17th International ESCAP Congress 2017
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Contribution title 3371 - Pharmacological treatment in anxiety-based school refusal
Contribution code PS02-03 (P)
Authors
  1. Ons Souid University Hospital of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia Presenter
  2. Asma Guedria University Hospital of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia Presenter
  3. Naoufel Gaddour University Hospital of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
  4. Lotfi Gaha University Hospital of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
Form of presentation Poster
Topic
  • Anxiety disorders
Abstract Introduction:
School refusal behavior refers to the avoidance of a child attending school and/or persistent difficulty staying in the classroom throughout the school day. It’s a significant problem in the society with broad negative long-term consequences. Yet, few treatments have been developed for this problem.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of pharmacological treatment in anxiety-based school refusal.
Medhods :
This is a retrospective descriptive study, conducted at the Child Psychiatry out-patient unit of the University Hospital of Monastir. Children consulting for anxiety- based school refusal between January 2010 and Septembre 2016 and who maintained a regular follow-up for at least 1 month were included in this study ( N= 11 ). The data were collected using patient medical files.
Results:
Our sample was composed of 6 boys and 5 girls. The average age of the patients was 7.8 years.
The principal diagnosis was the separation anxiety disorder with a percentage of 72% of cases. Mostly used intervention techniques were psycho education and cognitive behavioral strategies; especially the progressive exposure to school and emotion regulation strategies .
The prescription of pharmacological treatment was adopted for 9 patients. The treatment was in all cases an antidepressant. It was prescribed in the majority of cases after failure of psychotherapeutic methods as a sole intervention. The most used molecule was Fluoxetine in half of cases. A positive evolution was identified in all cases, and this was after 3.5 months on average.
Conclusion:
Education is particularly relevant in today’s world. Thus, it is important to discuss the most recommended treatment concerning the anxiety-based school refusal and try to clarify a therapeutic model in order to be more efficient. Therefore more research in this subject are required.