Associations of solution building and resilience with school refusal behavior among elementary school students

This study examined the effects of solution building and resilience on school refusal behavior. The participants were 587 elementary school students (280 boys, 306 girls, and one student who did not report gender) who completed a self-report questionnaire. The results showed that resilience skills had a direct negative effect on the intensity of school refusal behavior among boys and an indirect negative effect mediated by solution building. However, among girls, resilience skills did not directly affect the intensity of school refusal behavior, but had a negative indirect effect through solution building. These findings suggest that school refusal behavior is less intense among children with higher resilience and strong solution-building skills. This study provides evidence that may inform the development of effective support strategies aimed at reducing the intensity of school refusal behavior.