Abstract
The relationship between school refusal behavior (SRB) profiles and personality traits has received little attention from investigators. Identifying the profiles of students with school attendance problems may improve the understanding of the characteristics defining these students. The aim of this study was to identify different SRB profiles and analyze the relationship between these profiles, and optimism/pessimism and personality traits. The School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised, the Youth Life Orientation Test, and the Big Five Questionnaire were administrated to 739 Spanish students aged 8–11 (Mage = 9.92; SD = 1.12). Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed a significant association between personality dimensions and SRB. Three distinct profiles were identified: (1) SRB by negative reinforcement (high scores on avoiding school-related stimuli provoking negative affectivity), (2) SRB by positive reinforcement (high scores on pursuing positive tangible reinforcement outside of school), and (3) Low SRB. The SRB profile by positive reinforcement scored higher on Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Optimism, whereas the SRB profile by negative reinforcement scored higher on Neuroticism and Pessimism. More statically significant differences were found between the negative and positive reinforcement profiles. The role of negative personality traits and pessimism as risk factors for students who are truant or refuse to attend school are discussed.
Highlights
One of the profiles proposed in this hypothesis has not been identified: the mixed profile, characterized by the combination of high scores on functions of school refusal behavior by negative and positive reinforcement
Given the growing interest in determining which factors act as risk variables and which may serve as protective factors against school attendance problems, this study reveals that the personality variables of Neuroticism and Pessimism are related to students whose refusal to go to school is based on negative reinforcement, as suggested by past studies [13]
This study offers empirical evidence on the influence of personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Optimism/Pessimism) on distinct groups of students who reject school
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The failure to attend school is considered a breach of the basic right to education and shared social values [2]. School attendance problems refer to a set of distinct types of school absences or difficulties in attending or staying in school [3]. A wide variety of factors may lead to refusal to go to school, including school, personal, family, or social factors. This variety prevents the proposal of a unique theoretical model that combines all of the causes of this behavior [4]. There appear to be diverse causes of this complex issue in terms of its occurrence and persistence [5,6]
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