Which scenario constitutes both a breach of confidentiality and a privacy violation?

The correct choice highlights a situation where identifiable data concerning sensitive topics is disclosed to students. This scenario represents a breach of confidentiality because it involves the unauthorized access, sharing, or release of information that can be linked back to individual participants. In research contexts, maintaining confidentiality means that identifiable information is never disclosed without the participant's informed consent.

Moreover, this situation also constitutes a privacy violation. Participant privacy refers to their right to control their personal information and how it is used or shared. By providing identifiable data on sensitive topics, the participants' privacy is compromised because their personal experiences or feelings on those topics might be exposed to others without their consent.

On the other hand, sharing de-identified data with the public does not breach confidentiality or violate privacy because the data cannot be traced back to any individual, thus protecting their identity. Not securing data properly can lead to confidentiality issues but does not inherently involve sharing identifiable information. Similarly, failing to inform participants about data use breaches informed consent but does not, in itself, constitute a confidentiality breach or privacy violation if identifiable data is not shared.