In recent years
In the outpatient clinic of our clinical psychology department
Anxious parents will occasionally visit
The hospital with their children for consultation
The reason is that the children are experiencing varying degrees of
Aversion to studying, refusal to study, and other situations
Dr. Hu, the director of our clinical psychology department, said
Children’s aversion to studying and refusal to study are related to their physical condition
Many children, after a period of medication
And psychological counseling
Have hope to emerge from the mental haze
And return to school life
Refusing to attend school, commonly known as school refusal, refers to the condition in which school-age children and adolescents do not want or refuse to go to school due to social and psychological factors.
School refusal usually starts with intermittent absences, progresses to prolonged absence, accompanied by a series of physiological and psychological discomfort features, and eventually leads to dropping out of school due to long-term absence.
It is important to note that while some children’s school refusal develops from aversion to studying, school refusal does not equal aversion to studying. Some children who refuse to attend school may have been good students before, but due to anxiety, they cannot attend school.
The reasons for school refusal can mainly be summarized as follows:
Personality traits such as sensitivity, perfectionism, etc.;
Heavy academic pressure and competition;
Family environment factors, such as poor family economic conditions, single-parent families, tense relationships among family members, family members suffering from physical or mental illnesses, incorrect parenting styles, etc.;
Interference and temptation from online games, mobile phones, and other items.
Many “school-refusing” children may exhibit behaviors such as not going out, avoiding social interaction, being immersed in the online world for long periods, having disrupted daily routines, frequent parent-child conflicts, and some children may even experience depression, anxiety, and poor mental health. Faced with such a situation, parents are anxious and distressed, often falling into emotions of self-blame, anger, regret, helplessness, despair, etc., blaming each other, and leading to frequent family conflicts, creating a vicious cycle in the family environment.
Dr. Hu, drawing on years of clinical experience, expressed that most school-refusing children will have varying degrees of insomnia, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms, which can be addressed with corresponding medication tailored to individual constitution.
“From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, most of these children have a weak, deep, and powerless pulse, and some have a stagnated pulse at the left guan position, indicating a deficiency of qi and blood,” Dr. Hu explained, “When there is insufficient qi and blood, the energy supplied to the brain and internal organs is inadequate, and they cannot withstand stress, hence, using Chinese medicine to nourish qi and blood, and unblock stagnation, when the pulse becomes more full, there will be more energy to cope with stress.”
Dr. Hu once treated a child who had refused to attend school for two years at home. After a period of standardized treatment, with encouragement and assistance from the doctor, parents, and teachers, the child finally returned to school.
Dr. Hu emphasized that besides medication, the support and encouragement of parents and schools are crucial. On one hand, parents should enhance their study skills, communicate actively with teachers, accompany their children with care, promptly identify negative emotions and signs of problems in children. On the other hand, parents should maintain an open-minded attitude, and if they notice such tendencies in their children, they must seek professional help early, seek medical treatment promptly, or seek professional psychological counseling services.
Additionally, schools should create a comfortable, healthy atmosphere for children, strengthen mental health education for students, provide targeted counseling for students at risk, and offer more professional support programs for students who are already “school-refusing.”
It is especially important to note that after school-refusing children return to school, there may be a period of fluctuation, requiring a more friendly and flexible attendance system to help them successfully reintegrate into school life.
With the summer vacation approaching, parents can take full advantage of this time to spend more time with their children, becoming their strongest support in their growth journey. If parents detect signs of aversion to studying or school refusal in children, they can provide guidance and treatment during the vacation, allowing the children to use the break for adjustment and recuperation, to welcome the new semester with a more positive attitude.
Expert Information
Consultation Hours:
Liwan · Datansha Campus
All day Monday, Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning, Friday morning
Yuexiu District, Yanjiang Campus
Sunday morning
First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University
(Multiple campuses)
â–² Yanjiang Campus
(No. 151 Yanjiang Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou)
â–² Haiyin Campus
(No. 1 Kangda Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou)
â–² Datansha Campus
(No. 28 Qiao Zhong Road, Liwan District, next to the Pearl River Bridge, Guangzhou)
â–² Zhuhai Hengqin Campus
(No. 118 Baoxing Road, Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone)
Reporter: Clinical Psychology Department
Initial Reviewer: He An
Editor: A Ru
