Signposts for school refusal interventions, based on the views of stakeholders

School refusal (SR) signals a young person’s difficulty attending school. It jeopardizes their development, often contributes to distress for parents, and places an extra burden on school personnel. Reviews of empirical studies indicate that intervention for SR helps to increase school attendance, but not for all youths. This practice-based manuscript aims to support practitioners and organisations addressing the needs of youths and families affected by SR. Specifically, we present 14 signposts for the development and delivery of intervention for SR. The signposts represent important conditions for effective intervention based on key findings from the Knowing What Works project in the Netherlands. During that project, 76 professionals shared their views about the important elements in SR interventions they delivered, and 39 youths and 86 parents shared their views about the helpful elements in SR interventions in which they participated. These 201 stakeholders were variously associated with 21 SR interventions across 9 of the 12 Dutch provinces, most situated in mainstream or special education settings. Their responses informed the development of the 14 signposts presented here, supported by the extant literature on SR intervention. Wedescribe the essence of each signpost and conclude with suggestions for using the signposts and evaluating their utility.Pathways through Adolescenc

Is bullying associated with emerging school refusal in autistic boys?

The experience of being bullied is widespread among autistic youth. Relatively little empirical work has been done on the relationship between the bullying of these youth and school refusal (SR). This study of 67 school-age autistic boys (M = 11.7 years, SD = 2.3 years) examined several factors that may contribute to SR. Data regarding boys' age, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), key ASD diagnostic criteria, and frequency of being bullied were collected. Results indicated that, while boys displaying emerging SR also had significantly higher GAD and MDD than boys without emerging SR, only the frequency of being bullied made a significant contribution to emerging SR. Implications for prevention and treatment of SR among autistic youth are discussed.Pathways through Adolescenc

Risk for school refusal among autistic boys bullied at school: investigating associations with social phobia and separation anxiety

Autistic youth bullied at school are at risk for school refusal (SR), which may grow from emerging SR (ESR). SR and ESR have been associated with social phobia and separation anxiety among neurotypical youth but these associations have not been studied among autistic youth. The associations between both types of anxiety and in a sample of 71 autistic boys aged 6 to 18 years (M = 10.23, SD = 1.43). Eighty-two percent of boys reported being bullied at school, and 55% of these boys asked to stay home from school. Boys who asked to stay home had a significantly higher level of separation anxiety than boys who did not ask to stay home. There was no difference between these two groups with respect to levels of social phobia. At the item level, two of the four social phobia symptoms were significantly correlated with the request to stay home from school as were seven of the eight symptoms of separation anxiety. Results suggest that autistic boys bullied at school do not seek to avoid school because they are shy in social situations, but because they want to spend time with their parents. Implications for intervention are discussed.Pathways through Adolescenc

School attendance and problematic school absenteeism in youth

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The recording, reporting, and use of school attendance data by school personnel in The Netherlands: toe the line or take a new path?

Research signals the importance of promptly identifying and responding to emerging absenteeism, to prevent severe and chronic absenteeism. Prompt identification and response relies upon a good system for recording, reporting, and using data related to students’ school attendance and absence. The current article provides an overview of law, policy, and practice in the Netherlands regarding the recording, reporting, and use of school attendance data. We then consider the ways in which current law, policy, and practice help and hinder the work of school personnel as they endeavour to promote attendance and reduce absenteeism. Thereafter, we propose modifications to current policy and practice that could enhance the prompt identification and response to emerging absenteeism. When school personnel have easy access to reliable attendance data, and when they become accustomed to using the data to inform their work to promote attendance and respond to absenteeism, they are in a stronger position to support positive developmental outcomes among young people.Pathways through Adolescenc

ACT your way: kwaliteit van het protocol en eerste bevindingen van een pilot-effectonderzoek bij adolescenten met een recidiverende depressie

Pathways through Adolescenc

Truancy in the United States: Examining temporal trends and correlates by race, age, and gender

Pathways through Adolescenc

Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of youths and parents seeking psychological treatment for school attendance problems

Background: Knowledge of school attendance problems (SAPs) is needed to inform treatments targetingSAPs and protecting youths from negative outcomes associated with SAPs. Objectives: This study examined the school absence, absence categories (i.e., absence due to illness, excused, non-excused), sociodemographic characteristics, and mental health problems among youths seeking psychological treatment for SAPs. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 152 help-seeking youths with SAPs (i.e., >10% absenteeism) and their parents were examined. The data were derived from the baseline assessment conducted before treatmentstart. Results: Older youths, youths with mental health problems, and youths whose parents had mentalhealth problems exhibited higher levels of absence. Lower levels of non-excused absence were found among youths with highly educated fathers, and youths living with both parents. Many youths had clinical levels of anxiety, depression, or ‘emotional and behavioral difficulties’. Conclusion: The study highlights the need for early intervention, addressing a broad range of mental health problems.Pathways through Adolescenc

The association between home learning during COVID‐19 lockdowns and subsequent school attendance among children with neurodevelopmental conditions

Background: Children with neurodevelopmental conditions have high levels of schoolabsence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed for many students. Therelationship between home learning during school closures and subsequent schoolattendance requires attention to better understand the impact of pandemic educationpolicy decisions on this population. This study aims to investigate the associationbetween home learning, hybrid learning and school learning during school closures(in January–March 2021) with subsequent school attendance (in May 2021) in childrenwith neurodevelopmental conditions.Methods: An online survey was completed by 809 parents/carers of 5- to 15-yearoldautistic children and/or children with intellectual disability. Regression modelsexamined the association of learning location during school closures with subsequentschool absence (i.e., total days missed, persistent absence and school refusal).Results: Children who were learning from home during school closures later missed4.6 days of a possible 19. Children in hybrid and school learning missed 2.4 and 1.6school days, respectively. The rates of school absence and persistent absence weresignificantly higher in the home learning group even after adjusting for confounders.Learning location was not associated with subsequent school refusal.Conclusions: Policies for school closures and learning from home during public healthemergencies may exacerbate school attendance problems in this group of vulnerablechildren.Pathways through Adolescenc