Preface

The title chosen for the present book, *Adolescences*, introduces an unusual plural noun because the outcomes of the transitional trajectories from childhood to adulthood are indeed plural. A plural noun underlines also that the crossing paths of adolescence are multiple, according to the important theoretical legacy of Renzo Canestrari, a master of Italian psychology [1].

Ours is a rapidly changing world with new economic, technological, and ecological demands challenging adolescents' ability to adapt. Teenagers are committed to building their future in this reality: they appear as a positive generation civically engaged in making the world we live in better (cf. the *Fridays for Future statements* [2]). Indeed, they act as agents for social and developmental transformation into and with the microsystems in which they are embedded (families, schools, peers, communities). However, they are also a bridge generation continually challenged by the pitfalls of their fundamental development task: identity integration (cf. [3] and special issue *Dark Side of Identity*).

As Valkenburg and Peter [4] note, no other teen generation has had the same opportunities as the current one to "explore their identities with such a multiplicity of means and without the supervision of traditional socialization agents, such as parents and school" (p. 125). The adolescence transition, therefore, appears to be an age of extraordinary opportunities but is also more traditionally seen as an age of exposure to amplified risks.

The seven contributions collected in this book are a small sample of the abovementioned plurality.

The current teen generation appears hyper-connected, engaged in its usual development tasks but endowed with new powerful means of socialization. Teens spend an increasing amount of time on digital screens, often engaged in media-multitasking activities. Their internet use through the smartphone "has become continuous and interstitial, filling up the intervals between daily activities" ([5], p. 22).

Chapter 1 by Ingrassia and colleagues, "Adolescents Suspended in the Space-Time: Problematic Use of Smartphone between Dissociative Symptoms and Flow Experiences", addresses the pervasive and continuous use of the smartphone by teens. Among the empirical data presented in the chapter, an important association emerges between prolonged exposure to smartphone screens and the manifestation of dissociative symptoms by smartphone users. Furthermore, the dissociative symptoms seemed related to the absorption and imaginative-involvement experiences (i.e., flow experiences), which could reinforce the overuse of devices, a potential risk factor for the development of addictive behaviors.

Chapter 2 by Hattingh, "The Dark Side of YouTube: A Systematic Review of Literature", highlights a very disturbing aspect of the use of digital platforms by adolescents: the possibility of accessing myriad videos with highly inappropriate content (smoking, promotion of alcohol use, bullying, self-harm/suicide, and so

on). The author refers to these experiences as the "dark side of YouTube", underlining their negative potential effect on the health and well-being of teenagers, especially the most vulnerable.

Finally, Chapter 7 by Sánchez Romero and Crespo Molero, "Psychosocial Factors Linked to Severe Mental Disorders in a Convenience Sample of Teenage Students", deals with yet another adolescent development path: that of a specifically fragile population such as one affected by severe mental disorders (SMD). The authors use factorial analysis to identify psychosocial factors and discuss the social representa-

The seven chapters show a generation that is fragile but also capable of drawing on personal and contextual resources to better face its developmental tasks. The authors discuss how these resources can act as protective factors for a healthy life: digital literacy, parental supervision and control, parental awareness of the children's right to disconnection, coping strategies, psychological interventions, even online, the psychological support and approval of friends as a proxy family, and knowledge of the psychosocial representations of SMD for their utilization in educational settings. In short, a plurality of factors whose origins are in the traditional

In conclusion, we would like to thank all the teenagers whose participation in the

**Massimo Ingrassia and Loredana Benedetto** Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine,

University of Messina,

Messina, Italy

tions of SMD in an educational context.

contexts of teen socialization: family, school, and peers.

studies reported here have made this book possible.

In Chapter 3, "From Connection to Disconnection for Teens", Lachance focuses on an important issue: how parent-child relationships are mediated by internet connection: "If adolescents are growing up in a connected world today, it is also because of the connection the parents are expecting from them" (p. 1). An interesting reflection on the "connection pact" between parents and children is proposed, whether the pact is imposed by a parent on the basis of their anxiety and fear of unpredictable dangers, or if it is negotiated by the child through forms of subtraction from the connection obligation. Today's world is organized around daily routines that are increasingly performed through a digital screen. Into such a structured world we are inserting our younger generations. This produces paradoxical consequences: surprised by their being perennially connected and interacting with digital screens, people tend to deny them the right to disconnect and to carry out activities away from ICTs. Therefore, a full awareness of this contextual situation is necessary to implement an educational policy genuinely aimed at the healthy use of ICTs.

During the last three years, teens have been a generation challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and also for many months a recluse generation. School closures, social distancing, and home quarantine have been the consequences of the government measures implemented to contain the pandemic.

Chapter 4 by Benedetto and colleagues, "Coping Strategies and Meta-Worry in Adolescents' Adjustment during COVID-19 Pandemic", asks whether the coping strategies and the meta-beliefs about worry are vulnerability factors associated with adolescents' anxiety during the months of the pandemic containment. The chapter highlights the need for effective intervention programs aimed at reducing the pathological anxiety experienced by teens and puts forward relevant suggestions.

In Chapter 5, "The HIV Positive Adolescent in a Pandemic Year: A Point of View", Manciuc and colleagues address the important issue of how pandemic restrictions have impacted the lives of teenagers suffering from serious illnesses such as HIV. A particularly fragile population (i.e., HIV teens) needs, and indeed requests, specific psychological interventions to reduce anxiety and anguish, during a pandemic, even if those interventions are provided remotely.

Chapter 6 by Hoare, "Adolescences Disrupted in Displacement: The Protective Effect of Friends as Proxy Family for Unaccompanied Adolescent Refugees Resettling in Ireland", deals with the issue of unaccompanied refugee minors receiving treatment after suffering the interruption of their development paths due to highly traumatic events: conflict, violence, and perilous journeys. This is perhaps one of the most difficult development itineraries, fraught with pitfalls and a harbinger of the most unfortunate outcomes in terms of adaptation, well-being, and discomfort. The author highlights how peer friendship can assume the role of a proxy family, taking on important protective functions such as psychological support and approval typically associated with family contexts. Thus, friendship appears as a fundamental element of resilience, protecting the development of the unaccompanied refugee minor.

Finally, Chapter 7 by Sánchez Romero and Crespo Molero, "Psychosocial Factors Linked to Severe Mental Disorders in a Convenience Sample of Teenage Students", deals with yet another adolescent development path: that of a specifically fragile population such as one affected by severe mental disorders (SMD). The authors use factorial analysis to identify psychosocial factors and discuss the social representations of SMD in an educational context.

The seven chapters show a generation that is fragile but also capable of drawing on personal and contextual resources to better face its developmental tasks. The authors discuss how these resources can act as protective factors for a healthy life: digital literacy, parental supervision and control, parental awareness of the children's right to disconnection, coping strategies, psychological interventions, even online, the psychological support and approval of friends as a proxy family, and knowledge of the psychosocial representations of SMD for their utilization in educational settings. In short, a plurality of factors whose origins are in the traditional contexts of teen socialization: family, school, and peers.

In conclusion, we would like to thank all the teenagers whose participation in the studies reported here have made this book possible.

> **Massimo Ingrassia and Loredana Benedetto** Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
