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| Factors that can cause reluctance to attend school can be divided into four categories. These categories have been developed based on studies in the United States under the leadership of Professor Christopher Kearney. Some people may be affected by several factors at once. | Factors that can cause reluctance to attend school can be divided into four categories. These categories have been developed based on studies in the United States under the leadership of Professor Christopher Kearney. Some people may be affected by several factors at once. | ||
| * |
* The child possibly wants to avoid school-related issues and situations that cause unpleasant feelings in her or him, such as anxiety, depression, or psychosomatic symptoms. The reluctance to attend school is one symptom that can indicate the presence of a larger issue, such as anxiety disorder, depression, sleep disorder, separation anxiety or panic disorder | ||
| * |
* The child may want to avoid tests, presentations, group work, specific lessons, or interaction with other children. | ||
| * The child may want attention from significant people outside of school, such as parents or older acquaintances | * The child may want attention from significant people outside of school, such as parents or older acquaintances | ||
| * |
* The child possibly wants to do something more enjoyable outside of school, like practice hobbies, play computer games, watch movies, play with friends such as riding bikes, etc., or learn ] | ||
| * Both ] and ] can arise on the basis of inflated claims by teachers and / or parents, but also unrealistic ambitions of the upset child itself | * Both ] and ] can arise on the basis of inflated claims by teachers and / or parents, but also unrealistic ambitions of the upset child itself | ||
| * School refusal may arise as a response to bullying | * School refusal may arise as a response to bullying | ||
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School refusal is a term originally used in the United Kingdom to describe refusal to attend school, due to emotional distress. School refusal differs from truancy in that children with school refusal feel anxiety or fear towards school, whereas truant children generally have no feelings of fear towards school, often feeling angry or bored with it instead. Children’s Hospital Boston provides a chart showing the difference between the school refusal and truancy.
The term was coined as a more general alternative to school phobia (UK/USA), Phobie de l'école/ Phobie scolaire (France), Schulangst (German), Fobia scuola (Italy), which was used to describe these youths in the past. School refusal is a broader term that recognizes that children have problems attending school for a variety of different reasons. However, these reasons might not be the expression of a true phobia, such as separation or social anxiety.
Hikikomori is a form of teenage depression and the degree of the phenomenon varies on an individual basis, in the most extreme cases, some people remain in isolation for years or even decades. Often hikikomori start out as school refusals, or futōkō (不登校) in Japanese (an older term is tōkōkyohi (登校拒否)). The Ministry of Health estimates that about 3,600,000 hikikomori live in Japan, about one third of whom are aged 30 and older.
Frequency
Approximately 1 to 5% of school-aged children have school refusal, though it is most common in 5- and 6-year olds and in 10- and 11-year olds, it occurs more frequently during major changes in a child’s life, such as entrance to Kindergarten, changing from elementary to middle school, or changing from middle to high school. The problem may start following vacations, school holidays, summer vacation, or brief illness, after the child has been home for some time, and usually ends prior to vacations, school holidays, or summer vacation, before the child will be out of school for some time. School refusal can also occur after a stressful event, such as moving to a new house, or the death of a pet or relative.
The rate is similar within both genders, and although it is significantly more prevalent in some urban areas, there are no known socioeconomic differences.
Symptoms
Symptoms of school refusal include the child saying they feel sick often, or waking up with a headache, stomachache, or sore throat. If the child stays home from school, these symptoms might go away, but come back the next morning before school. Additionally, children with school refusal may have crying spells or throw temper tantrums.
Warning signs of school refusal include frequent complaints about attending school, frequent tardiness or unexcused absences, absences on significant days (tests, speeches, physical education class), frequent requests to call or go home, excessive worrying about a parent when in school, frequent requests to go to the nurse’s office because of physical complaints, and crying about wanting to go home.
It is important for parents to keep trying to get their child to go back to school. The longer a child stays out of school, the harder it will be to return. However, it may be hard to accomplish as when forced they are prone to temper tantrums, crying spells, psychosomatic or panic symptoms and threats of self-harm. These problems quickly fade if the child is allowed to stay home.
Parents should take their child to the doctor, who will be able to rule out any illness that may be causing the problem. Parents should also talk to the child’s teacher or school counselor. Although school refusal is not a clinical disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, it can be associated with several psychiatric disorders, including Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, and Conduct Disorder. Therefore it is critical that youths who are school refusing receive a comprehensive evaluation by a mental health professional.
Whereas some cases of school refusal can be resolved by gradual re-introduction to the school environment, some others may need to be treated with some form of psychodynamic or cognitive-behaviour therapy. Some families have sought alternative education for school refusers which has also proved to be effective. In extreme cases, some form of medication is sometimes prescribed but none of these have stood out prominently as solutions to the problem.
A medical condition often mistaken for school refusal is delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS). DSPS is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder which causes difficulty falling asleep at night and waking in the morning.
The attempt to control by means of threats or pressure, the behaviour of the student, is also still in danger as external (extrinsic) motivation to undermine intrinsic motivation and a sense of self-control, self-worth and self-responsibility.
Diagnosis
Some children who often cling to the mother clearly or other attachment figure due to separation anxiety and/or attachment theory see the onset is usually already in pre-school or Crèche or to school starts.
School phobia is diagnosed primarily through questionnaires and interviews with doctors. Other methods like observation have not proven to be as useful. This is partly because of (school) anxiety is an internal, lying within the person phenomenon. An example of a modern multidimensional questionnaire is the "Differential Power Anxiety Inventory 'approach, with twelve scales diagnosed four different areas: anxiety-inducing conditions, manifestations, coping strategies and stabilization forms”.
- Cogniative and life style exploration
- 'School Phobia Test' (SAT), by Erich Husslein
- 'Anxiety questionnaire for students', (AFS) by Wilhelm et Wieczerkowski. al.
- 'Differential Power Anxiety Inventory', (DAI) by Detlef H. Rost & Franz J. Schermer
Causative factors
Factors that can cause reluctance to attend school can be divided into four categories. These categories have been developed based on studies in the United States under the leadership of Professor Christopher Kearney. Some people may be affected by several factors at once.
- The child possibly wants to avoid school-related issues and situations that cause unpleasant feelings in her or him, such as anxiety, depression, or psychosomatic symptoms. The reluctance to attend school is one symptom that can indicate the presence of a larger issue, such as anxiety disorder, depression, sleep disorder, separation anxiety or panic disorder
- The child may want to avoid tests, presentations, group work, specific lessons, or interaction with other children.
- The child may want attention from significant people outside of school, such as parents or older acquaintances
- The child possibly wants to do something more enjoyable outside of school, like practice hobbies, play computer games, watch movies, play with friends such as riding bikes, etc., or learn autodidactictly
- Both School performance and Pre-test anxiety can arise on the basis of inflated claims by teachers and / or parents, but also unrealistic ambitions of the upset child itself
- School refusal may arise as a response to bullying
- Children with social phobia with smooth transition for shyness is to find the start of school is often a tedious. These children generally have a tendency towards acting fearful or depressed under this condition, or if bullied or over-stressed. School phobia is the rarest form of school anxiety
Helpful resources
- National Association of School Psychologists: Information for Families.
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America.
- Getting Your Child to Say "Yes" to School: A Guide for Parents of Youth with School Refusal Behavior
- Christopher Kearney, Ph.D., Director of the UNLV Child School Refusal and Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
See also
Notes
- Fremont, Wanda P. (2003). "School Refusal in Children and Adolescents". American Family Physician. 68 (8): 1555–1561. PMID 14596443.
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References
- "School Refusal approach at CHB". Childrenshospital.org. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- "School Refusal". Children’s Hospital Boston. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- ^ Wimmer, M. "School refusal: Information for educators" (PDF). National Association of School Psychologists. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- Author: Artefact (2010-02-06). ""Japan Has 3,600,000 Hikikomori"". Sankaku Complex. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - Fremont, W. P. (2003). "School refusal in children and adolescents". American Family Physician, 68(8), 1555-1561. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- ^ "Information from your family doctor: What to do when your child refuses to go to school". American Academy of Family Physicians. 2003. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- ^ Setzer, N., & Salzhauer, A (2001). "Understanding school refusal". New York University Child Study Center. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "School Refusal". Anxiety Disorders of America. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- "NASP Information for Families". Nasponline.org. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- "School Refusal | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA". Adaa.org. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
External links
- Scared of School - Site for teenagers who like to learn but are scared of school for various reasons
- School Refusers - Site for parents of children who refuse to attend school
- Schoolphobiaparents.webs.com