Investigation of social functionality and psychological adaptation bydetermining shcool rejection profiles in secondary and high school students

The aim of this study was first to determine the school rejection profiles of middle and high school students and then to examine school rejection, social and adaptive functioning, and psychological adjustment. The sample of the study consisted of 451 volunteer middle and high school students studying in the central districts of Erzurum province during the 2023-2024 academic year. In the study, School Refusal Assessment Scale (SRAS-R), Social and Adaptive Functioning Scale (CASAFS), and Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale Short Form (DASS-21) were used to collect data. In order to answer the research questions, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted using the JAMOVI program to determine school refusal profiles and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted using the AMOS 21 package program. In accordance with the objectives of the study, a total of three school refusal profiles were first identified: a high school refusal profile, a moderate school refusal profile, and a no school refusal profile. Subsequently, it was found that there was a predictive relationship between social functioning and school refusal in Model 1, the psychological adjustment variable was included in Model 2, and it was found that the coefficient between the variables created in Model 1 decreased significantly. As a result of the research, three school refusal profiles were obtained (no school refusal profile, high school refusal profile, moderate school refusal profile), it was determined that there was a significant negative relationship between social functioning and school refusal and psychological adjustment had a mediating role between school refusal and social functioning.