Abstract
This study looks at people who had experienced “Yogo-type school refusal” and suggests life courses to escape from intergenerational transmission of economic hardship. This type of school refusal probably results from economic hardship and poor parenting. The paper examines 69 people who had experienced school refusal and attended a free school located in the region where “Seikatsu-hogo” benefit recipient households are more than ten times the national average. Fifty-eight percent of the students attending this free school also came from benefit recipient families. It is recognized that “public assistance,” “single-parent family” and “low academic skills” have a significant correlation with each other. Fifty percent of children from benefit recipient families did not enter high school and could not find employment when they graduated from junior high school, and 79% of these children only graduated from junior high school. These factors possibly force them to face difficulties in living an independent life. The study also discusses differences between the group on welfare and the group living without public assistance. As a result, “social skills,” “academic performance,” “social support” and “use of social services” are considered important factors to escape from intergenerational transmission of economic hardship.
