-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
What child hasn't dreaded1 September, the end of summer and the return to school. But for some kids, the prospect2 of school produces a level of fear so intense that it is immobilizing, resulting in what's known as school-refusal behavior.
These are the kids who may be absent for weeks or months. Some may cry or scream for hours every morning in an effort to resist leaving home. Others may hide out in the nurse's office. Some kids who miss school are simply truant3 -- they'd just rather be doing something else. But in about two-thirds of cases, a psychiatric problem, most commonly an anxiety disorder4, is the cause, according to research led by Christopher A. Kearney, professor and director of clinical training at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Anywhere from 5% to 28% of children will exhibit some degree of school-refusal behavior at some point, including truancy5, according to Dr. Kearney, a leading authority on the behavior, and other experts. For kids with anxiety-fueled school refusal, the fear is real and can take time to overcome. Families may struggle for months to help a child get back into the classroom. Ignoring the problem, or failing to deal with it completely, can lead to more-serious problems later on.
School-refusal behavior isn't just a U.S. phenomenon: Researchers from France to Finland have studied it, and it has garnered6 particular attention in Japan, a country known for academically rigorous schooling7.
The problem affects the whole family. 'If your kid doesn't go to school, it is hard for you to keep your job,' says Helen Egger, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry8 and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. Kids are at heightened risk when starting a new school, and especially when entering middle school. 'It is the perfect storm with the onset9 of puberty, a huge transition and a much wilder academic environment,' says Dr. Kearney.
Well-meaning parents can make things worse, psychologists say, by allowing an anxious child to miss school, attending school with them as, for example, a classroom volunteer -- or home-schooling. Such accommodations send the message that school is too scary for the child to handle alone and the fear is justified10. 'Overprotective parents rush in way too quickly to shield them from any experience that creates distress,' says Karen Cassiday, a clinical psychologist and the owner of the Anxiety and Agoraphobia Treatment Center in Chicago, Ill.
Untreated, a child with school-refusal behavior is likely to fall behind academically, which can then lead to more anxiety. And there may be longer-term consequences. A 1997 study, published in Comprehensive Psychiatry, followed 35 7- to 12-year-olds treated for school refusal. Twenty to 29 years later, they were found to have had more psychiatric treatment and to have lived with their parents more often than a comparison group.
Some kids with unresolved anxiety may go on to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs. A 2004 study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology11 followed 9- to 13-year-olds who were treated for an anxiety disorder. Seven years after treatment, those who still had the disorder drank alcohol more days per month and were more likely to use marijuana than those whose disorder had resolved.
School refusal 'takes the child off their developmental course,' says Anne Marie Albano, associate professor of clinical psychology and psychiatry at Columbia University, New York. 'They are not going to grow in an age-appropriate way.'
Kids with school-refusal behavior may have separation anxiety, a fear of being away from their parents, or a social phobia, an inordinate12 fear of being judged, being called-on in class or being teased. A specific phobia -- fear of riding the bus, walking past a dog or being out in a storm -- may be present. Other children are depressed13, in some cases unable to get out of bed.
Because many kids complain of headaches, stomachaches or other physical symptoms, it can be difficult to tell whether anxiety, or a physical illness, is to blame. One indicator14: Anxiety-fueled ailments15 tend to disappear magically on weekends.
1 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 truant | |
n.懒惰鬼,旷课者;adj.偷懒的,旷课的,游荡的;v.偷懒,旷课 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 disorder | |
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 truancy | |
n.逃学,旷课 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 garnered | |
v.收集并(通常)贮藏(某物),取得,获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 schooling | |
n.教育;正规学校教育 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 psychiatry | |
n.精神病学,精神病疗法 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 onset | |
n.进攻,袭击,开始,突然开始 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 psychology | |
n.心理,心理学,心理状态 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 inordinate | |
adj.无节制的;过度的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 depressed | |
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 indicator | |
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 ailments | |
疾病(尤指慢性病),不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|