[Page 2989]School absenteeism refers narrowly to physical absence from school, but the term school refusal (or school refusal behavior) refers broadly to a child-motivated refusal to attend school. The term thus includes youth who are completely absent from school, who are chronically tardy to school or who skip certain classes, who display misbehaviors in the morning in an attempt to miss school, and/or who display substantial distress at school to the point that disruptive behavior may occur. School refusal is related to other constructs, however. For example, school withdrawal refers to parent-motivated school absenteeism or situations where one or both parents deliberately keep a child home from school. Parents may keep their children home from school for various reasons that could include custody disputes, maltreatment, ...