Childhood trauma and factors influencing primary school teachers' reporting of child abuse: Insights from Italy.

BACKGROUND: Childhood traumatic experiences can profoundly impact individuals, posing risks to the physical and psychological well-being of children and influencing their psychological development. Teachers in primary schools play a critical role in identifying and reporting suspected cases of child abuse and maltreatment (CAM), which initiates child protection interventions. However, the psychological factors that influence teachers' likelihood of reporting suspected CAM cases remain largely unexplored. AIM: This study investigates the influence of teachers' childhood traumatic experiences and psychological factors (i.e., cognitive empathy and psychological detachment) on their reporting behavior regarding child abuse and maltreatment, addressing an important social issue. PARTICIPANTS: The study involved 1380 primary school teachers from Italy (88.3 % female; aged 21-69, Mage 46.7, DS 10.3). RESULTS: The results reveal that teachers with a history of childhood emotional abuse tend to report a higher number of suspected child abuse and maltreatment cases. Other forms of traumatic childhood experiences were not significantly associated with teachers' reporting suspected cases of CAM. Additionally, cognitive empathy and psychological detachment emerge as significant predictors of teachers' reporting behavior. CONCLUSIONS: This research contributes to the existing literature by providing unique insights into actual reporting behavior within an unexplored cultural context.

The Contribution of Learning and Mental Health Variables in First-Year Students' Profiles.

International studies focus on the successful transition into higher education, which is considered crucial for both the students and the educational institution in the context of students' learning and adjustment in higher education. The aim of the current study was to identify student profiles that include cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational aspects of learning, but also aspects of resilience, emotion dysregulation, and anxiety. The sample consists of 316 Greek undergraduate students (18.7% males and 81.3% females). The results showed four different (meta)-cognitive-emotional learner profiles: the emotionally stable and highly adaptive learner; the emotionally dysregulated and at risk learner; the emotionally dysregulated and highly adaptive learner; the emotionally stable and at risk learner. Emotionally dysregulated and at risk learner has a lower GPA than the emotional stable and highly adaptive learner, the emotionally dysregulated and highly adaptive learner and the emotionally stable and at risk learner.