Latent subtypes of school refusal behavior and their social-ecological correlates among Chinese adolescents

Yanming Ren; Shuyi Jia; Qingyang Zheng; Shuang Liang; Li He

doi:10.54844/wsr.2025.1072

Authors

Yanming Ren City University of Macau
Shuyi Jia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4198-1452
Qingyang Zheng https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1620-2233
Shuang Liang https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9714-9815
Li He

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54844/wsr.2025.1072

Keywords:

school refusal behavior, latent subtypes, educational social-ecological theory, peer relationships, family functioning, internet addiction

Abstract

From an educational social-ecological perspective, this study aimed to explore the latent subtypes, influencing factors, and intervention implications of school refusal behavior (SRB) among Chinese adolescents. A total of 432 junior high school students from Beijing were recruited using cluster random sampling. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was employed to identify latent subtypes based on four functional dimensions of SRB: Avoidance of negative affectivity, escape from aversive social/evaluative situations, pursuit of attention, and pursuit of tangible reinforcement. Differences in ecological variables (family functioning, peer relationships, teacher support, and internet addiction) across subtypes and their predictive factors were further analyzed. The results showed that, (1) Adolescent SRB could be classified into three latent subtypes: High-risk (6%), moderate-risk (33%), and low-risk (61%), showing a severity gradient of "high-medium-low"; (2) analysis of ecological variables revealed that the high-risk group scored significantly higher on internet addiction and peer fear, and significantly lower on peer acceptance, family intimacy, family adaptability, and learning support; (3) logistic regression indicated that internet addiction and peer fear were common significant predictors for both high-risk and moderate-risk groups. Family adaptability played a protective role for the high-risk group, while gender (male) and ninth grade were significant predictors for the moderate-risk group. These findings reveal the heterogeneity of SRB among Chinese adolescents and its social-ecological influencing mechanisms, providing an empirical basis for developing targeted identification and intervention strategies.

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