Lisa Di Blas

Lisa Di Blas is an Associate Professor of Psychometrics at the University of Trieste's Department of Life Sciences, where she has been conducting research and teaching since 2005. She serves in multiple academic roles including as a member of the Research Evaluation Commission, Department Council, and as Coordinator of the Course of Study Advice. Her work bridges theoretical and applied aspects of personality psychology with a focus on methodological rigor.

Dr. Di Blas earned her Philosophy degree from the University of Trieste in 1991 and completed her PhD in Experimental Psychology at the same institution in 1996. Her academic journey reflects a deep commitment to understanding personality development across the lifespan with particular emphasis on childhood and adolescence.

Her research program centers on three interconnected strands: personality development in school-age children, personality development in adolescence with focus on eating disorders, and the theoretical integration of within-person and between-people approaches to personality assessment. She has pioneered age-emic approaches to studying adolescent personality, demonstrating that personality organization in adolescence only partially reflects adult structures, with cognitive and behavioral impulse control and physical appearance playing particularly salient roles. Her work on within-person assessment has demonstrated the validity of intra-individual procedures like the KAPA model while systematically investigating how inter- and intra-individual approaches complement each other.

Analysis of Dr. Di Blas's publication record reveals a consistent trajectory of methodological innovation in personality assessment, with increasing focus on developmental aspects from childhood through adolescence. Her work spans cross-cultural personality research, eating disorder applications, and workplace stress studies, demonstrating the versatility of her theoretical framework. The evolution of her research shows growing sophistication in integrating multi-rater perspectives and longitudinal designs to capture both stability and change in personality development.

She has chaired the scientific and organizing committee of the 16th European Conference on Personality and currently serves as a consultant editor for the Journal of Research in Personality, reflecting her standing in the international personality psychology community.

Dr. Di Blas actively mentors the next generation of researchers through formal PhD supervision and research internships. Her current advisees include Elide Francesca De Caro (conducting longitudinal research on personality and eating disorders in adolescence), Domenico Calarco (exploring social-cognitive approaches to personality assessment), Oriana Moro (analyzing personality, emotions, and body image in post-bariatric surgery patients), and Marco Folla (focusing on eating disorders in men). She has secured significant research funding including the '10% MORO ORIANA - SB BAG' project funded by the Ministry of University and Research and participation in the 'SURVEY ON ORGANIZATIONAL WELL-BEING IN THE SCIENCE PARK AREA' project.

She leads the research group focused on 'Quantitative personality assessment and multivariate research designs,' which operates within the Psychology research area of the Department of Life Sciences. This group has established collaborations with multiple doctoral colleges including Neuroscience and Cognitive Science and Psychological Sciences and Techniques, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of her work.