Predictors of positive reinforcement-based school refusal behavior

The present study empirically investigated child and family variables that differentiated attention-getting and positive tangible reinforcement dimensions of SRB. Age, gender, severity of SRB, level of generalized anxiety, type of diagnosis, level of fearfulness, level of somatic complaints, and type of familial environment were evaluated. Youngsters (n = 129) and their parents were administered various diagnostic, self-report, and family measures. Children who refused school for attention were younger and displayed more diagnoses of separation anxiety than children who refused school for positive tangible reinforcement. These differences were consistent across child-, parent-, and composite-derived functions. Children who refused school for attention did not differ significantly from children who refused school for positive tangible reinforcement with respect to gender, severity of SRB, and type of familial environment regardless of the source of the report. Results are discussed with respect to implications for classification, assessment, and treatment of children with SRB