Taking a break from social media is good for your health and increases your sense of well-being. This is demonstrated by a study coordinated by the University of Bath and published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, which asked a group of people aged between 18 and 72 (average age 29) to stop using social media for a week. For some participants this meant gaining around nine hours of time for themselves, which they would otherwise have spent on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
The study involved 154 people who spent an average of 8-9 hours a week on social media. After measuring the levels of
depression, anxiety and well-being of all participants, some of them were asked to suspend the use of social media for 7 days or drastically reduce it to a few minutes.
A week later, the researchers observed significant differences between the scores for well-being, anxiety and depression of the group without social media and those of the control group. In particular, in terms of well-being, the group that had suspended the use of social media recorded 4.9 points more than the others, while the levels of depression and anxiety had dropped by 2.2 points and 1.7 points respectively.
“Scrolling social media has become so common that many of us do it almost without thinking, but there are growing concerns about the effects of these tools on mental health”, says Jeff Lambert, first author of the study.
Researchers know well that social media are part of people's lives and that for many they have become a tool
essential for expressing oneself and interacting. However, Lambert notes, "many of the participants in our research reported positive effects from stopping social media use, with improved mood and less anxiety in general. Our study suggests that even just a small break can have a positive impact."
For researchers, however, the effects of suspending the use of social media for long periods remain to be investigated (ANSA).
Photo by Eren Li from Pexels
"Ognuno con il proprio passo. Diversi tutti insieme" è il titolo del confronto sulla scuola inclusiva dopo due anni di pandemia, in programma il 10 maggio dalle 15 alle 19, presso la Fondazione Di Liegro. L'evento è dedicato alla memoria di Simonetta Caravita.
Il pomeriggio di "Ognuno con il proprio passo. Diversi tutti insieme" sarà diviso in due parti. Nella prima si svolgerà un confronto su realtà ed esperienze dirette impegnate a Roma per l'inclusione scolastica e giovanile, con Marialetizia Nespica e Marilina Casanova ( Casal Bruciato), Alessandro Romelli (Ostia), Marta Zammuto (Fondazione Don Luigi Di Liegro) e Massimo Vallati (Calcio Sociale Corviale).
La seconda sessione sarà una tavola rotonda su cosa si può fare affinché la scuola sia sempre più inclusiva dopo due anni che hanno messo a dura prova l'intero sistema. Interverranno Anna Maria Ajello (Ordinario di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e Socializzazione), Danilo Casertano (Associazione Manes), Luigina Di Liegro (Fondazione Don Luigi Di Liegro), Marco Rossi-Doria (Presidente della Fondazione “Con i bambini”), Marilena Novelli (già direttore regionale dell’USR Lazio) e Augusto Venanzetti (Rete Scuolemigranti).
L'evento sarà trasmesso in diretta streaming. For information.
"Simonetta Caravita - ha ricordato Marco Rossi-Doria, in occasione della sua scomparsa, nel 2021 - è stata per molti decenni il punto di riferimento delle politiche scolastiche inclusive nell’area romana. Per venticinque anni è stata dirigente scolastica nella Scuola Media Statale 'Luigi di Liegro', a Casal Bruciato, e poi del IV Centro Territoriale Permanente di Roma. Quando Jaques Delors avviò l’idea europea di una scuola di seconda occasione per chi aveva abbandonato la scuola, Simonetta è stata all’avanguardia nel lavorare per la scuola di II occasione nelle periferie romane. È in questa veste che in tanti/e, impegnati sullo stesso fronte in ogni parte d’Italia, l’abbiamo conosciuta per la sua dedizione e capacità".
"È stata coordinatrice del Gruppo di lavoro sull’Educazione degli Adulti dell’USR del Lazio. Anche a livello nazionale ha partecipato al laborioso avvio dei CPIA. Impegnata nell’associazione delle scuole autonome, ha creduto nell’autonomia delle scuole a maggior ragione dove dovevano essere più flessibili e innovative per raggiungere tutti/e e ciascuno/a. Nel cuore e nella mente - ha concluso Marco Rossi-Doria - Simonetta Caravita ha avuto per lunghi decenni la lotta alla povertà educativa e ha lavorato per creare e manutenere comunità educanti ben prima che se ne parlasse".
The physical and mental strain of having to care for a sick family member can have serious consequences on adolescents caregiver, A European study conducted on 2,100 young people caregiver between 15 and 17 years old shows that 14% of them thought about self-harm and more than 10% about hurting others, which in 45% of cases was the same person they cared for.
The study, published in the International Journal of Care and Caring, is part of the project "ME-WE" financed
from the European Union's Horizon 2020 program to offer support to adolescents who have to take care of someone in their daily lives. The countries involved in the study are Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
69% of the children interviewed were cared for by a family member, in most cases a parent. Among Italians, 59% was involved in caring for grandparents. A figure which, according to the researchers, suggests how "in some countries young people are filling the gaps in the elderly care systems".
Caring means helping with household and bureaucratic chores. If there are disabilities or illnesses, the commitment becomes greater and young people can also be asked to dedicate themselves to the intimate care of the patient and, as far as possible, also medical care. A commitment that children must balance with their school duties and with the rest of their activities and activities
typical challenges of adolescence. However, this is not always achieved.
Girls appear to be particularly at risk. The 36% of teenagers caregiver respondents said that their mental health has worsened due to the responsibilities they have to cope with. 17% said his academic performance suffered, and 15% reported being bullied for having to assist someone else.
For the researchers, the results raise urgent concerns about the pressure and impact that caring for a sick person causes on young people, although regarding the thought of harming others they highlight that they have found no evidence to suggest that these young people could actually pose a threat to others.
Photo by Judita Tamošiūnaitė from Pexels.
Il 21 aprile, la Fondazione Di Liegro ospita la presentazione del libro “Un viaggio ancora possibile. Il Polo Museale dei Trasporti", realizzato dal Comitato in Difesa del Polo Museale.
Un libro scritto dalle 24 associazioni, tra cui la Fondazione Di Liegro, che in questi anni hanno costruito, con le loro attività, il nuovo volto del Museo e che dalla sua immotivata chiusura si sono costituite in un Comitato costringendo, senza mollare mai, gestori e istituzioni a un confronto continuo per restituire al quadrante Ostiense e all’intera Città questa “piazza che non c’è”.
Un libro del passato per il futuro. Non sarà dunque una semplice presentazione editoriale perché “Un viaggio ancora possibile" è un’azione permanente e con le figure istituzionali, le associazioni coinvolte e la cittadinanza presente cercherà risposte e visioni condivise.
The Comitato in Difesa del Polo Museale nasce nel 2020 nell’emergenza di salvare dalla chiusura e dal degrado il Polo Museale ATAC di Roma – Porta San Paolo, di via Bartolomeo Bossi.
It was presented on April 1st Poverty Report 2021 of the series «A point of view» of Caritas of Rome. Now in its fifth edition, the volume - 154 pages full of infographics and tables - documents the numerous initiatives promoted by the parishes of Rome in the last two years of the pandemic.
In the Report, which has the theme "False restarts?", there is also a section dedicated to the economic-social scenario of the Capital and an analysis on the effectiveness of the measures implemented as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr ) which concern social exclusion.
The photograph of the city that the 2021 Poverty Report offers is that of a city poised between the temptation to retreat from the deep wounds inflicted by the pandemic and the desire to seize the notable opportunities offered by the PNRR, the next Jubilee of 2025 and the possible assignment of Expo 2030 to Rome as the capital. Unprecedented opportunities to transform Rome and make it a less unequal metropolis and where it is easier and above all more humane to live with dignity.
The extraordinary proof of solidarity that we witnessed precisely in the harshest period of the pandemic allows us to cultivate hope, and with it the confidence, of being able to make it. Hope is a feeling that goes beyond emotion and is rooted in positive perceptions, a sense of trust, attention and the recognition of a system to relate to.
However, it is not something measurable, even if the most recent indicators of social well-being also attempt to perceive the moods of citizens. However, we have many ways to know if a city lives in hope. We can see it from the involvement and participation of citizens in the common good, from solidarity towards others, from the attitude towards institutions and, above all, from the life of families and people.
In a year, 2021 which was supposed to be that of rebirth, with the pandemic not yet eradicated and with its very recent fourth wave, from which it seems we are finally emerging, despite some encouraging signs of a vigorous economic recovery, the risk is that mistrust prevails in the experiences of the Romans. This is not surprising, because two such difficult and painful years, like 2020 - 2021, wear everyone out and weigh even more especially on those who were previously forced to live in precarious, if not marginal, conditions. .
Fear, with the advent of vaccines, has given way to confusion and a persistent sense of insecurity for many. with respect to the future and the possibility of recovering certain standards of social and economic liveability. What tends to increase instead is the loneliness of too many people and not only for economic reasons.
Beyond the numbers - which also weigh - It is not yet possible to take stock of what Covid-19 has been in everyone's lives and how its impact has transformed the city we live in. There is something deeper that has changed over the last two years, in experiences, in relationships between and with people, which will be important to shed light on.
The emotional involvement is still too strong, the statistical data is partial, the situations of families and businesses balanced between hope and resignation are precarious, the audience of those who live "frozen" in the numerous support measures introduced by the Government and municipal institutions is vast and regional and thanks to multiple solidarity initiatives carried out thanks to the varied world of volunteering and religious and secular associations.
Health poverty
During 2020, 9.6% of the population declared that they had given up one or more healthcare services despite needing them and half declared they had done so for a cause related to Covid-19. The pandemic has certainly played a decisive role for mental health too if you think that according to the BES Report in 2020 there was a mental health index of 68.8. In particular, compared to the previous year, the worsening of the conditions of people over 75 and people aged 55-64 who live alone is highlighted. The theme of the profound loneliness of elderly people emerges. The worsening of the mental health of women between 20-24 years of age is also significant. Finally, patients with psychiatric pathologies are estimated to increase in 30%.
From a further survey, carried out by the health area of the diocesan Caritas in June 2021 in 87 parish listening centers participating in the "Diocesan network of parishes for health", it emerges that, during the first year of the pandemic, the 18% of the parishes prepared a specific health service.
Among these, the 47% had active interventions “psychological counseling”, the 36% of "dispensing and collection of medicines", the 34 % of "clinic, medical visits, specialist visits", the 18% "collaborations with local associations for medical visits". Among the requests received, even from those who do not have active health services, "support for the purchase of medicines" (81%), "support for the payment of health care tickets" (47%), "accompaniment to medical visits" (44%), “support for obtaining masks” (28%), “specialist medical visits” (22%), “dental care” (9%). In 85% of responses the requests for help came from both Italian and foreign people, while in 13% of cases the requests concerned "mainly Italian people".
Parish operators also highlighted that in 71% cases the "lack of economic resources" motivated the use of the parish; in 48% because the parish is "a place that inspires trust and where it is possible to enter into relationships"; in 28% because they find "qualified operators to guide them" towards the Health Service; in 20% because "they have no other references for information".
Download the 2021 Poverty Report
"Intercepting signs of distress and intervening in a timely and effective manner are essential skills for those who work with young people." He declared it today Rodolfo Lena, President of the Health Commission of the Lazio Regional Council, speaking at the conference 'Bridge the gap. Intervention tools for young people's mental health, promoted by the Don Luigi Di Liegro International Foundation, by ASL Roma 1 to present the results of the European Project YouProMe.
"This project - underlined Lena - was born with the aim of offer Youth Workers (figures who work in various capacities in close contact with young people) models and tools to intervene in favor of the well-being and mental health of young people. The Youth Worker is a figure recognized by European policies and a precious resource in our country too: a large number of people who play a strategic role as sports coaches, youth group leaders, art teachers. Often these are also volunteers, who make their skills available which in this historical moment have become even more important, given the dramatic psychological consequences of Covid on younger people".
"Adolescence represents a high-risk phase because identity is built in this period. The pandemic has had, and is still having, a strong push towards isolation among adolescents, even more so among those who had already shown discomfort mental. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, cases of depression and anxiety among adolescents have more than doubled. Access to the emergency room and hospital admissions in 30% also doubled, with peaks in 70% in eating disorders, according to data from the ASL Roma 1. Immediate interventions are needed at different levels, in synergy between educational, scholastic and social-health institutions. Lazio - concluded the President of the Health Commission of the Regional Council - is implementing a work to support and increase the territorial child neuropsychiatry services and more generally all the services for the protection of mental health and rehabilitation of developmental age, the only ones capable of having the necessary multidisciplinary approach".
Sports coaches, youth group leaders, art teachers... in a word Youth Workers!
The need to invest in training It is on recognition of skills of this multitude of people is the basis of the European Erasmus+ project “Youth Workers Promoting Mental Health (YouProMe)” whose results were presented this morning in Rome. At the meeting, promoted by Don Luigi Di Liegro International Foundation onlus and from ASL RM1 leaders of the project spoke among others: Fabrizio Starace – Coordinator of the Mental Health Technical Table of the Ministry of Health, Rodolfo Lena – President of the VII Commission on Health, social policies, socio-health integration, welfare of the Lazio Region, Barbara Funari – Councilor for Social Policies and Health of the Municipality of Rome, Alessandra Aluigi – Councilor for Social Policies, Rome Municipality. The day was also an opportunity for reflect together to the European partners of England, Greece and Romania on new challenges related to the mental health of young people, which our society is facing as never before in this moment of pandemic.
“Those who suffer from forms of mental distress during childhood and adolescence risk experiencing not only poorer mental health in adulthood, but also greater difficulties in relationships and life in general." declares Luigina Di Liegro, General Secretary of the Di Liegro Foundation “For this knowledge intercept signals of discomfort, intervene in a timely, effective manner and inclusive are essential skills for those who work together with young people. Thanks to this project” goes on “we had the opportunity to share and export our good practices for mental health; develop shared interventions and make them available to Youth workers, to ensure the full and harmonious growth of all citizens of tomorrow.”The Youth Worker is a profile expressly recognized within European youth policies and a precious resource in our country too. A varied galaxy that involves in various capacities a large number of people who, operating along the edge in informal contexts, play a strategic role for the well-being and health of children: from the sport, to that of cultural and artistic activities, recreational, from the activities of socialization and recreational a to social assistance and civil protection. Organizations of Volunteering, associations, businesses and social cooperatives, non-profit organizations which, without counting those who voluntarily make their skills available, have overall 861.919 employees (Istat data 2019).
PROJECT
Started even before the pandemic by Don Luigi Di Liegro International Foundation and the ASL Rome 1 with partners from Great Britain, Romania and Greece, the “YouproMe” project aims to offer Youth Workers shared models and useful operational tools to be able to intervene effectively the well-being and mental health of young people.
Materials and documents, free and downloadable from the site www.youpromeproject.eu , which you can draw on to broaden your skills, orient yourself on the topic and find practical suggestions for activities and interventions in the field.
A strategic project given the dramatic psychological consequencesof Covid on the younger ones, who did not have the opportunity to peacefully experience the fundamental moments of their growth. Data which require immediate interventions and at different levels, in synergy between educational and socio-health institutions.Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the cases of depression, anxiety among teenagers have more than doubled (Data published by Jama Pediatrics).
A study from the Meyer Children's Hospital in Florence reports that patients with food disorders they increased 4 times compared to previous years (June 2021 data).The latest observations conducted by the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome speak of an increase in 30% attempts to suicide And self-harm among the younger ones.
Finally, data from the Mental Health Department of ASL Roma 1 confirm that the pandemic has led to an average increase in the incidence of mental disorders in adolescence of 30%, with tips of 70% in eating disorders. Most of these are brain disorders emotional-affective regulation, mainly self-harm and suicide attempts, poly-substance abuse resulting in psychotic episodes, unstable eating behaviors, live and online violence; less frequent, but no less worrying, are disorders defined as "internalizing": isolation, sleep-wake rhythm inversion, hikikomori, etc.THE STORIES
“When I was a schoolboy" tells Philip, 18 years old interviewed within the Project “My friend Daniele and I had great difficulty studying. Both in understanding the explanations of the professors, who also tried their hardest with us, and in learning about the books. Every opportunity was a good one to escape. In the end" continues in his strong Roman accent “To recover they forced us to go to an after-school program. There was a boy there who was a little older than us to help us... I don't even remember his name, but he had a way of speaking that made us want to study. More to me than to Daniele to tell the truth" he concludes laughing “But he never gave up and, in the end, we both got to the diploma.” Francesca, 27 years old, he has a degree in animal breeding and dog education, obtained at the University of Pisa, where thanks to his thesis on "Pet Therapy" he found a way to combine his love for animals with the desire to help people more fragile. But his passions don't end there. “Since I was a girl I have always played volleyball.” tells "For this reason, when they asked me to participate as a coach in the project to start practicing sports in my neighborhood middle school, I accepted with enthusiasm..” An experience interrupted due to the restrictions due to Covid, but which still allowed Francesca to enter into relationships with many boys and girls between 11 and 14 years old. “Playing helped everyone! Both the more competent kids and the less sporty ones, at least in appearance. A few meetings were enough to bring out hidden abilities in each of us.” Goes on "The more experienced gave some advice to the more insecure, who thus gained fluency and ease even off the pitch. Being together and playing did the rest, helping the older ones, including me, to listen and help”.
Don Gabriele he is a young priest of 32 years old, engaged in his mission as assistant parish priest in a parish on the outskirts of Rome. “Every day I meet many boys and girls: in the oratory, in the scout group where I am an assistant, in Church. I feel to all intents and purposes like an informal educator and as such I always need new tools. In the first place for me there is certainly the desire to share experiences and interact with competent people, in order to have more strength and incisiveness in dealing with youth problems.”. He continues talking about his experience “I have seen first-hand the discomfort that the pandemic has brought with it, sometimes bringing out latent problems. At the same time there is a great desire for life and rebirth in the children. Being together, having adults at their side with whom they can enter into positive relationships, has helped them and continues to help them overcome obstacles and barriers (including forced distancing and masks). Their positive potential is there, you just need to give them support and accompaniment. To do it best and grow together with them, there are never enough opportunities.”
Silvia she is 24 years old and has so much energy and desire to do that it is difficult to fit her into a single definition. She is at the same time a volunteer, a scout leader, a young graduate in Clinical Psychology and we could continue for a while! Among the many reasons that led her to be interested in the "Youprome" project, she chose to talk to us about her internship experience with kids who have various mental health problems. “The project in which I am involved involves children between 14 and 18 years old in informal and socio-rehabilitative activities. Through hippotherapy, for example, we make them live a new experience: for once they are the ones who take care of and pay attention to someone other than themselves. In the care of the horse, in the foster relationship they are committed, they have fun, they feel lighter.” Here I understood how necessary it is to combine the theory studied in books with practice, contact, relationships. With the Youprome project" explains “I have found new resources for my work: tools designed and tested for children who suffer from mental distress in this age group to draw on for new and stimulating activities for everyone.”
The European project "YouProMe -Youth Workers Promoting Mental Health" outlined the YouProMe Portfolio, a set of Youth Worker skills in the field of intervention with young people experiencing mental health problems.
A document that arises from the need to integrate the general skills and practices of Youth Work with a set of specific knowledge regarding the area of mental distress in young people.
The YouProMe Portfolio defines knowledge, skills, attitudes and values useful in working in this specific area of intervention and in connecting with the world of youth.
The tool is organized as a progressive model of functions and skills that advance the attention and focus of intervention of the youth worker from the personal world of the young person experiencing mental distress towards the world of social relationships in which he or she is inserted. Movement which involves an integration of the youth worker's intervention with the various resources and numerous actors of the territorial context, necessarily "open", in which he finds himself operating.
The Di Liegro Foundation leads the European project Youth Worker Promoting Mental Health (YouProMe)
The conference "Bridging the gap. Intervention tools for the well-being and mental health of young people" is scheduled for Friday 18 February 2022, from 9am to 1pm, at the Conference Hall - IndustrIe fluvialI, in via del Porto fluviale 35, Rome
>>> Fill out the form to participate in the conference: https://bit.ly/Colmare-il-gap
PLAN
9.00 WORK OPENING
Luigina Di Liegro - General Secretary of the Don Luigi Di Liegro International Foundation
GREETINGS AND INTERVENTIONS FROM THE AUTHORITIES
Lucia Abbinante - General Director of the National Youth Agency
Fabrizio Starace - Coordinator of the Mental Health Technical Table of the Ministry of Health
Rodolfo Lena - President of the VII Commission on Health, social policies, socio-health integration, welfare of the Lazio Region
Barbara Funari - Councilor for Social Policies and Health, Municipality of Rome
Alessandra Aluigi - Councilor for Social Policies, Rome Municipality VIII
FIRST SESSION
YOUNG PEOPLE'S MENTAL HEALTH: RESPONDING TO THE EMERGENCY
Chair: Giuseppe Ducci - Mental Health Department ASL Roma1
Rethinking services for adolescence
Gianluigi Di Cesare - UOC Prevention and Early Interventions for Mental Health, ASL Roma1
Youth Work: profiles, areas and connection strategies
Stefania Leone - Department of Political Sciences and Communication, University of Salerno
The “YouProMe” project: strategic objectives and results
Anna Maria Palmieri - Don Luigi Di Liegro Foundation onlus
11.00 am COFFEE BREAK
By Integrated Social Cooperative IL GRANDE CARRO
SECOND SESSION
THE ROLE OF YOUTH WORK: EXPERIENCES AND PRACTICES IN EUROPE
Chair: Antonio Maone - Mental Health Department ASL Roma1
The importance of youth workers in promoting the well-being of young people -Eric Kota (IASIS NGO)
A collaborative approach to supporting young people's mental health - Stacey Robinson (Merseyside Expanding Horizons)
New professional profiles to support children and young people with mental health problems - Maria Toia (Centre for the Promotion of Lifelong Learning - Centrul Pentru Promovarea Invatarii Permanente
Youth Work: choices and future prospects - Manuela Prina (European Training Foundation)
1.00 pm CLOSURE OF WORK
REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION
Participation in the conference is free.
Online registration at the link: https://bit.ly/Colmare-il-gap
Simultaneous translation of the interventions is foreseen.
The certificate of participation will be issued.
Information: Tel. 3403950678 – 3388016218
To guarantee the safety of participants and compliance with Covid regulations it is necessary to register, be in possession of the REINFORCED GREEN PASS and wear the FFP2 mask.
The Di Liegro Foundation leads the European project Youth Worker Promoting Mental Health (YouProMe)
