Alessandro Giardina
Biographic Data
| ID | 7843198 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alessandro Giardina |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alessandro |
| FAMILY NAME | Giardina |
| SIGNATURE | GIARDINA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Lausanne |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6313-4290 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Tabletop Role-Playing Games as Drama Therapy in the Wild
Clinicians have started to experiment with using tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as complementary to more traditional psychological treatments or as a standalone form of therapy in a group setting. However, researchers still do not understand well the therapeutic processes and mechanisms through which such forms of play might be helpful to patients. Following insights developed by drama therapists, we anticipated that th…
Player-avatar bonds and gaming benefits and risks
How players relate to their avatars in digital and analog gaming predicts both positive and negative gaming experiences. For example, a perceived discrepancy between one’s actual and avatar self is associated with both gaming benefits and risks. However, such self-discrepancy approaches treat avatars narrowly as self-substitutes that allow players to project idealized identities in a virtual environment. Yet, those approaches have not examined ho…
From active escapism to virtual withdrawal
User-avatar bond as diagnostic indicator for gaming disorder
In their study, Stavropoulos et al. (2023) capitalized on supervised machine learning and a longitudinal design and reported that the User-Avatar Bond could be accurately employed to detect Gaming Disorder (GD) risk in a community sample of gamers. The authors suggested that the User-Avatar Bond is a “digital phenotype” that could be used as a diagnostic indicator for GD risk. In this commentary, our objectives are twofold: (1) to underscore the …
Problematic gaming, social withdrawal, and Escapism
In this article, we critically overview existing studies on compensatory and dissociative mechanisms associated with problematic gaming with a focus on escapism, and present a theoretical model integrating current research. In the first section, we link compensatory and dissociative processes related to gaming on a continuum that corresponds to the degree of connection/rupture between physical and virtual environments of the individual. In the se…
Reconsidering item response categories in gaming disorder symptoms measurement
Gaming disorder (GD) screening often involves self-report survey measures to detect the presence of symptoms. Studies have shown that gamers' responses vary greatly across survey items. Some symptoms, such as preoccupation and tolerance, are frequently reported by highly engaged but non-problematic gamers, and therefore these symptoms are thought to lack specificity and are suggested to be less important in classification decisions. We argue that…
“Diagnostic inflation” will not resolve taxonomical problems in the study of addictive online behaviours
This article suggests that the type of Internet-enabled device should not be prioritised when conceptualizing diagnostic categories of addictive online behaviours. The diagnostic distinction between “predominantly mobile” and “predominantly non-mobile” forms of Internet use disorders (IUD) is not empirically based, may not be clinically useful and may lead to “diagnostic inflation.” Problems with the concepts of smartphone use disorder and IUD on…
Research Directions in the Study of Gaming-Related Escapism
Escapism motivations and related processes (e.g., avoidance, dissociation, relaxation, and emotion dysregulation) have been identified as risk factors for problematic gaming. However, the escapism construct has often been poorly conceptualized and operationalized in assessment instruments. In their systematic review, Melodia et al. (2020) proposed that conceptualizing escapism as an avoidant coping strategy could provide a sound basis for further…
Multidimensional Assessment of Covid-19-Related Fears (MAC-RF)
In this article, we present the development and psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Assessment of COVID-19--Related Fears (MAC-RF). The MAC-RF is an eight-item, self-report scale that has been developed to assess clinically relevant domains of fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MAC-RF is based on a comprehensive theoretical model conceptualizing fears during the pandemics as resulting from an interaction of bodily, interpersonal, …
Problematic video game use as an emotional coping strategy
Background A positive relationship between problematic gaming and escapism motivation to play video games has been well established, suggesting that problematic gaming may result from attempts to deal with negative emotions. However, to date, no study has examined how emotion dysregulation affects both escapism motives and problematic gaming patterns. Methods Difficulties in emotion regulation, escapism, and problematic involvement with video gam…
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Problematic video game use as an emotional coping strategy
Background A positive relationship between problematic gaming and escapism motivation to play video games has been well established, suggesting that problematic gaming may result from attempts to deal with negative emotions. However, to date, no study has examined how emotion dysregulation affects both escapism motives and problematic gaming patterns. Methods Difficulties in emotion regulation, escapism, and problematic involvement with video gam…
Multidimensional Assessment of Covid-19-Related Fears (MAC-RF)
In this article, we present the development and psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Assessment of COVID-19--Related Fears (MAC-RF). The MAC-RF is an eight-item, self-report scale that has been developed to assess clinically relevant domains of fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MAC-RF is based on a comprehensive theoretical model conceptualizing fears during the pandemics as resulting from an interaction of bodily, interpersonal, …
“Diagnostic inflation” will not resolve taxonomical problems in the study of addictive online behaviours
This article suggests that the type of Internet-enabled device should not be prioritised when conceptualizing diagnostic categories of addictive online behaviours. The diagnostic distinction between “predominantly mobile” and “predominantly non-mobile” forms of Internet use disorders (IUD) is not empirically based, may not be clinically useful and may lead to “diagnostic inflation.” Problems with the concepts of smartphone use disorder and IUD on…
Research Directions in the Study of Gaming-Related Escapism
Escapism motivations and related processes (e.g., avoidance, dissociation, relaxation, and emotion dysregulation) have been identified as risk factors for problematic gaming. However, the escapism construct has often been poorly conceptualized and operationalized in assessment instruments. In their systematic review, Melodia et al. (2020) proposed that conceptualizing escapism as an avoidant coping strategy could provide a sound basis for further…
Reconsidering item response categories in gaming disorder symptoms measurement
Gaming disorder (GD) screening often involves self-report survey measures to detect the presence of symptoms. Studies have shown that gamers' responses vary greatly across survey items. Some symptoms, such as preoccupation and tolerance, are frequently reported by highly engaged but non-problematic gamers, and therefore these symptoms are thought to lack specificity and are suggested to be less important in classification decisions. We argue that…
From active escapism to virtual withdrawal
User-avatar bond as diagnostic indicator for gaming disorder
In their study, Stavropoulos et al. (2023) capitalized on supervised machine learning and a longitudinal design and reported that the User-Avatar Bond could be accurately employed to detect Gaming Disorder (GD) risk in a community sample of gamers. The authors suggested that the User-Avatar Bond is a “digital phenotype” that could be used as a diagnostic indicator for GD risk. In this commentary, our objectives are twofold: (1) to underscore the …
Problematic gaming, social withdrawal, and Escapism
In this article, we critically overview existing studies on compensatory and dissociative mechanisms associated with problematic gaming with a focus on escapism, and present a theoretical model integrating current research. In the first section, we link compensatory and dissociative processes related to gaming on a continuum that corresponds to the degree of connection/rupture between physical and virtual environments of the individual. In the se…
Player-avatar bonds and gaming benefits and risks
How players relate to their avatars in digital and analog gaming predicts both positive and negative gaming experiences. For example, a perceived discrepancy between one’s actual and avatar self is associated with both gaming benefits and risks. However, such self-discrepancy approaches treat avatars narrowly as self-substitutes that allow players to project idealized identities in a virtual environment. Yet, those approaches have not examined ho…
Tabletop Role-Playing Games as Drama Therapy in the Wild
Clinicians have started to experiment with using tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as complementary to more traditional psychological treatments or as a standalone form of therapy in a group setting. However, researchers still do not understand well the therapeutic processes and mechanisms through which such forms of play might be helpful to patients. Following insights developed by drama therapists, we anticipated that th…
Psychology (9 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (7 works) · Clinical Psychology (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Escapism (4 works) · Cognitive psychology (3 works) · Digital Mental Health Interventions (3 works) · Mind wandering and attention (3 works) · Addiction (2 works)