Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T02:04:18.112Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Taxonomic Systems for School Refusal Behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Melinda Pritchard
Affiliation:
Monash University
Neville King
Affiliation:
Monash University
Bruce J. Tonge
Affiliation:
Monash University
David Heyne*
Affiliation:
Monash University
Sandra Lancaster
Affiliation:
La Trobe University
*
Centre for Developmental Psychiatry, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Extract

The heterogeneous nature of school refusal has led to much confusion surrounding the conceptualisation of this phenomenon. A number of researchers have developed taxonomic systems in an effort to enhance our understanding of school refusal and to facilitate communication among professionals working in the field. The current paper explores the evolution of these systems and outlines the limitations of each. Non-empirical classificatory systems are reviewed first, followed by empirical systems based on factor analyses and diagnostic profiles. A functional taxonomic system for problematic school attendance is then reviewed. Future research based on sound methodological procedures should aim to examine a broad range of child and family characteristics in order to develop reliable, homogenous subtypes for this population.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T.M., & Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T.M., & Edelbrock, C. (1986). Manual for the Teacher's Report Form and Teacher Version of the Child Behavior Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Atkinson, L., Quarrington, B., & Cyr, J.J. (1985). School refusal: The heterogeneity of a concept. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55, 83101.Google Scholar
Atkinson, L., Quarrington, B., Cyr, J.J., & Atkinson, F.V. (1989). Differential classification in school refusal. British Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 191195.Google Scholar
Baker, H., & Wills, U. (1978). School phobia: Classification and treatment. British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 492499.Google Scholar
Berg, I. (1970). A follow-up study of school phobic adolescents admitted to an in-patient unit. Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, 11, 3747.Google Scholar
Berg, I. (1991). School avoidance, school phobia, and truancy. In Lewis, M. (Ed.), Comprehensive textbook of child and adolescent psychiatry (pp. 10921098). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Berg, I., Nichols, K., & Pritchard, C. (1969). School phobia: Its classification and relationship to dependency. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 10, 123141.Google Scholar
Bernstein, G.A. (1991). Comorbidity and severity of anxiety and depressive disorders in a clinic sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 4350.Google Scholar
Broadwin, I.T. (1932). A contribution to the study of truancy. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2, 253259.Google Scholar
Coolidge, J.C., Hahn, P.B., & Peck, A.L. (1957). School phobia: Neurotic crisis or way of life. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 27, 296306.Google Scholar
Coolidge, J.C., Wilier, M., Tessman, E., & Waldfogel, S. (1960). School phobia in adolescence: A manifestation of severe character disturbance. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 30, 599607.Google Scholar
Eisenberg, L. (1958). School phobia: A study in the communication of anxiety. American Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 712718.Google Scholar
Garvey, W.P., & Hegrenes, J.R. (1966). Desensitization techniques in the treatment of school phobia. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 36, 147152.Google Scholar
Granell de Aldaz, E., Feldman, L., Vivas, E., & Gelfand, D.M. (1987). Characteristics of Venezuelan school refusers: Toward the development of a high-risk profile. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175, 402407.Google Scholar
Hersov, L.A. (1960). Refusal to go to school. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1, 137145.Google Scholar
Johnson, A.M., Falstein, E.I., Szurek, S.A., & Svendsen, M. (1941). School phobia. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 11, 702711.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1990). A preliminary analysis of a functional model of assessment and treatment for school refusal behavior. Behavior Modification, 14, 340366.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1993). Measuring the function of school refusal behavior: The School Refusal Assessment Scale. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 8596.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1995). Family environment of youngsters with school refusal behavior: A synopsis with implications for assessment and treatment. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 23, 5972.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1996). The evolution and reconciliation of taxonomic strategies for school refusal behavior. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 3, 339354.Google Scholar
Kennedy, W.A. (1965). School phobia: Rapid treatment of fifty cases. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 70, 285289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, N.J., & Ollendick, T.H. (1989). School refusal: Graduated and rapid behavioural treatment strategies. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 23, 213223.Google Scholar
King, N.J., Ollendick, T.H., & Tonge, B.J. (1995). School refusal: Assessment and treatment. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Kolvin, I., Berney, T.P., & Bhate, S.R. (1984). Classification and diagnosis of depression in school phobia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 347357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Last, C.G., Francis, G., Hersen, M., Kazdin, A.E., & Strauss, C.C. (1987). Separation anxiety and school phobia: A comparison using DSM-III criteria. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 653657.Google Scholar
Last, C.G., & Strauss, C.C. (1990). School refusal in anxiety-disordered children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 3135.Google Scholar
Lazarus, A.A., Davison, G.C., & Polefka, D.A. (1965). Classical and operant factors in the treatment of a school phobia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 70, 225229.Google Scholar
Moos, R.H., & Moos, B.S. (1986). Family Environment Scale manual (2nd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Puig-Antich, J., & Ryan, N.D. (1986). Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (6–16) (K-SADS-P) (4th working draft). Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Waldfogel, S., Coolidge, J.C., & Hahn, P.B. (1957). The development, meaning and management of school phobia. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 27, 754780.Google Scholar
Waldron, S., Shrier, D.K., Stone, B., & Tobin, F. (1975). School phobia and other childhood neuroses: A systematic study of the children and their families. American Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 802808.Google Scholar
Weinberg, W., Emslie, G., & Wilkes, C. (1986). Depression in school refusal. British Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 335.Google Scholar
Weiss, M., & Cain, B. (1964). The residential treatment of children and adolescents with school phobia. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 34, 103112.Google Scholar
Werry, J.S. (1994). Diagnostic and classification issues. In Ollendick, T.H., King, N.J., & Yule, W. (Eds.), International handbook of phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents (pp. 2142). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar