School Refusal Behaviour Profiles and Academic Self-Attributions in Language and Literature

Abstract

School refusal behaviour has a major impact on the lives of children and adolescents, seriously affecting their personal, academic and social adjustment. The objectives of this research were: (1) to identify, using latent profile analysis, school refusal behaviour profiles based on the functional model and (2) to analyse the relationship between the identified school refusal behaviour profiles and academic self-attributions in language and literature. The School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (SRAS-R) and the Sydney Attribution Scale (SAS) were administered to 926 Spanish students (51% boys) aged 8 to 11 (M = 9.57; SD = 1.07). Four school refusal behaviour profiles were obtained: low school refusal behaviour, school refusal behaviour by positive reinforcement, mixed school refusal behaviour and high mixed school refusal behaviour. School refuser profiles, characterised by high scores on the first three factors of the SRAS-R (high mixed and mixed school refusal behaviour profiles), reported higher scores on an academic self-attributional style, in which they associate their failures with a lack of ability and effort. Results are discussed, considering the relationship between school refusal behaviour and unsuitable attributional styles in language and literature. Promoting effective coping skills to deal with school failure situations will seek to improve, as far as possible, the needs of all students contributing to a healthy learning environment.