Preventing school refusal: Intervention with junior high school students based on psychological stress scale scores

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect on prevention of school refusal of an intervention with junior high school students selected on the basis of their scores on a measure of negative feelings about school life. Students in 3 classes completed the following : a scale of negative feelings about school life, a psychological stress response scale (irritated-angry feelings, helplessness, depressive-anxious feelings, and physical state), a school stressor scale (study, relations with teachers, relations with friends), and a social support scale (father, mother, teachers, and friends). After that, with the support of a psychologist, teachers in the 3 classes intervened with the 26 students who had had high scores on the scale of negative feelings on school life. The students completed the scales again after the intervention. The results from t-tests revealed that after the intervention, scores on negative feelings about school life, depressive-anxious feelings, helplessness, and stressors related to relations with teachers decreased, and scores on social support from friends increased. Moreover, the teachers evaluated this approach as an easy and effective method for daily school guidance.