What Contributes to the Development and Maintenance of School Refusal in Chinese Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

Objective: Although, there has been a growing number of studies on school refusal in Western cultures, the underlying factors that contribute to school refusal in Chinese adolescents remain unclear. This study aimed to better understand why Chinese adolescents refuse to go to school and to further interpret what they want to express through their school refusal behaviors.Methods: We performed a qualitative study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Twenty adolescents with school refusal experiences were recruited from the clinical psychology department of two mental health hospitals in Shanghai, China. They participated in semistructured, face-to-face in-depth interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to the guidelines of interpretative phenomenological analysis.Findings: Five main superordinate themes emerged from data analysis: (a) competition-oriented social environment; (b) family living space dominated by conflicts; (c) personal living space lacking meaningful support; (d) conflict between the pros and cons of being labeled with a psychiatric diagnosis; and (e) reintegration in school life.Conclusions: Our analysis emphasized the complex interacting effects of the social environment, family interpersonal conflicts, personal psychological factors and mental health complaints on the development and maintenance of Chinese adolescents' school refusal. These factors contributed to school refusal at each level and influenced each other's effects on school refusal behaviors. Therefore, interventions for Chinese teenagers with school refusal may need to integrate strategies that inspire reorganization and changes in different ecosystems, such as strategies related to government policy, peer relationships, family systems and individual inner dynamics.

Estilo atribucional en lengua y rechazo escolar en niños españoles

Los problemas de asistencia a la escuela son un tema candente dentro de la sociedad en la que nos encontramos ya que poseen un impacto significativo en el desarrollo del alumnado. El objetivo de este estudio consiste en comprobar si existen diferencias en las puntuaciones medias entre los sujetos con bajas y altas puntuaciones en rechazo escolar en función de las dimensiones de las atribuciones académicas en Lengua. Se administraron la Sydney Attribution Scale (SAS) y la School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (SRAS-R) a 732 estudiantes (52% chicos) comprendidos entre 8 y 11 años (M =9.71; SD = 1.06). A partir de los resultados hallados, se confirma la hipótesis de inicio, según la cual se esperaba que el alumnado con altas puntuaciones en rechazo escolar obtuviera puntuaciones significativamente superiores en su atribución del fracaso a la falta de capacidad y esfuerzo. Esto ocurrió en aquellos estudiantes que basaban su rechazo a la escuela en evitar la afectividad negativa generada por determinadas situaciones escolares o escapar de situaciones de aversión social o evaluación. La actual situación ocasionada por la pandemia de la COVID-19, ha acentuado los problemas de la sociedad, y, sobre todo, del alumnado y todo lo que ello conlleva. Con el propósito de prevenir los problemas subyacentes es necesario conocer las necesidades de este alumnado y formar a los docentes para que sepan detectar estas dificultades a la hora de asistir a la escuela y estar preparados para ayudar al alumnado en su proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje.

Absent on Absenteeism: Academic Silence on Student Absenteeism in Canadian Education

Despite mandatory school attendance policies, many students in Canada are frequently absent from school. Absenteeism is linked to numerous negative educational outcomes and is a growing educational issue internationally. This has lead universities in many countries to study the factors associated with absenteeism in order to reduce it. However, the Canadian educational discourse is largely absent on absenteeism. A review of faculty profiles revealed that no Canadian educational scholar investigates absenteeism as their primary area of research. The lack of empirical knowledge concerning student absenteeism is a contributing factor to the high levels of absenteeism evident in Canada. This article serves as a call to action for Canadian academics to research student absenteeism in order to alleviate the behaviour. Keywords: school attendance, student absenteeism, truancy, school refusal, school anxiety, school withdrawal

How to Understand School Refusal

Attending school is usually seen as a precondition for academic, social, and emotional learning. However, school absenteeism is a problem in many countries and covers different types of authorized or unauthorized absences and a myriad of reasons. An authorized absence is when there is a satisfactory explanation for the youth’s absence, while unauthorized absence is usually understood as school attendance problems (SAPs). The main aim of this article is first to investigate define, describe, and discuss school refusal (SR) and how SR differs from other concepts of SAPs, and the secondary aim is to understand SR using different theoretical perspectives. The article outlines this aim based upon a review of international research in this field and uses the systemic integrated cognitive approach and school alienation theories to explain how SR might emerge and develop. The review indicates that SAPs involve many types, concepts, definitions, and reasons. The most frequently used concepts are school refusal behavior, truancy, school refusal, and school withdrawal. Based on the review, the article argues for a common understanding of these concepts among all stakeholders. We suggest a narrow definition of SR to enhance clarity and agreement and propose that the systemic integrated cognitive approach and school alienation theory are relevant to the understanding of SR. A common understanding among all stakeholders is the importance of identifying and intervening in specific types of SAPs. By using a systemic integrated cognitive approach and school alienation theory, identification and interventions can be targeted at an early stage of the development process of SR.

Classifying Students With School Refusal Behavior and Their Relationship to Learning Strategies

Students with School Refusal Behaviour (SRB) are a diverse group, often associated with negative academic repercussions (e.g., low academic performance, learning difficulties or academic demotivation). The aims of this research were: 1) to identify school refusal behaviour profiles based on low and high scores on the four functional conditions assessed by the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (SRAS-R) and 2) to examine the relationship between SRB profiles and learning strategies. The SRAS-R and the Inventory of Learning and Study Strategies-High School version were administered to 1,261 students aged to 14 to 18 (M = 16.51; SD = 1.84). Four SRB profiles were obtained: SRB by positive reinforcement, Low SRB, SRB by negative reinforcement and Mixed SRB. School refusers belonging to the Mixed SRB and SRB by negative reinforcement profiles are characterised by low scores on learning strategies, except for the Anxiety dimension. The practical implications of these findings suggest that implementing study techniques and learning strategies programmes, in addition to courses on anxiety management and self-care will help students improve their learning paths and reduce anxiety-based school refusal.

School Refusal Behavior Profiles, Optimism/Pessimism, and Personality Traits in Spanish Children

The relationship between school refusal behavior (SRB) profiles and personality traits has received little attention from investigators. Identifying the profiles of students with school attendance problems may improve the understanding of the characteristics defining these students. The aim of this study was to identify different SRB profiles and analyze the relationship between these profiles, and optimism/pessimism and personality traits. The School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised, the Youth Life Orientation Test, and the Big Five Questionnaire were administrated to 739 Spanish students aged 8–11 (Mage = 9.92; SD = 1.12). Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed a significant association between personality dimensions and SRB. Three distinct profiles were identified: (1) SRB by negative reinforcement (high scores on avoiding school-related stimuli provoking negative affectivity), (2) SRB by positive reinforcement (high scores on pursuing positive tangible reinforcement outside of school), and (3) Low SRB. The SRB profile by positive reinforcement scored higher on Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Optimism, whereas the SRB profile by negative reinforcement scored higher on Neuroticism and Pessimism. More statically significant differences were found between the negative and positive reinforcement profiles. The role of negative personality traits and pessimism as risk factors for students who are truant or refuse to attend school are discussed.

The School Interference Questionnaire: Examining a Novel Measure of Mental Health–Related Academic Functional Impairment in Youth

This article reports on the development and initial psychometric properties of the School Interference Questionnaire (SIQ), a questionnaire designed to assess both academic functional impairment related to mental health problems and the type and frequency of school refusal behavior. Participants were 110 youth aged 13 to 18 years ( M = 15.41 years, SD = 1.42) admitted to an adolescent partial hospitalization program. The majority of participants identified as female (57.3%), Caucasian (59.1%), and non-Latino (70.0%). Internal consistency of the 12 SIQ core interference items was excellent (Cronbach’s α = .91). The factor structure suggested that a single factor was appropriate for the 12 school interference items. Correlations between the SIQ and other measures in this study provided support for construct validity. The average SIQ core interference item score showed evidence of convergent validity via correlations with measures of school refusal, global disability, and internalizing symptoms. The SIQ also exhibited no significant association with timing of study enrollment, suggesting evidence for divergent validity. Results provide initial evidence supporting the psychometric properties of this novel measure.