Classification of severe school attendance problems
Abstract
Sixty-four children taken to court for failure to attend school were reliably classified into 4 groups, according to whether they exhibited the features of 'school refusal' and/or 'truancy'. About a fifth of them were found to exhibit 'school refusal'; a third showed 'truancy'; less than a sixth exhibited both 'school refusal' and 'truancy' combined; and over a third had the characteristics of neither condition. Differences between these categories were found in manifestations of psychiatric disturbance and in responsiveness to a court adjournment procedure.
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Many historical and statistical studies have demonstrated either considerable overlap of school refusal and truancy and/or other large unclassified categories.
“Many historical and statistical studies have also demonstrated either considerable overlap of school refusal and truancy and/or other, large unclassified categories”
From Reconciling Contemporary Approaches to School Attendance and School Absenteeism: Toward Promotion and Nimble Response, Global Policy Review and Implementation, and Future Adaptability (Part 1) (2019) · cites this paper as Berg et al., 1985
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- Authors
- Berg, I., Casswell, G., Goodwin, A., Hullin, R., McGuire, R., & Tagg, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Berg, Ian
- ORCID
- Berg, Ian
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1985-02
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 157-165
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- OpenAlex
- W2070703191
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 16.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Keywords
- school refusal, truancy, school attendance problems, juvenile courts, psychiatric disturbances, court adjournment, Child classification, school non-attendance
- MeSH terms
- Absenteeism, Child, England, Forensic Psychiatry, Humans, Juvenile Delinquency, Phobic Disorders, Psychological Tests, Psychometrics, Social Environment
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