Characteristics of Venezuelan school refusers. Toward the development of a high-risk profile.

Parent, teacher, and child reports were used to identify situational and personal factors associated with school refusal in 114 3- to 13-year-old Venezuelan children. The sample consisted of 57 school refusers and 57 nonrefusers matched on age, school, and sex. As compared with nonrefusers, the refusers had changed schools more often, were rated as more dependent, had more school-related fears, and were perceived by their parents as more difficult to manage. Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that school refusal status could be predicted by both situational and personality variables including the child's fear level, dependency, depression, frequency of school changes, history of refusal in the family, and other variables. Refusal onset frequently coincided with situational stress (e.g., the beginning of the school year, a new school or teacher, or trouble with a teacher or peers). Categories of refusal resembled those of other studies and included adjustment reaction, school phobia, and emotional disturbance. In the future, these risk factors can be used to identify and treat potential school refusers.