Learning outcomes

The course aims at developing competences enabling to identify and intervene in situations of social disadvantage, referred to both individuals and groups and communities. In particular, the course will offer some conceptual and methodological instruments necessary to know and understand the psychological processes characterizing situations of psychosocial risk during development, according to the perspective of developmental psychology.
At the end of the course, the students will have to possess:
• Knowledge and ability of understanding: on the concept of psychosocial risk during development and constructs which are correlated to it, in light of the main theoretical approaches; on some processes characterizing psychological development during childhood and adolescence, relating to the cognitive, social, and emotional domain; on psychological processes, theoretical frameworks, and interventions concerning situations of psychosocial risk during childhood (e.g., children with parents affected by psychopathology, maltreated and abused, belonging to minorities, with separated or divorced parents, adopted, etc.) and during adolescence (e.g., adolescents belonging to minorities, with antisocial and deviant behaviours, using substances, in front of a complex society, etc.);
• Applied knowledge and ability of understanding: relating to methodologies enabling to evaluate psychological processes and interventions concerning situations of psychosocial risk during childhood and during adolescence; relating to the ability to identify, in the above mentioned situations of psychosocial risk, risk and protection factors that can play a role in diminishing psychological vulnerability and promoting psychological resilience during development;
• Autonomy of judgment in terms of critical evaluation of methodologies and interventions concerning psychosocial risk during childhood and during adolescence;
• Communicative abilities in terms of competences and instruments to communicate and manage information, in particular those typical of the scientific language of psychology;
• Capacity of learning in terms of abilities to work in groups.

Program

The syllabus is divided into three parts:
(A) Psychosocial risk during development.
• Basic constructs: adjustment, risk and protection factors; stress and traumatic events; psychological vulnerability and resilience.
• Definitions, theoretical models, role of individual and contextual factors, evaluation instruments.
(B) Psychosocial risk during childhood.
• Psychological processes during childhood: development in the cognitive, social, and emotional domain.
• Situations of psychosocial risk during childhood: children with parents affected by psychopathology, maltreated and abused, belonging to minorities, with separated or divorced parents, adopted, etc.
• Maltreated and abused children: definition and characteristics of violence towards children; traumatic consequences of violence both at short and long term concerning psychological development.
• Adopted children: definition and characteristics of the adoptive bond; consequences in terms of psychological development.
(C) Psychosocial risk during adolescence.
• Psychological processes during adolescence: development in the cognitive, social, and emotional domain.
• Situations of psychosocial risk during adolescence: adolescents belonging to minorities, with anti-social and deviant behaviours, using substances, in front of a complex society, etc.
• Adolescents belonging to minorities: non accompanied foreign minors, the emigration process, intergenerational conflicts, school as an integration agency.
• Adolescents with antisocial and deviant behaviours: definition of antisociality and deviance, explanations, interventions.
• Adolescents using substances: definition of dependence, risk and protection factors, prevention and treatment, new dependences.
• Adolescents in front of a complex society: school and job paths as risk and protection factors.

Teaching activities
The course will include frontal lessons, aiming at transmitting basic notions, integrated by cooperative learning, aiming at deepening the knowledge of specific aspects of the syllabus, in particular through the study of research papers. The content of the texts and the lessons is coherent with the syllabus. Further didactic materials are available from the teacher.
During the whole academic year, in addition, the teacher will receive the students individually, at the times indicates in the website (it is not necessary to arrange specific appointments) which are constantly updated.
During the first lesson, the teacher will present the whole calendar of the didactic activities with dates and topics of the lessons, specifying the time and the rooms.

Examination Methods

The aim of the exam is to verify the extent to which the expected learning results are achieved, in terms of knowledge and understanding abilities, both theoretical and applied.
The exam is formed by a written part and an optional oral part. Both of them cover the whole syllabus. For the written part, there are ten definitions and four open-ended questions. The duration of the written part is one hour. The oral part is optional, and it consists of an integrative interview requested by the student, after passing the written part.
The evaluation of the exam is expressed in thirties. For the written part, there will be maximum one point for each definition and maximum five points for each answer to open-ended questions. For the oral part, there will be maximum three points.
The exam will be equal for those students who attend and those who do not attend the lessons.