed at fostering collective action toward disadvantaged groups among football players from the grassroots of a professional football team. The 3‐step intervention aimed at increasing the salience and relevance of the football sport identity and its associated positive values (e.g., respect, social inclusion). In the intervention, we highlighted the importance of keeping consistent behaviour within and beyond th…
Harry Potter and the SPELL Against Bullying
The Harry Potter saga has been—and still is—a worldwide phenomenon, attracting the interest of millions of people. Leveraging this success and the potential for the storyline to act as a moral guide, we developed and tested the SPELL, a scientifically‐driven anti‐bullying intervention based on the Harry Potter novels. The main goal of this intervention was to foster children and adolescents' willingness to intervene in response to bullying episod…
Distanced but United
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, many schools temporarily interrupted face‐to‐face activities, replacing them with distance learning. Children experienced prolonged physical isolation from their peers, teachers, and networks, which negatively affected their mental health. When schools re‐opened, children were required to comply with containment rules against the spread of the virus whilst still suffering the psychological consequences of the pandemi…
Your team can make you a better person
Ample research has investigated the relationship between team cohesion and on‐field behaviour, while the association between the first and off‐field prosocial behaviour has been almost overlooked. To fill this gap, we conducted a study in a sample of Italian Rugby Union athletes to examine whether: (a) team cohesion is associated with off‐field prosocial behaviour; and (b) the underlying mechanisms of this association. We focused on the two dimen…
Care When It Counts
Adverse childhood experiences are an important societal concern. Children aged 0-3 are particularly vulnerable to unpredictable chronic stress due to the critical period for brain development and attachment. Trauma-sensitive care is a preventative approach to reduce the burden of stressful experiences by committing to positive relationships. Professional caregivers are ideally placed to offer trauma-sensitive care; however, earlier research revea…
The Development of a Screening Tool for Childcare Professionals to Detect and Refer Infant and Toddler Maltreatment and Trauma
The three-layered screening tool was reported as feasible, practical, and with great content validity by childcare professionals working in four European countries
Sport identification, moral perceptions and collective action
We conducted a cross‐sectional study investigating whether sport identification predicts different forms of collective action intentions aimed to redress the unfavourable condition faced by disadvantaged individuals. In doing so, moral perceptions (moral convictions, moral violation and moral obligation) were tested as mediators. Participants were young football players from the grassroots of a professional Italian club ( N = 111). Results reveal…
A Moderated Mediation Analysis of the Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Well-Being and Sport Readiness of Italian Team Sports Players
This study highlighted an understanding of the psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the role of the perceived safety of the training environment on athletes' well-being and sports readiness. Future studies may advance safety-based interventions to promote well-being and a safer return to sport
Parental Support during the Covid-19 Pandemic
There is evidence that parental psychological disorders in stressful situations increase the risk of disturbance in child development. This has been investigated in disasters but not in pandemics, which are sensibly different from other types of traumatic events. We investigated the relationship between mothers' anxiety and their children's (self-reported) stress and the boundary conditions of this association during the first full COVID-19 lockd…
Let's stay close
In line with current developments in indirect intergroup contact literature, we conducted a field study using the imagined contact paradigm among high‐status (Italian children) and low‐status (children with foreign origins) group members ( N = 122; 53 females, mean age = 7.52 years). The experiment aimed to improve attitudes and behavior toward a different low‐status group, children with disability. To assess behavior, we focused on an objective …
Using sport media exposure to promote gender equality
By relying on literature on counter-stereotypes and media contact, we investigated whether media exposure is associated with counter-stereotypical gender perceptions. Focusing on the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we recruited samples ( N = 2,228) from eight competing countries (China, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, England, US) across three continents. We hypothesized that exposure to media coverage of the competition’s counter-stereotyp…
Sequential models of intergroup contact and social categorization
Research has proposed different models of how contact situations should be structured to maximize contact effects, focusing in particular on the role of categorization during contact. We conducted two experimental field interventions ( Ns = 247 and 247) to test models that integrate different levels of categorization. Each of the tested models was contrasted against a no-intervention control condition. In both studies, we assessed effects shortly…
Once upon a time
We conducted a vicarious contact intervention with the aim of promoting bystanders' intentions to react to stigma‐based bullying among schoolchildren. Participants were Italian primary schoolchildren ( N = 117 first to third graders); the outgroup was represented by foreign children. Vicarious contact was operationalized with story reading, creating fairy tales on stigma‐based bullying where minority characters were bullied by majority characters…
Resilience in children in the aftermath of disasters
Disasters can impact upon individuals, families, and communities in multiple ways. Research has mainly focused on risk and protective factors relating to the child (individual level) and the family (interpersonal level), not taking into account the processes at the level of social groups. The present review aims to (a) review psychological research on disasters determined by natural events in childhood, (b) distinguish individual, interpersonal, …
Fighting stigma‐based bullying in primary school children
In this theory‐driven experimental field intervention, we used vicarious intergroup contact, a popular prejudice‐reduction strategy, to fight stigma‐based bullying. We focused on the role of peer norms, manipulated by asking participants to work individually or collectively in reinforcing activities following vicarious contact (operationalized as story reading). Participants were 346 Italian 4 th ‐5 th grade primary school children (48% females).…
Intergroup fears and concerns among minority and majority groups
AIMS: Driven by the literature on pluralistic ignorance, our research investigates fear of appearing racist, being rejected, discriminated, and disinterest in intergroup contact as antecedents of contact and outgroup attitudes, focusing on attributional differences between the majority and minority group perspectives. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed in schools in Northern Italy. Participants were 400 Italian and 141 immigrant high-school…
Imagining contact reduces prejudice in preschool children
We examined the effectiveness of an imagery‐based strategy designed to reduce prejudice in preschoolers in Italy. Three studies involving different target groups (disabled children, Black children) were conducted within Italian preschools. Children (4–6 years) were asked to imagine and draw meeting an outgroup member (Studies 1 and 2) or to imagine writing a letter to an outgroup member (Study 3). Results revealed that preschoolers in the experim…
Don’t hurt my outgroup friend
A growing body of research has shown that imagined intergroup contact can improve outgroup attitudes. The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted form of imagined contact in counteracting bullying in school children, and additionally to test the underlying processes of this effect. Two hundred and fifteen Italian elementary school children took part in a 3-week intervention, where they were asked to imagine a s…
Sharing distress increases helping and contact intentions via social identification and inclusion of the other in the self
We surveyed young children ( N = 517) affected by two major earthquakes to shed light on the role of identity processes in relation to the common observation that disasters can bring survivors closer together and enhance helping amongst them. As expected, posttraumatic stress symptoms caused by the earthquake were positively associated with intentions to have contact with and help other survivors of the earthquake, these effects being sequentiall…
Sharing distress increases helping and contact intentions via social identification and inclusion of the other in the self
We surveyed young children ( N = 517) affected by two major earthquakes to shed light on the role of identity processes in relation to the common observation that disasters can bring survivors closer together and enhance helping amongst them. As expected, posttraumatic stress symptoms caused by the earthquake were positively associated with intentions to have contact with and help other survivors of the earthquake, these effects being sequentiall…
Imagining contact reduces prejudice in preschool children
We examined the effectiveness of an imagery‐based strategy designed to reduce prejudice in preschoolers in Italy. Three studies involving different target groups (disabled children, Black children) were conducted within Italian preschools. Children (4–6 years) were asked to imagine and draw meeting an outgroup member (Studies 1 and 2) or to imagine writing a letter to an outgroup member (Study 3). Results revealed that preschoolers in the experim…
Don’t hurt my outgroup friend
A growing body of research has shown that imagined intergroup contact can improve outgroup attitudes. The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted form of imagined contact in counteracting bullying in school children, and additionally to test the underlying processes of this effect. Two hundred and fifteen Italian elementary school children took part in a 3-week intervention, where they were asked to imagine a s…
Intergroup fears and concerns among minority and majority groups
AIMS: Driven by the literature on pluralistic ignorance, our research investigates fear of appearing racist, being rejected, discriminated, and disinterest in intergroup contact as antecedents of contact and outgroup attitudes, focusing on attributional differences between the majority and minority group perspectives. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed in schools in Northern Italy. Participants were 400 Italian and 141 immigrant high-school…
Using sport media exposure to promote gender equality
By relying on literature on counter-stereotypes and media contact, we investigated whether media exposure is associated with counter-stereotypical gender perceptions. Focusing on the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we recruited samples ( N = 2,228) from eight competing countries (China, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, England, US) across three continents. We hypothesized that exposure to media coverage of the competition’s counter-stereotyp…
Sequential models of intergroup contact and social categorization
Research has proposed different models of how contact situations should be structured to maximize contact effects, focusing in particular on the role of categorization during contact. We conducted two experimental field interventions ( Ns = 247 and 247) to test models that integrate different levels of categorization. Each of the tested models was contrasted against a no-intervention control condition. In both studies, we assessed effects shortly…
Fighting stigma‐based bullying in primary school children
In this theory‐driven experimental field intervention, we used vicarious intergroup contact, a popular prejudice‐reduction strategy, to fight stigma‐based bullying. We focused on the role of peer norms, manipulated by asking participants to work individually or collectively in reinforcing activities following vicarious contact (operationalized as story reading). Participants were 346 Italian 4 th ‐5 th grade primary school children (48% females).…
Let's stay close
In line with current developments in indirect intergroup contact literature, we conducted a field study using the imagined contact paradigm among high‐status (Italian children) and low‐status (children with foreign origins) group members ( N = 122; 53 females, mean age = 7.52 years). The experiment aimed to improve attitudes and behavior toward a different low‐status group, children with disability. To assess behavior, we focused on an objective …
Once upon a time
We conducted a vicarious contact intervention with the aim of promoting bystanders' intentions to react to stigma‐based bullying among schoolchildren. Participants were Italian primary schoolchildren ( N = 117 first to third graders); the outgroup was represented by foreign children. Vicarious contact was operationalized with story reading, creating fairy tales on stigma‐based bullying where minority characters were bullied by majority characters…
Sharing distress increases helping and contact intentions via social identification and inclusion of the other in the self
We surveyed young children ( N = 517) affected by two major earthquakes to shed light on the role of identity processes in relation to the common observation that disasters can bring survivors closer together and enhance helping amongst them. As expected, posttraumatic stress symptoms caused by the earthquake were positively associated with intentions to have contact with and help other survivors of the earthquake, these effects being sequentiall…
Imagining contact reduces prejudice in preschool children
We examined the effectiveness of an imagery‐based strategy designed to reduce prejudice in preschoolers in Italy. Three studies involving different target groups (disabled children, Black children) were conducted within Italian preschools. Children (4–6 years) were asked to imagine and draw meeting an outgroup member (Studies 1 and 2) or to imagine writing a letter to an outgroup member (Study 3). Results revealed that preschoolers in the experim…
Don’t hurt my outgroup friend
A growing body of research has shown that imagined intergroup contact can improve outgroup attitudes. The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted form of imagined contact in counteracting bullying in school children, and additionally to test the underlying processes of this effect. Two hundred and fifteen Italian elementary school children took part in a 3-week intervention, where they were asked to imagine a s…
Intergroup fears and concerns among minority and majority groups
AIMS: Driven by the literature on pluralistic ignorance, our research investigates fear of appearing racist, being rejected, discriminated, and disinterest in intergroup contact as antecedents of contact and outgroup attitudes, focusing on attributional differences between the majority and minority group perspectives. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed in schools in Northern Italy. Participants were 400 Italian and 141 immigrant high-school…
Resilience in children in the aftermath of disasters
Disasters can impact upon individuals, families, and communities in multiple ways. Research has mainly focused on risk and protective factors relating to the child (individual level) and the family (interpersonal level), not taking into account the processes at the level of social groups. The present review aims to (a) review psychological research on disasters determined by natural events in childhood, (b) distinguish individual, interpersonal, …
Fighting stigma‐based bullying in primary school children
In this theory‐driven experimental field intervention, we used vicarious intergroup contact, a popular prejudice‐reduction strategy, to fight stigma‐based bullying. We focused on the role of peer norms, manipulated by asking participants to work individually or collectively in reinforcing activities following vicarious contact (operationalized as story reading). Participants were 346 Italian 4 th ‐5 th grade primary school children (48% females).…
A Moderated Mediation Analysis of the Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Well-Being and Sport Readiness of Italian Team Sports Players
This study highlighted an understanding of the psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the role of the perceived safety of the training environment on athletes' well-being and sports readiness. Future studies may advance safety-based interventions to promote well-being and a safer return to sport
Parental Support during the Covid-19 Pandemic
There is evidence that parental psychological disorders in stressful situations increase the risk of disturbance in child development. This has been investigated in disasters but not in pandemics, which are sensibly different from other types of traumatic events. We investigated the relationship between mothers' anxiety and their children's (self-reported) stress and the boundary conditions of this association during the first full COVID-19 lockd…
Let's stay close
In line with current developments in indirect intergroup contact literature, we conducted a field study using the imagined contact paradigm among high‐status (Italian children) and low‐status (children with foreign origins) group members ( N = 122; 53 females, mean age = 7.52 years). The experiment aimed to improve attitudes and behavior toward a different low‐status group, children with disability. To assess behavior, we focused on an objective …
Using sport media exposure to promote gender equality
By relying on literature on counter-stereotypes and media contact, we investigated whether media exposure is associated with counter-stereotypical gender perceptions. Focusing on the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we recruited samples ( N = 2,228) from eight competing countries (China, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, England, US) across three continents. We hypothesized that exposure to media coverage of the competition’s counter-stereotyp…
Sequential models of intergroup contact and social categorization
Research has proposed different models of how contact situations should be structured to maximize contact effects, focusing in particular on the role of categorization during contact. We conducted two experimental field interventions ( Ns = 247 and 247) to test models that integrate different levels of categorization. Each of the tested models was contrasted against a no-intervention control condition. In both studies, we assessed effects shortly…
Once upon a time
We conducted a vicarious contact intervention with the aim of promoting bystanders' intentions to react to stigma‐based bullying among schoolchildren. Participants were Italian primary schoolchildren ( N = 117 first to third graders); the outgroup was represented by foreign children. Vicarious contact was operationalized with story reading, creating fairy tales on stigma‐based bullying where minority characters were bullied by majority characters…
Care When It Counts
Adverse childhood experiences are an important societal concern. Children aged 0-3 are particularly vulnerable to unpredictable chronic stress due to the critical period for brain development and attachment. Trauma-sensitive care is a preventative approach to reduce the burden of stressful experiences by committing to positive relationships. Professional caregivers are ideally placed to offer trauma-sensitive care; however, earlier research revea…
The Development of a Screening Tool for Childcare Professionals to Detect and Refer Infant and Toddler Maltreatment and Trauma
The three-layered screening tool was reported as feasible, practical, and with great content validity by childcare professionals working in four European countries
Sport identification, moral perceptions and collective action
We conducted a cross‐sectional study investigating whether sport identification predicts different forms of collective action intentions aimed to redress the unfavourable condition faced by disadvantaged individuals. In doing so, moral perceptions (moral convictions, moral violation and moral obligation) were tested as mediators. Participants were young football players from the grassroots of a professional Italian club ( N = 111). Results reveal…
Your team can make you a better person
Ample research has investigated the relationship between team cohesion and on‐field behaviour, while the association between the first and off‐field prosocial behaviour has been almost overlooked. To fill this gap, we conducted a study in a sample of Italian Rugby Union athletes to examine whether: (a) team cohesion is associated with off‐field prosocial behaviour; and (b) the underlying mechanisms of this association. We focused on the two dimen…
Theory of mind predicts emoji comprehension in a sample of early adolescents
Despite the widespread use of social media and communication apps among early adolescents, little is known about which psychological variables affect their comprehension of emojis, i.e., pictograms delivering emotional cues in digital messages. To fill this gap, the present study explores the role of Theory of Mind (ToM) in emoji comprehension at the boundary condition of low vs high Social Media Use (SMU), in a sample of 303 Italian early adoles…
Our Team Cares
We conducted a field intervention aimed at fostering collective action toward disadvantaged groups among football players from the grassroots of a professional football team. The 3‐step intervention aimed at increasing the salience and relevance of the football sport identity and its associated positive values (e.g., respect, social inclusion). In the intervention, we highlighted the importance of keeping consistent behaviour within and beyond th…
Harry Potter and the SPELL Against Bullying
The Harry Potter saga has been—and still is—a worldwide phenomenon, attracting the interest of millions of people. Leveraging this success and the potential for the storyline to act as a moral guide, we developed and tested the SPELL, a scientifically‐driven anti‐bullying intervention based on the Harry Potter novels. The main goal of this intervention was to foster children and adolescents' willingness to intervene in response to bullying episod…
Distanced but United
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, many schools temporarily interrupted face‐to‐face activities, replacing them with distance learning. Children experienced prolonged physical isolation from their peers, teachers, and networks, which negatively affected their mental health. When schools re‐opened, children were required to comply with containment rules against the spread of the virus whilst still suffering the psychological consequences of the pandemi…
Psychology (16 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Developmental psychology (11 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (10 works) · Intervention (counseling (6 works) · Outgroup (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression (4 works)