Socio-demographic correlates of school refusal among primary school students in Ranchi City

Abstract

Introduction: School refusal has some distinctive features and it can affect the academic achievement of the students very negatively. Several socio-demographic factors are responsible for school refusal. This study intends to see the role of some socio-demographic factors in school refusal among primary grade students of five private schools of the city of Ranchi. Methodology: It was a Cross-sectional school-based study on five private schools of Ranchi city. Total students approached were 1640, out of which 52 students were selected purposively as per the study criteria. Socio-demographic Data Sheet and School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (SRAS-R) were used and descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test were used. Results: Factors like the gender of the students, parental education, monthly family income and family type have a significant impact on school refusal behaviour of selected students.  Conclusion: School refusal is a complicated problem and it has been influenced by various factors.  Keywords: School refusal, demographic variables, parents, family, absenteeism