58.1 overview of school refusal

School refusal refers to persistent reluctance or refusal to go to school. It can occur with either separation anxiety disorder or social anxiety disorder. Whereas social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorders are much more prevalent in younger children (4%) than they are in adolescents (1.6%), failure to attend school is much more prevalent among high school students (20%) than it is among middle school- (12%) or elementary school-aged (11%) students, indicating a multifactorial etiology.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Clinical Perspectives 58 Source Type: research