Although the impact of non-cognitive factors, such as math anxiety, math test-taking anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics, has been extensively studied, this area remains partially unexplored in the realm of national assessments. This research focuses on the analysis of the validity and reliability of an 11-item questionnaire introduced by…

This study focused on psycho-affective and behavioral problems in children and adolescents with dyslexia. It aims to define clinical psycho-affective and behavioral profiles of dyslexia beyond those found in existing descriptions of the cognitive, neural, and behavioral correlates. The study focused specifically on the understudied population of…

The main aim of this study was to investigate a conceptual model linking subtypes of social withdrawal, social/asocial dissatisfaction, and internalizing problems in late childhood and early adolescence. Participants were N = 459 students (n = 247 girls) aged 8-14 years (M = 11.24, SD = 1.66), who completed self-reports assessments of social…

A crucial component of mathematics curriculum in primary education is represented by the ability to solve arithmetic word problems. Previous studies investigated predominantly the cognitive factors underlying this skill, neglecting the role of emotional (e.g. math anxiety -- MA) and metacognitive aspects (e.g. perceived difficulty). Some findings…

The study aimed to explore links between social withdrawal subtypes and internalizing problems among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were N = 748 children (387 girls) aged 7-11 years (M = 8.91, SD = 1.07) attending primary schools in Italy. Children completed an online questionnaire assessing subtypes of social withdrawal…

This study investigated links between motivations for social withdrawal, time spent alone, and indices of internalizing difficulties. Participants were 169 (n = 96 girls) children and early adolescents aged 8-14 years (M[subscript age] = 10.82, SD = 1.78). Children completed self-report measures of motivations for social withdrawal (shyness,…

School adjustment is an important factor in children's, and research attributes an important role to the quality of the teacher-student relationship in predicting more favourable school adjustment. The purpose of this study is to expand our knowledge of the relationship between teacher-student relationship quality and school adjustment (academic…

Since COVID-19 pandemic started, schools had to face environmental changes, one was shifting from a face-to-face educational approach to online learning. It represented an unfavourable learning environment, especially for children with Specific Learning Disabilities (SpLD). Following the Self Determination Theory (SDT) framework, the current study…

Whereas some evidence exists that math anxiety may interfere with math performance from the very beginning of primary school, no study to date has attempted to investigate whether math anxiety may also interfere with early math learning (i.e., the encoding of new math knowledge) and not only with recalling already mastered contents in test…

The recently developed short form of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale--Revised Child version (ECR-RC) is a promising tool to assess anxious and avoidant attachment in children and adolescents. Yet, evidence concerning its validity in middle childhood is limited. This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the 12-item ECR-RC…

This study investigated the enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety of elementary school students and the relations of these emotions with achievement in two domains. Seven-hundred-and-sixty-seven second- and fourth-graders completed an adaptation of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Elementary School (AEQ-ES: Lichtenfeld, Pekrun, Stupnisky, Reiss,…

The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns regarding millions of children's mental health. For schools, the real challenge has been how to manage the situation in terms of education and development. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate a school re-entry program that supported teachers and students with activities aimed at processing…

Literature has shown the importance of social cognition for emotional wellness. However, to our knowledge, few studies so far investigated the relationship between social cognition and anxiety in childhood. No study systematically examined social cognition in relation to specific domains of anxiety. By a correlational design and multivariate…

We examined the moderating effect of guilt on the associations between moral disengagement and bullying, defending and outsider behaviors in a sample of 404 students (203 boys; M[subscript age] = 11.09 years; SD = 1.48). Bullying, defending and outsider behavior were assessed through peer nominations, whereas guilt and moral disengagement were…

Sleep disorders in children are common. Sleep plays an important role in children's development and sleep disorders can have a substantial impact on their quality of life. Indeed, sleep is crucial for physical growth, behavior, and emotional development and it is also closely related to cognitive functioning, learning and attention, and therefore…