Back2School: A feasibility study of a new modular cognitive behavioral intervention for youth with problematic school absenteeism

Mikael Thastum, Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt, Daniel Bach Johnsen, Pia Jeppesen

Research output: Contribution to conferencePosterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Problematic school absenteeism is a risk factor for low grades and school dropout and is associated with mental health and social problems. Problematic SA is a complex and heterogeneous problem with a variety of functions and causes. The Back2School program is based on a functional model of problematic school absenteeism, where absenteeism is maintained through negative reinforcement (avoiding distress at school) or positive reinforcement (obtaining rewards outside school). The main purpose of the program is to help the child back to regular school attendance. The program consists of 10 sessions with the child and parents, 4 school meetings and a booster session. The manual comprises modules specifically addressing problems with school attendance, problem-specific modules addressing those of the child’s problems that are negatively influencing the child’s school attendance, e.g. anxiety, depression and/or behavioral problems, and modules for the school meetings. In the winter/spring 2017, twenty-four children with problematic SA (defined as absence more than 10% during the last three month) from primary and lower secondary schools from Aarhus municipality, Denmark and their parents are included. The treatment is conducted by clinical psychologists from the municipality, that have participated in a 6 days course and who receive ongoing weekly supervision. The primary outcome measure is school absence, secondary outcome measures are anxiety, depression, and behaviour problems. The evaluation of the program will be based on interviews with the participating families (satisfaction with the program and assessment procedures), schools (feasibility of the recruitment procedure), and the psychologists conducting the therapy (satisfaction with and suggestion to improve the program, number of sessions etc.), in addition to a preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of the program. The B2S program and procedures will subsequently be modified based on the evaluation and tested against treatment as usual in a randomized controlled trial. The poster will present results and lessons learned from the feasibility study.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date2018
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Event48th Annual Congress of the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies: Improving cognitive behavioural therapy and access to it across the lifespan - Sofia, Bulgaria
Duration: 5 Sep 20188 Sep 2018
Conference number: 48
https://eabct2018.org/

Conference

Conference48th Annual Congress of the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Number48
Country/TerritoryBulgaria
CitySofia
Period05/09/201808/09/2018
Internet address

Cite this