TY - JOUR PY - 2024// TI - Childhood trauma and factors influencing primary school teachers' reporting of child abuse: insights from Italy JO - Child abuse and neglect A1 - Fabris, Matteo Angelo A1 - Longobardi, Claudio A1 - Settanni, Michele A1 - Mastrokoukou, Sofia SP - e106631 EP - e106631 VL - 149 IS - N2 - 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, M(age) 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.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0145-2134 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106631 ID - ref1 ER -