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Publications (10 of 42) Show all publications
Roccato, M. & Russo, S. (2017). Right-wing authoritarianism, societal threat to safety, and psychological distress. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47(5), 600-610
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Right-wing authoritarianism, societal threat to safety, and psychological distress
2017 (English)In: European Journal of Social Psychology, ISSN 0046-2772, E-ISSN 1099-0992, Vol. 47, no 5, p. 600-610Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In two quasi-experimental vignette studies, we have analyzed how societal threat to safety moderates the relation between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and psychological distress. In Study 1 (Italian community sample, N=343), we focused on depressive symptoms (measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the General Health Questionnaire). Two moderated regressions showed that the relation between RWA and both measures of depressive symptoms was positive and significant only among people exposed to a socially threatening scenario. In Study 2 (Italian student sample, N=219), we focused on state anxiety and replicated Study 1's results. The findings indicated that, in conditions of societal threat to safety, RWA is a risk factor for psychological distress. Strengths, limitations, and possible developments of this research are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2017
Keywords
authoritarianism, threat, well-being, depression, anxiety, distress, moderation
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-61102 (URN)10.1002/ejsp.2236 (DOI)000409241700006 ()2-s2.0-85028946805 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2017-09-21 Created: 2017-09-21 Last updated: 2017-09-21Bibliographically approved
Russo, S., Manzi, C. & Roccato, M. (2017). Self-concept clarity buffers the impact of societal threat to safety on right-wing authoritarianism. Journal of Social Psychology, 157(4), 513-516
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Self-concept clarity buffers the impact of societal threat to safety on right-wing authoritarianism
2017 (English)In: Journal of Social Psychology, ISSN 0022-4545, E-ISSN 1940-1183, Vol. 157, no 4, p. 513-516Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Exposure to societal threat can elicit an increase in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). In this study, using a quasi-experimental vignette design (Italian community sample, N = 86), we tested the moderating role of self-concept clarity (SCC). A moderated regression showed that manipulated societal threat to safety fostered RWA only among low SCC scorers. It is concluded that SCC is an important resource for individuals facing threat conditions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2017
Keywords
DPTE, moderation, rightwing, authoritarianism, selfconcept clarity, societal threat to safety
National Category
Sociology (Excluding Social Work, Social Anthropology, Demography and Criminology)
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-52410 (URN)10.1080/00224545.2016.1229255 (DOI)000401471800010 ()27635939 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-84987887289 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2016-09-21 Created: 2016-09-20 Last updated: 2025-02-17Bibliographically approved
Russo, S. & Stattin, H. (2017). Self-determination theory and the role of political interest in adolescents' sociopolitical development. Journal of applied developmental psychology, 50, 71-78
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Self-determination theory and the role of political interest in adolescents' sociopolitical development
2017 (English)In: Journal of applied developmental psychology, ISSN 0193-3973, E-ISSN 1873-7900, Vol. 50, p. 71-78Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this study we adopted an agentic perspective and used self-determination theory to analyze the role of political interest in youth's sociopolitical development. Inspired by this theoretical framework, we identified indicators of the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence within the political sphere. We followed two age cohorts (Swedish 13- and 16-year-olds) over one year, with a total of 1992 adolescents, who are at a crucial age for sociopolitical development. Results from autoregressive structural cross-lagged models indicated that political interest predicted significant increases in autonomy, relatedness, and competence over one year, but these psychological needs did not predict a change in political interest over the same time period. The findings speak in favor of an agentic perspective, suggesting that political interest can serve as a basis for youth's political development.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2017
Keywords
Political interest, Longitudinal design, Adolescence, Self-determination theory
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-58962 (URN)10.1016/j.appdev.2017.03.008 (DOI)000404701500007 ()2-s2.0-85019392180 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, M2008-0073:1-PK
Available from: 2017-08-04 Created: 2017-08-04 Last updated: 2017-10-18Bibliographically approved
Russo, S. & Stattin, H. (2017). Stability and Change in Youths’ Political Interest. Social Indicators Research, 132(2), 643-658
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Stability and Change in Youths’ Political Interest
2017 (English)In: Social Indicators Research, ISSN 0303-8300, E-ISSN 1573-0921, Vol. 132, no 2, p. 643-658Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Political interest is a key for the survival and development of democracies. Therefore, it is important to establish when political interest develops. We examined changes in political interest—when and in which directions—among youths between 13 and 28 years of age. We followed five age groups of Swedish youths over 2 years, with a total of 2621 participants. Analysis of stability coefficients supported the idea that political interest becomes more stable with age. From their early twenties, youths’ political interest was found to be as stable as has been earlier reported for adults. Among adolescents, the lowest stability rate was observed in the youngest cohort (ages 13–15). The results also showed that, when taking the increase in political interest into account, the proportion of youths losing their interest in politics corresponded to the proportion of youths gaining interest over time. On the whole, this study brings new insights on the development of political interest over time. It provides empirical evidence on when political interest is most susceptible to change and on how it is likely to change. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2017
Keywords
Political interest; Youths; Attitudinal stability; Longitudinal data
National Category
Psychology Sociology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-54217 (URN)10.1007/s11205-016-1302-9 (DOI)000402092200006 ()2-s2.0-84961214865 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Available from: 2017-01-02 Created: 2017-01-02 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
Kim, Y., Russo, S. & Amnå, E. (2017). The longitudinal relation between online and offline political participation among youth at two different developmental stages. New Media and Society, 19(6), 899-917
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The longitudinal relation between online and offline political participation among youth at two different developmental stages
2017 (English)In: New Media and Society, ISSN 1461-4448, E-ISSN 1461-7315, Vol. 19, no 6, p. 899-917Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The role played by the Internet in young people’s political lives has received great research attention. However, two gaps in the literature hinder the drawing of conclusions on how online political participation is related to its offline counterpart. First, although there are multiple hypotheses on the nature of the relationship, they have not been compared in any single study. Second, although the relation may differ according to developmental stage, age differences have not been examined. We address these gaps using longitudinal data from two samples of youth at different developmental stages, and test four hypotheses for each sample. It was found, among late adolescents, that online participation serves as a gateway to offline participation. However, among young adults, offline participation spills over into online participation. These findings indicate the positive potential of online political participation in youth’s political lives, and highlight the need to focus on their developmental stages.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2017
Keywords
Developmental stage, longitudinal design, offline political participation, online political participation, youth
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-46779 (URN)10.1177/1461444815624181 (DOI)000403190100006 ()2-s2.0-85020480353 (Scopus ID)
Projects
Political Socialisation and Human Agency
Funder
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Available from: 2015-11-25 Created: 2015-11-25 Last updated: 2017-10-18Bibliographically approved
Russo, S. (2017). The subjective group dynamics in negative campaigns. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47(8), 415-423
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The subjective group dynamics in negative campaigns
2017 (English)In: Journal of Applied Social Psychology, ISSN 0021-9029, E-ISSN 1559-1816, Vol. 47, no 8, p. 415-423Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

I relied on the subjective group dynamics framework to analyse the derogation of inparty candidates involved in negative campaigns. In an experimental study (dynamic simulation of an electoral campaign, N=118), I found that participants downgraded the inparty candidate (both in terms of evaluation and vote choice) more when he ran a person-based negative campaign than when he ran an issue-based negative campaign. This effect was significant for participants with high levels of political identification only. Overall, the findings revealed that political candidates, as members of significant social groups, are not exempt from the forms of extremity in evaluations typically observed in other social groups.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2017
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-59293 (URN)10.1111/jasp.12447 (DOI)000407077200001 ()2-s2.0-85019065289 (Scopus ID)
Note

Funding Agency:

MIUR (Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita e della Ricerca)  2008XZR2TT_003

Available from: 2017-08-29 Created: 2017-08-29 Last updated: 2017-10-18Bibliographically approved
Stattin, H., Hussein, O., Özdemir, M. & Russo, S. (2017). Why do some adolescents encounter everyday events that increase their civic interest whereas others do not?. Developmental Psychology, 53(2), 306-318
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Why do some adolescents encounter everyday events that increase their civic interest whereas others do not?
2017 (English)In: Developmental Psychology, ISSN 0012-1649, E-ISSN 1939-0599, Vol. 53, no 2, p. 306-318Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Using a longitudinal design, we asked 2 age cohorts of adolescents (15- and 18-year-olds) whether they, during the last year, had experienced events that had increased their civic interest and about details of their experiences. Based on self-determination theory, we predicted that the adolescents who reported having experienced events of this kind had already been more interested and had had more positive feelings about politics much earlier in time, and that this original interest would have increased more over time, than that of other adolescents. Second, we proposed that the adolescents who had encountered events that triggered their civic interest would have been engaged in behaviors that reflected their needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence, much earlier in time, and that, over time, they would have increased these behaviors more than other adolescents. These 2 predictions were largely confirmed. As for the content of the events the adolescents reported, many of them concerned national and international issues experienced as threatening, and that challenged the adolescents' beliefs and morality. Overall, a previous interest in politics and engagement in exploratory behaviors that reflect the adolescents' psychological needs seem to play crucial roles in understanding why adolescents in their everyday life encounter events that trigger their civic interest. Further, the findings show that having had everyday experiences that trigger the adolescents' civic interests are associated with a later increase in political interest more broadly.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Washington, USA: American Psychological Association (APA), 2017
Keywords
political interest; political agency; adolescents; self-determination theory; longitudinal research
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-54218 (URN)10.1037/dev0000192 (DOI)000395789200009 ()27505698 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85007241871 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2017-01-02 Created: 2017-01-02 Last updated: 2017-11-29Bibliographically approved
Barni, D., Vieno, A., Roccato, M. & Russo, S. (2016). Basic Personal Values, the Country's Crime Rate and the Fear of Crime. Social Indicators Research, 129(3), 1057-1074
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Basic Personal Values, the Country's Crime Rate and the Fear of Crime
2016 (English)In: Social Indicators Research, ISSN 0303-8300, E-ISSN 1573-0921, Vol. 129, no 3, p. 1057-1074Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The main aim of this study was to investigate the relations between basic personal values, drawn on Schwartz's value theory, and the expression of the individual fear of crime by analysing the moderating role of contextual cues (i.e., crime rates). We performed a multinational, multilevel study using the 2008 European Social Survey dataset (N = 53,692, nested in 27 European countries). The fear of crime, which is a generalised insecurity about personal safety, showed a positive association with conservation (i.e., tradition, conformity and security) and a negative association with openness to change (i.e., hedonism, stimulation and self-direction) and self-transcendence values (i.e., benevolence and universalism). With the exception of self-transcendence, all the associations between basic values and the fear of crime were amplified by the country's crime rate: the higher the crime rate, the stronger the relation between values and the fear of crime. The implications and limitations of these results and possible further research directions are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2016
Keywords
Basic personal values, Crime rate, Fear of crime, Multilevel analysis
National Category
Sociology
Research subject
Sociology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-54228 (URN)10.1007/s11205-015-1161-9 (DOI)000387421700006 ()2-s2.0-84945273938 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2017-01-04 Created: 2017-01-03 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
Russo, S. (2016). Explaining the effects of exposure to negative campaigning: The mediating role of emotions. Psicologia sociale, 11(3), 307-317
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Explaining the effects of exposure to negative campaigning: The mediating role of emotions
2016 (English)In: Psicologia sociale, ISSN 1827-2517, Vol. 11, no 3, p. 307-317Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

I analyzed the role of emotional reactions to negative campaigning as mediators of the link between exposure to negative messages, evaluations of candidates, and voting behavior. In an experimental study (N = 103) I found that exposure to issue-based negative messages from the outparty provoked anxiety, which increased selective exposure to political information that, in turn, improved the outparty evaluation; and exposure to person-based negative messages from the inparty provoked aversion, which negatively influenced inparty evaluation. Finally, the evaluations of candidates significantly predicted vote choices.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Societa Editrice Il Mulino, 2016
Keywords
negative campaigning, emotions, Affective Intelligence, candidates evaluations, voting behavior
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-54033 (URN)10.1482/84667 (DOI)000388501700006 ()2-s2.0-85000398995 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2016-12-19 Created: 2016-12-19 Last updated: 2019-04-02Bibliographically approved
Pacilli, M. G., Roccato, M., Pagliaro, S. & Russo, S. (2016). From political opponents to enemies?: the role of perceived morality distance in the animalistic dehumanization of the political outgroup. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 19(3), 360-373
Open this publication in new window or tab >>From political opponents to enemies?: the role of perceived morality distance in the animalistic dehumanization of the political outgroup
2016 (English)In: Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, ISSN 1368-4302, E-ISSN 1461-7188, Vol. 19, no 3, p. 360-373Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this paper, we analyzed the relationships among political identity, the perception of moral distance between the political ingroup and the political outgroup, and outgroup animalistic dehumanization. One correlational and one experimental study revealed a positive correlation of ingroup identification (Study 1, N = 99) and salience of ingroup membership (Study 2, N = 96) with the degree to which participants dehumanized the outgroup. This relationship was mediated by the perceived moral distance between the ingroup and the outgroup. The limitations, implications, and possible developments derived from the present findings are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2016
Keywords
animalistic dehumanization, moral distance, political identity
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-46387 (URN)10.1177/1368430215590490 (DOI)000374293700005 ()2-s2.0-84968608635 (Scopus ID)
Note

Funding Agency:

Italian Ministry of Education and Research RBFR128CR6

Available from: 2015-11-03 Created: 2015-11-03 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
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Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0001-5214-9921

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