Effects of metacognition on school attendance: Assessing variation across latent profiles of school refusal behavior

• Three school refusal behavior profiles were identified. • Mixed school refusal profiles reported higher scores in metacognitive dimensions. • Non-school refusers group was the most adaptative profile. Although poor cognitive abilities in children have been related to academic achievement difficulties, little is known about the effect of metacognitive skills on school attendance. The aim of this work is to identify School Refusal Behavior (SRB) profiles in a community sample of Spanish children and to examine whether these profiles differ with respect to four metacognition dimensions (Positive Metacognition; Negative Metacognition; Superstition, Punishment and Responsibility beliefs; and Cognitive Monitoring). Participants were 727 Spanish students (50.9 % girls) aged 8 to 12 ( M = 10.16; SD = 1.17). They completed the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised and the Metacognitive Questionnaire for Children. Three SRB profiles were found using the Latent Profile Analysis technique: Non-SRB profile, SRB profile to avoid negative affectivity and seek attention, and SRB profile to avoid negative affectivity, escape from social and/or evaluative situations, and seek attention. Statistically significant differences were identified among the three groups on all of the metacognition dimensions examined. The non-SRB group reported higher scores on Positive Metacognition as compared to the other profiles. The largest effect sizes were found between the SRB profile to avoid negative affectivity, escape from social and/or evaluative situations, and seek attention and the non-SRB profile. Intervention strategies are suggested to be used with the at-risk SRB profiles.