Simone Amendola (0000-0002-1950-4351)

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Biography

I am a psychologist and Ph.D. in dynamic and clinical psychology. I have been working as a Project Officer in the project VirtueS (Virtual Worlds and Society) at European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Centre for Advanced Studies since January 2025.

I completed the Doctoral program of the Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza - Università di Roma in May 2022.

I was awarded with postgraduate research scholarship (from Sapienza) as research assistant at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Department of Applied Psychology - Clinical and Health Psychology Section (Switzerland) in 2020. Subsequently, I was awarded a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (2022-2023) from the Swiss Confederation for a one-year Post-Doc research at the same Department where I worked until October, 2023. Afterwards, I was employed as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics until May, 2024.

My interests and research activity concern clinical and health psychology (in particular, prolonged social withdrawal or hikikomori and addictive behaviours related to technology use), research methodology and psychometrics, and philosophy of psychiatry.

Activities

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European Commission, Joint Research Centre: Varese, IT

2025-01-16 to present | Project Officer (Virtual Worlds and Society) (Centre for Advanced Studies)

Employment

Simone Amendola

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1950-4351

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Biography

Activities

Employment (6)

European Commission, Joint Research Centre: Varese, IT

University of Zurich: Zurich, CH

Zurich University of Applied Sciences: Zurich, CH

IRCCS Eugenio Medea: Brindisi, IT

Sapienza Università di Roma: Roma, IT

Zurich University of Applied Sciences: Zurich, CH

Education and qualifications (1)

Sapienza University of Rome: Rome, Lazio, IT

Funding (2)

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (2022/23)

Postgraduate research scholarship ("Borse di studio per la frequenza di corsi o attività di perfezionamento all'estero 2019")

Works (50 of 68)

Cortisol and 10‐Year Cognitive Decline in Older People From the General Population

Bidirectional relationship between (Internet) Gaming Disorder, internalizing psychopathology, psychological distress, and well-being: A systematic review with meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

The Harmful Dysfunction Analysis applied to the concept of behavioral addiction: A secondary analysis of data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2018

Trends in loneliness in 17 European countries between 2006 and 2015: A secondary analysis of data from the European Social Survey

From loneliness to severe social isolation and hikikomori

Suicide Rates and Prescription of Antidepressants

From loneliness to severe social isolation and hikikomori

Clarifying the position of hikikomori in mental health: Is hikikomori a variant of already-known mental health disorders? A review of the literature

Difficult lives explain depression better than broken brains

SYMPTOMS OF PROLONGED SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL, PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE, AND PSYCHOTIC-LIKE EXPERIENCES IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD: A MODERATION MODEL

Examining the relationship between social withdrawal motivations and symptoms of hikikomori

A reply to “Further evidence for the bidimensionality of the components model of addiction: A reply to Amendola (2023)”

Antidepressants use in Italy: an ecological study of national and regional trends and associated factors

Factors associated with pharmacological treatment in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders: a retrospective study of a series of 77 cases in a single third-level reference Centre in Apulia region

Discussing evidence on the components model of addiction. A commentary on Fournier et al. (2023)

Observational studies of antidepressant use and suicide risk are selectively published in psychiatric journals

Trend in loneliness among Swiss university students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Estimating the prevalence and characteristics of people in severe social isolation in 29 European countries: A secondary analysis of data from the European Social Survey round 9 (2018–2020)

The serotonin hypothesis of depression: both long discarded and still supported?

Online risks related to suicidal thoughts: A cross-sectional study with a sample of Italian students. Online risks related to suicidal thoughts

Commentary on “One month version of Hikikomori Questionnaire‐25 (HQ‐25M): Development and initial validation”

Responding to the COVID‐19 public health emergency: The usefulness of an online brief psychological intervention with Italian university students

Commentary on Karhulahti et al. (2022): exploring gaming disorder from the harmful dysfunction analysis perspective

Commentary on “One month version of Hikikomori Questionnaire-25 (HQ-25M): Development and initial validation”

Clinical symptoms in pre-COVID-19 pandemic versus COVID-19 pandemic samples of Italian university students

Change in Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking in University Students During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

Clinical symptoms in pre-COVID 19 pandemic versus COVID 19 pandemic samples of Italian university students

Understanding the characteristics of prolonged social withdrawal (hikikomori)

Patterns of internalizing symptoms and disability functioning in children and adolescents

Trends in rates of NEET (not in education, employment, or training) subgroups among youth aged 15 to 24 in Italy, 2004 - 2019

Macro-Determinants of NEET: An Ecological Study at the Country Level of Analysis for the Period 1997–2020

Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the 25-Item Hikikomori Questionnaire for Adolescents

The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence

Predictors of hopelessness during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a small sample of Italian adults

Clinical symptoms in pre-COVID 19 pandemic versus COVID 19 pandemic samples of Italian university students

Burden of mental health and substance use disorders among Italian young people aged 10–24 years: results from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study

Longitudinal reciprocal associations between depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders over three decades of life

Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the 25-Item Hikikomori Questionnaire

Hikikomori, problematic internet use and psychopathology: Correlates in non-clinical and clinical samples of young adults in Italy

Hikikomori: The silent suffering among young people,Hikikomori: La sofferenza silenziosa dei giovani

Generalized Anxiety among Swiss Health Professions and Non-Health Professions Students: An Open Cohort Study over 14 Months in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Suicide risk with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other new-generation antidepressants in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Mental health of Italian adults during COVID‐19 pandemic

Did the introduction and increased prescribing of antidepressants lead to changes in long-term trends of suicide rates?

Somatic symptoms and parental attachment in middle childhood: the mediating role of anxiety, depressive symptomatology, and peer attachment

A Longitudinal Study on Generalized Anxiety Among University Students During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland.

Adaptation and Psychometric Analysis of the Test of Mobile Phone Dependence—Brief Version in Italian Adolescents

Depressive Symptoms in Swiss University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Correlates

Hikikomori, problematic internet use and psychopathology: correlates in non-clinical and clinical samples of young adults in Italy

Trends and correlates of the time spent playing videogames in Italian children and adolescents

Peer review (25 reviews for 6 publications/grants)