Relationship Between School Avoidance Motivation and Absentee Behavior in the Transition to <i>Futoko</i>

Abstract The spectrum of school absenteeism, futoko in Japanese, encompasses various behaviors, from psychological school avoidance motivation to the initiation and persistence of absentee behaviors. This study determined if the progression from ideation to action in absenteeism is attributable to the intensification of ideation (i.e., the spectrum hypothesis) or the lowering of the behavioral hurdle that cannot be explained solely by ideation (i.e., the actualization hurdle hypothesis). Retrospective data from 156 students who had experienced futoko were used to examine their school avoidance motivation and absentee behavior at four time points before the onset of futoko . The analysis delineated a trajectory wherein students, 2 years before ceasing attendance, showed adaptation comparable to that of their attending peers, followed by progression into futoko , marked by an escalation in avoidance motivation over the following 2 years. This study found no substantial reduction in behavioral actualization hurdles, indicating that the emergence of such behaviors is linked to escalating school avoidance motivation. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring changes in ideation, specifically school avoidance motivation, to prevent absenteeism.