Reviews studies that have examined comorbid syndromal and symptomatic depression and school refusal behavior. Discusses implications for classification systems, including need for flexible taxonomic strategies that include persons with severe collective, and less severe individual, symptoms of negative affectivity. Discusses recommendations for…

School phobias, affecting about 1 percent of school-age children, are disruptive to the student, parent, school staff, and other students. Research has identified the difference between normal fears and phobias that can be debilitating and painful. Effective and appropriate treatment requires a team approach with the principal a key player in…

School refusal behavior refers to a student's refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in classes for an entire day. The problem is pervasive and exacts a heavy toll on students and school systems if left unaddressed. Although assessment and treatment protocols have been developed for this population, they are not always amenable to…

Fears profiles among children and adolescents were explored using the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-American version (FSSC-AM; J.J. Burnham, 1995, 2005). Eight cluster profiles were identified via multistage Euclidean grouping and supported by homogeneity coefficients and replication. Four clusters reflected overall level of fears (i.e., very…

The goal of the present research was to determine the factor structure of anxiety in a collegiate population. The self-report instrument found useful with elementary students was slightly modified and administered to the college students. Only slight discrepancies appeared between the elementary data and the college data. (Author)

Evidence from this study suggests that if the sample size is large and if economic barriers to treatment are not present, one finds that intelligence is distributed among school phobics as it is distributed in the general population. Implications for practice and research are discussed. (Author)

This article outlines the critical variables of school phobia in terms of several different theoretical explanations, makes comparisons where appropriate, and describes the treatment modes that have resulted from theory and research. (Author)

As in the case described, cases of school phobia can frequently be managed by school personnel with the aid of a consultant. Such treatment is often most effective in the original arena, the school, rather than in an office far removed from the source of the anxiety. (Author)

Although violence is popularly perceived as a source of fear in schools, students cite scholastic achievement and positive interactions with students and teachers as primary sources. Parents are not as fearful of safety in local schools, and teachers are more likely to cite factors that affect their students outside of school rather than in the…

School phobia is an irrational fear or anxiety about attending school. Definite distinctions can be made between the school phobic and the truant, both of whom miss school on a regular basis. It appears that the incidence of school phobia is evenly distributed between the sexes and among age levels from 5 through 15 years, and is not significantly…

This study reports a successful behavior change program in a 6-year-old girl who became physically ill and continually cried at school. Behavior shaping procedures were used that differentially reinforced successive approximations to the final desired behavior. A unique aspect of this program was its utilization of the girl's mother as the primary…

of the 1/3 to 2/3 of school phobic adolescents who had returned to school after treatment at the in-patient unit, 1/3 of the group were well-adjusted, 1/3 had limited functioning, and 1/3 were severely incapacitated by neurotic problems and interpersonal difficulties. This paper is the basis of a talk delivered, by invitation, at the Charles Burns…