School Refusal and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review

Abstract

School refusal is a problem area that can turn into difficult trouble for the family, school, and students by affecting children and adolescents' academic and psychosocial development. This scoping review aims to examine the effectiveness of interventions based on the cognitive behavioral therapy approach on children and adolescents experiencing school refusal. The study was carried out following the "Standards Used in Reporting of Systematic Compilation and Meta-Analysis Results." For this purpose, the databases of DergiPark, Google Scholar, PsycARTICLES, PubMed, TR Index, and Web of Science were searched without any year restriction. As a result of the search, 233 studies were reached, and according to the inclusion criteria, ten research articles were evaluated. According to the findings, cognitive-behavioral interventions applied to children with school refusal: cognitive restructuring (n = 10, 100%), exposure (n = 10, 100%), psychoeducation (n = 6, 60%), social skills training (n = 6, 60%), problem solving training (n = 4, 40%), relaxation training (n = 4, 40%) and homework (n = 4, 40%) are predominantly used techniques. In 80% of the studies, it was determined that interventions based on the cognitive behavioral therapy approach to school refusal were effective. Parental involvement was also included in 80% (n = 8) of the studies, and 100% had effective results. Cognitive behavioral interventions are effective on school refusal as a result of the studies reviewed.