Interventions to Promote the Quality of Life and Psychological Well-being in Chronic and Developmental Psychopathologies

Sorrenti, Luana; Filippello, Pina

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.640175

OPINION article

Front. Psychol., 12 February 2021

Sec. Psychopathology

Volume 12 - 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.640175

This article is part of the Research Topic Psychological Factors as Determinants of Medical Conditions, Volume II View all 18 articles

Interventions to Promote the Quality of Life and Psychological Well-being in Chronic and Developmental Psychopathologies

$\nLuana Sorrenti$ Luana Sorrenti^*

Pina Filippello

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

Many studies have highlighted the role that the quality of life (QoL) plays for the individual's mental and physical well-being, preventing the onset of psychopathologies and chronic diseases (Marchini et al., 2018; Conversano, 2019; Martino et al., 2019, 2020a,b,c; Yoo and Ryff, 2019), which certainly have a serious impact on the general functioning of each individual. In fact, chronic diseases are frequently associated with psychopathologies, as they affect the cognitive, emotional and relational functioning, in all life contexts (Ingram and South, 2020; Lenzo et al., 2020; Marchini et al., 2020; Martino et al., 2020b; Vicario et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020), also regardless the age.

This concept challenges psychologists to collaborate with other health professionals in order to structure interventions aimed at ensuring the better quality of life for the individual with different disabling diseases, since the early stages of the life cycle. In this regard, studies concerning children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders highlight how it is necessary to promote learning, inclusion and consequently well-being in school and family environment. For instance, missing the adequate psychological support, children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can develop emotional disturbances, conduct disorders, and antisocial personality disorder in adulthood (Chen et al., 2020; Di Giuseppe et al., 2020). These psychopathological conditions are frequently associated with management difficulties of parents, who, in turn, risk to develop psychological symptoms and psychopathologies, such as anxiety and depression (Manti et al., 2019). Moreover, further difficulties in managing occur in school context, due to dysfunctional children behavior (Albertova, 2020; Han et al., 2020). Therefore, it is needed to structure parent and teacher training aimed at managing the disadaptive patterns, as well as reducing the oppositional, hyperactive and inattentive behaviors which characterize these specific disorders.

Psychological signs and symptoms are also associated to Specific Learning Disorder (SLD), negatively affecting their functioning and academic and social adaptation. Scientific evidences highlighted children with SLD have internalization problems, as anxiety and depression and externalization problems, as anger and aggressive behavior (Ryan, 2006; Mogentale and Chiesa, 2009; Ghisi et al., 2016; Mammarella et al., 2016; Sorrenti et al., 2019). If timely interventions are missing, internalization and externalization issues can evolve over time, eventually leading to psychosocial maladjustment. Instead, it is known low self-esteem, academic failure, school phobia, school refusal, school dropout, and absenteeism may be found among students with SLD (Venkatesan, 2017; Filippello et al., 2020b). These studies underline the importance of structured early interventions aimed at developing and enhancing learning strategies, such as metacognitive ones (Zumbrunn and Bruning, 2013; Filippello et al., 2016b), useful to promote learning and scholastic well-being. In fact, school is one of the main contexts in which it is necessary to promote the psychological well-being of all students, with particular regard to those with special educational needs (SEN). Indeed, they are more vulnerable, at risk of school failure and they could develop psychological illnesses in comparison with typically developing peers.

Unfortunately, many students have internalizing problems that are not adequately addressed with psycho-educational interventions with the consequence that, getting worse, these problems can evolve into more serious and disabling psychopathologies, such as depression. Many researches highlighted several individual variables (e.g., dispositional optimism, personality, positive or negative affectivity, adaptive or dysfunctional explanatory style, emotional intelligence, frustration tolerance, adaptive, or maladaptive perfectionism) which play an important role in academic success, influencing the student's sense of self-efficacy, academic engagement, and psychological well-being (Saklofske et al., 2012; Filippello et al., 2016a, 2018a,b; Steinmayr et al., 2016; Damian et al., 2017). These studies also showed that if a negative circle exist between dysfunctional individual variables (e.g., pessimistic explanatory style, frustration intolerance, or maladaptive perfectionism) and school failure, the student can experience a sense of helplessness and, in the most serious cases, depression. Furthermore, these dispositional variables are often associated with contextual variables, such as relationships with parents and teachers. If these relationships are positive and supportive of the students' needs, there play a protective role against the development of psychopathologies; if not, being negative, they hinder the needs of adolescents, predicting psychological illness, school and social maladjustment, persisting over time (Wang, 2012; Haerens et al., 2015; Diaferia et al., 2018; Filippello et al., 2019a,b, 2020a,b; Buzzai et al., 2020). Finally, due to the chronic disorder and the severity of symptoms, psychological interventions could not be enough, and pharmacological treatments should be performed to promote QoL and psychological well-being.

In light of the above, effective interdisciplinary approach and collaboration between Psychology and Medicine are necessary, in order to better cure individuals suffering from chronic diseases and psychopathological disorders, in different contexts and lifelong, from childhood and adolescence. Thus, it is needed to timely identify specific psychological signs and symptoms, at early stages of life. A preventive perspective could significantly promote QoL and well-being with specific regards to developmental psychopathologies.

Author Contributions

LS conceived the idea and made a significant contribution by drafting the manuscript. PF critically revised the manuscript and approved the final version to be published. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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