In the professional realm, the healthcare sector stands out as one of the most susceptible to violence. One notable manifestation of this is violence among colleagues, commonly referred to as horizontal violence, which has garnered significant attention in recent times. To delve deeper into this phenomenon across various categories of healthcare professionals, a comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL, resulting in the inclusion of 13 articles. The findings of this narrative review illuminate how horizontal violence can manifest in both physical and psychological forms and how it often becomes normalized among the healthcare professionals who endure it. Particularly vulnerable to such occurrences are recent graduates and those with limited professional experience. Furthermore, it has been observed that horizontal violence has detrimental effects on the well-being of those subjected to it, as well as on the quality of patient care delivered. Considering preventive measures, numerous studies emphasize the pivotal role of effective departmental leadership in fostering a harmonious work environment. Despite the largely underreported nature of this phenomenon, the conclusions drawn in this study advocate for a deeper exploration of the dynamics surrounding horizontal violence, with the goal of devising targeted strategies to mitigate its occurrence.

Background: In the prison environment, the nursing profession has particularly complex peculiarities and aspects, so much so that prison nurses require advanced specialist skills and specific education. Can nurses’ stereotypes and prejudices in prison settings affect nursing care? What are nurses’ perceptions of the prison environment and people in detention? This study aims, on one hand, to outline the figure of the nurse in the prison environment and current regulations and, on the other hand, to explore whether and how stereotypes and prejudices may affect the way care is provided. Methods: Starting with an analysis of the literature, the authors administered a questionnaire to a group of nurses who shared data and reflections. Results: This study sheds a new light on nursing in the prison environment, exploring how nurses’ stereotypes and prejudices may affect the care of patients. Conclusions: It would be desirable to develop research in this field to enable a more conscious approach to a world that is still considered distant and dangerous, and to overcome the misperceptions and prejudices that may negatively affect the way of caring.

Psychopathy has been empirically associated with various forms of antisocial behavior including sexual assault. In fact, the lack of empathy characterizing psychopathic offenders may facilitate the perpetration of more extreme violence. This systematic review aims to explore the relationship between psychopathy traits in male adult sex offenders and the increase in recidivism risk for any type of reoffence, with a special focus on sexual recidivism. From an initial sample of 757 articles related to the topic, only 14 were selected from the current literature at the end of the inclusion process. Each of these assessed the relation between psychopathy traits (measured by PCL-R) and recidivism risk in male sex offenders (age > 18), providing an effect size (quantitative findings). The results of their analysis agree with the currently available literature: the presence of psychopathic traits in sex offenders would seem to correlate with an increased risk of recidivism of general but non-sexual. Furthermore, almost half of the included works highlighted a positive relationship between psychopathy and violent reoffences. However, the limited availability of studies and the unevenness in their results indicate the need to expand future research in this direction.

Psychoeducation is a key intervention in mood disorders. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) conversational agents, tools like ChatGPT are increasingly consulted by patients. Yet, empirical data on how AI-generated psychoeducational content is perceived by patients and professionals remain limited. In this cross-sectional study, 30 depressed inpatients submitted five open-ended questions to ChatGPT-4o. Responses were rated by patients using 5-point Likert scales for relevance, comprehensibility, usefulness, empathy, and acceptance. Independent safety checks were applied to all outputs. The same responses were later blindly evaluated, in randomized order, by three psychiatrists and three psychiatric rehabilitation technicians (PRTs). All outputs passed safety review. Patients assigned higher total scores (mean ± SD = 22.43 ± 2.64) than PRTs (17.63 ± 3.39) and psychiatrists (15.42 ± 2.02). The largest gaps involved empathy and acceptance, whereas relevance, usefulness, and comprehensibility differed less. PRT ratings were intermediate: closer to patients on relevance, comprehensibility, and usefulness, but closer to psychiatrists on empathy and acceptance. Within patients, no associations emerged with age, education, depression severity, or prior psychoeducation. Patients with mood disorders perceived ChatGPT-generated responses as more relevant, comprehensible, useful, accepting, and empathetic than health professionals did. With conversational agents entering psychoeducation, clinicians must develop strategies to critically integrate such tools, ensuring safety and quality while guiding patient use. The challenge is not resisting AI adoption, but framing it within safe, effective, and ethically sound psychoeducational care.

Academic dishonesty is a widespread form of student misconduct in higher education, driven by cognitive rationalizations that enable unethical behaviors while preserving a sense of moral reasoning. This study examines the relationship between academic dishonesty and neutralization techniques, in an Italian university sample. We focus on how students justify cheating through rationalization processes. Utilizing a cross-sectional survey, 205 Italian university students recruited through Prolific completed the Neutralization Techniques Scale and the Academic Dishonesty Scale. Demographic data were also collected, and analyses were conducted using SAS. Results demonstrated a positive correlation between neutralization techniques and academic dishonesty ( r = 0.63; p < 0.001). Among neutralization strategies, denial of responsibility exhibited the strongest correlation with dishonest behavior ( r = 0.57; p < 0.001), followed by condemnation of the condemners ( r = 0.56; p < 0.0001), appeal to higher loyalties ( r = 0.45; p < 0.0001), and denial of injury ( r = 0.37; p < 0.0001). These findings underscore the role neutralization techniques play in enabling academic dishonesty by allowing students to justify unethical actions and mitigating feelings of guilt or internal conflict. Replicating this pattern in an Italian sample highlights the importance of addressing these cognitive justifications through targeted interventions such as training programs that challenge common rationalizations and clarify norms around academic integrity and AI use. While the cross-sectional design, reliance on self-report measures, and use of an online convenience sample limit causal inference and generalizability, but nonetheless provide a robust basis for advancing theory-driven interventions targeting academic dishonesty.