A network analysis of school refusal behavior among Hani adolescents in rural border regions of Yunnan, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study applied network analysis to explore the complex associations between school refusal behavior (SRB) and related individual and environmental psychosocial factors among rural ethnic minority adolescents in China's border regions (Yunnan), identifying core and bridge nodes to inform targeted interventions.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to survey 1,357 adolescents aged 11-15 years (M_age = 12.82, SD = 1.16) from two rural schools in Yunnan Province, China. Measures included assessments of social mobility belief, non-suicidal self-injury, pathological internet use, subjective well-being, harsh parenting, friendship quality, and SRB. SRB assessed across four dimensions: anxious anticipation (i.e., worry and fear about attending school), difficult transition (i.e., difficulty leaving home or entering the classroom), interpersonal discomfort, and school avoidance. A Gaussian graphical model was constructed using R software. Expected Influence (EI) and bridge Expected Influence (BEI) were computed to identify core and bridge nodes, with network stability tested via bootstrapping.

Results: The network revealed strong connections within SRB dimension, with the strongest edge between anxious anticipation and difficult transition (edge weight = 0.567). Among cross-variable connections, harsh parenting showed the strongest links with school avoidance (0.279) and pathological internet use (0.227). Centrality analysis indicated that anxious anticipation and difficult transition were the core nodes. Bridge centrality analysis identified harsh parenting and pathological internet use as key bridge nodes, linking family risk, emotional distress, and avoidance behaviors.

Conclusions: SRB among rural ethnic minority adolescents is embedded in a psychosocial network centered on anxious anticipation and difficult transition, closely intertwined with family risk (harsh parenting) and pathological internet use. Interventions should systematically address core anxiety symptoms while jointly targeting bridge factors such as improving parenting practices and managing pathological internet use to disrupt the maintenance of SRB.