What Is Didaskaleinophobia

Introduction

Didaskaleinophobia is the irrational fear of school or going to school. The term comes from two Greek words, ‘didasko’ meaning ‘to teach’ and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear’. It is also known as scolionophobia, or ‘school refusal’. 

It refers to serious difficulty in attending or remaining in school due to an irrational and excessive fear of school situations, such as being evaluated, or fear of the teacher or peers.¹ Someone with didaskaleinophobia will show signs of distress, fear, and worry about attending school, rather than just anger or boredom. Anyone, irrespective of age and gender, can show symptoms of didaskaleinophobia. 

Understanding didaskaleinophobia 

Didaskaleinophobia falls under the wider category of school refusal, referring to a form of school refusal caused by the fear of negative stimuli associated with schools.

Even though didaskaleinophobia is not recognised officially as a specific situational phobia, it can be identified as one. A specific phobia is a type of anxiety disorder which involves a persistent, intense, and irrational fear of an object or situation that poses little to no danger. 

In the case of didaskaleinophobia: 

• The phobic stimulus (an object, situation, or activity that causes fear) is school
• The fear response (the reaction to the phobic stimulus) is either avoidance or facing the phobic stimulus with intense fear and anxiety

According to different studies, school phobia is seen in about 5% of the world’s school-going population. It primarily occurs between the ages of 9 to 11 years old.¹ School phobia rates also don’t vary across genders. However, it is more common in older children than in younger ones.

A person diagnosed with didaskaleinophobia may have other psychological disorders such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).¹

Common causes

Life events

School phobia can occur after both positive and negative events in a child’s life, such as:

• Changing schools, houses, or neighbourhoods
• Returning from vacation or holidays
• Having a new younger sibling accompany them to school
• Transitioning from primary to secondary school 
• Loss of a loved one through death or divorce 

School-related causes

A student might develop a fear of going to school as a result of an event or aspect of the school environment including:

• Fearsome or strict teachers, especially if they reprimand the student
• Being bullied or ridiculed by peers
• Conflict with friends 
• Academic difficulties like workload, the pressure of tests, examinations, and grades

Dysfunctional family relationships

The onset and patterns of school phobia and avoidance behaviours can be traced to the attitudes and behaviours of parents or guardians. School phobia can be a symptom of separation anxiety in children. 

Dysfunctional family relations can also be related to:

• Overdependency and attachment issues between a parent and their child 
• Conflicts between parents or guardians and their children, especially in the case of teenagers
• Parental expectations and pressure in relation to academics and extra-curricular activities

Psychological Disorders

School phobia is often a symptom of other psychological disorders. Researchers today view school phobia as a symptom associated with anxiety disorders in younger students and with anxiety and depressive disorders in adolescents and teenagers.² 

Key symptoms

Didaskaleinophobia symptoms can differ from person to person and in severity. The primary symptom of didaskaleinophobia is intense fear and distress when encountering or attending school. Common symptoms can be physiological, emotional, and behavioural.

Physiological symptoms 

• Increased heart rate, high blood pressure, and dizziness
• Breathlessness, hot flushes, or chills
• Headaches, stomachaches, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting 
• Muscle tension, tremors, shakiness
• Panic attacks

Emotional symptoms

• Fears of being alone and for the safety of loved ones
• Unexplained anger, irritation, or aggression
• Throwing tantrums or crying
• Anxiety related to separation from parents or attachment figures
• Bad dreams

Behavioural symptoms

• Persistent inability to stay in school, either being absent or demanding to be picked up
• Frequent visits to the nurse’s office to avoid class
• Distress the night before, on the day of, and during school
• Distress from being separated from loved ones
• Poor concentration and attention span resulting in falling grades 
• Social withdrawal and limited social interactions

Impact of didaskaleinophobia 

Schooling also allows young people to interact with their age group, find their interests and hobbies, and learn more about themselves.

Didaskaleinophobia, if not managed or treated, can impact a student and hold them back from education.

Psychological and emotional impacts

If a student shows signs of school phobia, it might indicate comorbid psychological disorders such as: 

• Separation anxiety disorder (SAD)
• Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Depression 

Bullies, public ridicule, social isolation from peers, and strict or abusive teachers can all cause didaskaleinophobia.

School phobia can impact how a student views their learning environment. They might experience stress or pressure related to activities like academics and sports, and the fear of homework, examinations, and grades.

Didaskaleinophobia can lead to self-esteem and self-confidence issues, and hinder the person’s ability to make friends or interact with peers and teachers. Thus, students cannot develop their personal, social, and academic potential. 

Educational implications

Since didaskaleinophobia directly impacts someone’s ability to attend school and classes regularly, it can have both short-term and long-term implications.² 

Short-term implications:

• Frequent absenteeism and missing classes
• Inability to concentrate or pay attention
• Low grades

Long-term implications: 

• Academic failure
• Dropping out 
• Difficulty in pursuing higher education
• Employment difficulties

These consequences can increase the individual’s risk of developing psychiatric disorders in their adult life. 

Family and social aspects 

Didaskaleinophobia can increase familial conflict and impact social interaction in the following ways:

• Staying at home or away from school can make an individual excessively dependent on their parents or guardians
• Excessive dependence can create unequal family dynamics, causing conflicts with parents, guardians, siblings, or other family members
• Limited or lack of interactions with classmates can make an individual socially withdrawn, reclusive, and feel lonely
• The individual can have problems in communicating, asserting themselves, or being independent

In the long term, constant difficulties socialising outside the home can hold someone back from living a well-rounded and fulfilling life. 

Diagnosis and treatment

There are three main methods used to diagnose school phobia. These are self-report measures, interviews, and diagnostic tests. A medical professional can use these techniques to identify the causes and severity of didaskaleinophobia.

Didaskaleinophobia can be diagnosed via test or interview by a professional in a process that involves:

• Assessing the individual’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functioning
• Interviewing the individual and their parents or guardians
• Behavioural observation at school and home
• Assessing the family dynamics and home environment
• Obtaining reports from parents, guardians, teachers, school nurses, etc
• Self-monitoring processes, such as completing a daily diary, to understand the individual’s feelings and behaviours² 

Treatment

Managing didaskaleinophobia is an effort that involves the individual, their guardians, and the school administration, facilitated by the psychologist or psychiatrist.² The interventions focus on two main principles: 

1. Reducing the distress caused by the phobia 
2. Improving the individual’s school attendance

The interventions can differ according to the causes and severity of the phobia. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is widely used to treat phobias. CBT aims to use strategies that modify and replace irrational thoughts with rational ones. 

Gradual exposure therapy

Exposure therapy works on the principle that repeatedly encountering what you fear will reduce the severity of the fear or anxiety. 

Starting with something small, like imagining a typical school day, the therapist will then help the student attend school accompanied by someone they are comfortable with, followed by helping them walk to and sit in their classes on their own. 

With gradual exposure and relaxation techniques, the therapist helps patients reduce their distress when facing the situation in real life. 

Systematic desensitisation is a technique that works on the principles of exposure therapy and is used in more severe cases. The process can look something like this: 

1. Drawing up a hierarchy of your fears from least to most severe
2. Practising relaxation techniques for when you encounter the object you fear
3. Exposing you to the objects or situations in the hierarchy one at a time while in a relaxed state 

Contingency management

This involves rewarding the patient for positive behavioural changes. Whilst treating didaskaleinophobia, a child who successfully attends a class on their own can be given encouraging words or time to play a game they enjoy. 

The principle behind contingency management is that rewarding a behaviour makes it more likely for an individual to show it again. 

Emotive imagery

A technique used in CBT where the patient is made to deliberately imagine scenes that stimulate positive emotions and relate them to the current situation. For didaskaleinophobia, the therapist might encourage the patient to imagine scenes of Christmas, Disneyland, etc. on the way to school. 

Relaxation techniques

Relaxation techniques are used in most therapeutic settings to manage the physiological symptoms of fear and anxiety felt when facing a phobic object or situation. These can be breathing exercises, meditation, visualisation, hypnosis, etc.

Didaskaleinophobia can be managed by addressing the causes of the phobia and approaching it with a team of guardians, school administration, and medical professionals. Early identification and treatment can improve the likelihood of a student successfully overcoming their fear of going to school.

Coping strategies 

Developing coping strategies for those suffering from didaskaleinophobia involves support from both parents and teachers.

Effective communication

One of the most important steps to manage phobias in children is to acknowledge their fears and anxieties as genuine and serious. Help the child create a space where they can communicate their fears and understand their emotions. 

Establishing predictable routines

Establish a stable and predictable routine for them at home and outside. Try to drop and pick your child up from school at a fixed time, and stick to that time. 

Reassurance

Since school phobia, in many cases, stems from separation anxiety, reassure your child of your presence. Keeping them updated on what guardians do at home or work, and reassuring them you’ll be safe and be seeing them soon after school can help. 

Reinforcement

Acknowledge, encourage, and praise the improvements your child makes, even if they are small. Praise can be a strong motivator for children to repeat positive behaviours and make them feel confident. 

Relaxation techniques

Teaching and practising relaxation techniques can be helpful coping mechanisms. For emergencies, especially for younger kids, carrying a picture of their guardians or a stuffed toy can aid comfort. 

Support systems

Support systems within educational institutions can be established by:

• Involving educational professionals, like teachers, school nurses, and school counsellors, in encouraging a student to remain in school and attend their classes. Assignment, examination, and class schedules can be modified for the student. A counsellor or therapist can also sit in on classes to provide comfort. 

• Addressing and acknowledgement via parent-teacher and student-teacher meetings enable open and transparent communication. Teachers can pay close attention to students who internalise their behaviours and offer them support. Methods like check-in sheets or lists, daily meetings, or reward charts can also be used to understand a child’s needs and demands. 

• Creating safe spaces where students feel comfortable discussing their emotions and problems and seeking support can help with didaskaleinophobia. Teachers, school stakeholders, and other students can all be involved. 

• Promoting social interaction, like through buddy systems, can help students work with another student they feel comfortable with. Focusing on extracurriculars and building engaging class activities can decrease the pressure of schooling, giving children a chance to interact with their classmates and have fun. Positive experiences in the school space can reduce didaskaleinophobia and associated symptoms. 

Effective management focuses on the causes of didaskaleinophobia and increasing school attendance. A collective effort between guardians, teachers, school staff, and medical professionals is the key to successful intervention. 

Summary 

Didaskaleinophobia is a specific situational phobia of attending school. It can affect students of different age groups irrespective of their gender. Psychological disorders like separation anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, and depressive and mood disorders can cause school phobias and related symptoms.

It can also be caused by traumatic experiences at school and dysfunctional family relationships. School phobia affects emotions, social relationships, and education. Managing didaskaleinophobia involves parents, teachers, and medical professionals addressing the cause of the phobia and improving attendance at school. Didaskaleinophobia can be successfully treated through early diagnosis, therapy, and institutional support.