A term used when a child, usually in the early elementary grades, unexpectedly and strenuously refuses to attend school because of some irrational fear. The underlying psychopathology is believed to be an intense separation anxiety rooted in unresolved dependency ties. May occur in childhood depression.
An acute irrational dread of attending school, often accompanied by symptoms of physical illness.
A general term for the occasional reluctance or refusal of a child to attend school, accompanied often by anxiety, nausea, abdominal pain, or headache; also called school refusal syndrome. A child may also express resistance by electing to be mute. Not really a phobia, in many cases school phobia may simply be a form of separation anxiety and unwillingness to leave home and parents, though in severe cases it may result in separation anxiety disorder. But it may also reflect academic or social problems that the child does not want to face. Parents will want to explore carefully the origins of the resistance and help the child deal with whatever problems exist, while seeing that the child returns to school quickly.
A child’s avoidance of school, often through the simulation of physical ailments. It is considered to be a form of separation anxiety rather than truancy.