School Refusal Behavior in Students with Intellectual Disabilities and Comorbid Disorders in Japan: A Brief Review

Abstract

The global incidence of school refusal behavior among school-age individuals has increased dramatically. However, until now, relatively little attention has been paid to school-refusing individuals who have comorbid diagnoses of intellectual disability [ID]. To improve the understanding of school refusal behavior within individuals with ID and comorbid disorders, this paper presents a brief review of the literature on school refusal behavior and the status of our current understanding of this behavior among school-age students with ID and comorbid disorders. Ten studies are included in this review and are summarized in terms of (a) the participants’ characteristics (number, age, diagnosis, IQ), (b) therapeutic interventions (treatment, duration and frequency, implementer, setting), (c) target behaviors, and (d) outcomes. All 10 studies reported improvements in school refusal behaviors and other related symptoms in school-age individuals with ID and comorbid disorders. Further studies should be conducted to investigate whether a certain type of intervention approach can be established as an empirically supported treatment for school refusal behaviors in individuals with ID and comorbid disorders.