Psychosocial aspects of truancy in early adolescence

The authors studied truancy in junior high school students, largely by structured interviews of 33 truants. Truancy at this age was commonly associated with significant difficulties at home, at school and with peers. Two modal types of truants were delineated: "authority defying" and "peer phobic." The school environment, including the response to truancy and the transition to the junior high, was found to play a critical role in creating and aggravating truancy. The authors discuss the findings with respect to strategies for prevention and remediation.