Teachers' Reporting Attitude Scale for Child Sexual Abuse: An Italian Adaptation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Education
• Criminology

Background:

• Schools play a vital role in identifying and reporting child sexual abuse (CSA).
• Understanding teachers' attitudes towards reporting CSA is crucial for improving victim protection.
• The Teachers' Reporting Attitude Scale for Child Sexual Abuse (TRAS-CSA) is a key assessment tool.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and validate the TRAS-CSA for the Italian context.
• To assess Italian teachers' attitudes regarding reporting suspected child sexual abuse.
• To explore the psychometric properties of the adapted scale in Italy.

Main Methods:

• An Italian adaptation of the TRAS-CSA was administered to 1318 teachers.
• Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify underlying factors of the scale.
• Statistical analyses examined differences based on gender and educational level.

Main Results:

• Two factors emerged: Awareness of Role and Commitment to Reporting, and Concern and Distrust Towards Reporting.
• Male teachers scored higher on concern, while secondary school teachers showed greater commitment to reporting.
• The adapted TRAS-CSA demonstrated good psychometric properties for the Italian population.

Conclusions:

• The validated Italian TRAS-CSA is a reliable tool for research and intervention.
• Findings highlight the need for targeted teacher training to improve CSA reporting.
• The study informs educational policies aimed at enhancing prevention and response to child sexual abuse.