Truancy and delinquency.

School refusal behaviour: Are children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder at a higher risk?

“…School refusal behaviour (SRB) is defined as child-motivated refusal to attend school or a child having difficulties remaining in classes for an entire day (1). SRB was first described as truancy characterized as a form of delinquency displayed by students who show a wilful and illegal absenteeism from school without their parents' knowledge (2,3). Child psychiatric disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder were frequently reported in students with truancy behaviour (4-6).…”

The Importance of School Attendance: Findings From the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development on the Life-Course Effects of Truancy

“…A substantial amount of research has investigated the correlates of truancy at both the individual and social levels. At the individual level, findings indicate that truants are more likely to be male (Garry, 1996; Williams, 1927), dislike school (Attwood & Croll, 2006), and have low achievement in school (Farrington, 1980; Vaughn, Maynard, Salas-Wright, Perron, & Abdon, 2013). At the social level, truants tend to come from families with low income (Attwood & Croll, 2006; Galloway, 1983), receive less parental attention (Farrington, 1980, 1996; Teasley, 2004), and live in disadvantaged neighborhoods (Crowder & South, 2003; Farrington, 1980).…”

“…The link between truancy and delinquency has long been of interest to the academic community. In the early part of the 20th century, Williams (1927) noted that truancy is a precursor of delinquency and that it should be addressed before it transitions into more serious delinquency. Other scholars also underscored the importance of truancy as a risk factor for delinquency (Ferguson, 1952; Hersov, 1960), with different theoretical frameworks put forth, including, for example, status frustration (Cohen, 1955; Elliott, 1966).…”

School refusal Behavior: The Relationship Between Family Environment and Parenting Style

“…At this time, children excessively absent from school were labeled as "truant." Williams (1927) referred to truancy as unlawful and willful absence from school without parental knowledge and consent. This definition o f excessive school absenteeism evolved as the distinction between truancy and delinquency became more defined.…”

“…In sum, the conceptualization o f chronic school nonattendance evolved from a purely oppositional or "truant" definition (Williams, 1927) to one incorporating the presence o f an anxiety component (Broadwin, 1932;Johnson et al, 1941;Johnson, 1957;Partridge, 1939). Further examination o f chronic nonattendance resulted in conceptualizations including both children who refuse to attend school as a result of anxiety, and those who refuse to attend school in the absence o f anxiety (Berg et al, 1969;Egger et al, 2003;Hersov, 1960;Kennedy, 1965;King et ah, 1995).…”