Well-being in secondary school students: a comparison between specific learning disorder and difficulties

According to the literature, in school-age children reading and writing skills influence the social status of the child among classmates (Andolfi et al., 2015; Cornoldi & De Beni, 2001), exerting crucial effects not only on learning, but also on school wellbeing. The present study, realized within the IBIS project (Innovative technologies for wellbeing and school inclusion), is aimed to assess the risk for socio-emotional dysfunction in secondary-school students showing learning difficulties, in particular in students perceiving themselves as different as compared to their class mates, although not having a diagnosis. We selected 3 groups of students in 10th grade (Mage = 189 months, SD = 6.4): a) with Learning Disorders (N = 21, F = 16); b) with Learning difficulties (N = 21, F = 13); c) Control group (N = 21, F = 16). The students were tested with a series of neuropsychological screening tests in order to identify students with a learning disorder. Groups were further assessed using a series of tests that investigated both personal and school well-being. Preliminary results indicate that students with learning difficulties showed the lowest level of engagement (Mameli & Passini, 2018), as compared to students with a learning disorder and controls. Additionally, engagement scores were significantly predicted by measures of wellbeing and thriving (Andolfi et al., 2017). We will discuss the current data with respect to the importance of having a diagnosis as a protective factor for the wellbeing of the student.