The main purpose of this study is to investigate how students’ perceptions of need satisfaction and need frustration at school are indirectly associated with academic achievement through academic engagement. A modified version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale was used to assess these needs in a school-based context. The study sample consisted of 551 students, comprising 299 males (54.3%) and 252 females (45.7%), with an average age of 16.19 years (SD = 1.49). The results suggested autonomy satisfaction and relatedness satisfaction are positively correlated with academic engagement, autonomy frustration is negatively correlated with academic engagement, and, moreover, academic engagement is associated with increased academic achievement. The results of this study highlight the importance of developing specific training programs to promote a school environment that pays attention to students’ psychological needs.

School refusal (SR) is a complex problem that may be caused by different risk factors such as individual and contextual factors (Kearney, 2007; Maynard et al., 2018; Heyne et al., 2019). These mechanisms can be described in the context of self-determination theory (SDT). For these reasons, the purpose of the present study is investigate the relationship between teacher perceived psychological control and support, psychological basic needs, SR behavior, and academic achievement, on adolescent sample. It is hypothesized that teacher perceived psychological control and autonomy support play a role on need frustration and need satisfaction; in turn, need satisfaction could reduce while need frustration could promote SR behavior and number of absences. Finally, SR behavior and number of absences could reduce academic achievement. 263 students (196 females, 67 males) with an average age of 16.14 (SD = 1.35; range 13–20 years). SEM analyses with observed variables have shown that the final model fit well the data, χ²(8) = 16.34, p = 0.04, CFI = 0.96, SRMR = 0.04, RMSEA (90% CI) = 0.06 (0.01; 0.10), showing the following significant path: need satisfaction was positively predicted by perceived teacher support and negatively predicted by teacher perceived psychological control; need frustration was positively predicted by teacher perceived psychological control; number of absences was negatively predicted by need satisfaction; SR was positively predicted by need frustration; school achievement was negatively predicted by SR and number of absences. These results have several implications for the school context and the deepening of the construct of SR and absenteeism.

The purpose of this research was to conduct an exploratory study to investigate any differences in the risk of developing school refusal in students with low academic achievement and students with specific learning disorder (SLD), and moreover to compare both groups to students with high academic achievement. Furthermore, we want to investigate whether or not school self-esteem, interpersonal self-esteem, and psychological control are predictive of risk of developing school refusal. The sample consisted of 125 students, 66 males and 59 females, with an average age of 12.05 (SD = .85), divided into a 36 students with low academic achievement, 58 with high academic achievement, and 31 with LSD. The results show differences in the manifestations of school refusal among the three groups. Furthermore, regression analysis has shown the relevant role played by self-esteem and perceived parental psychological control in the prediction of risk of school refusal. Educational and practical implications are discussed.

School alienation is a complex phenomenon that has recently attracted considerable attention from psychologists because of the negative consequences that may result from it, such as poor academic performance, learning difficulties, school disengagement, behavioral problems, and withdrawal from the educational system, which interfere with students' well-being and academic achievement. However, the behaviors engaged in (i.e., mastery or helplessness) by students who experience feelings of school alienation and the associated impact on their academic performance have been overlooked in research. For this reason, the aim of this study was to investigate the roles played by mastery orientation and learned helplessness in the relationship between school alienation and academic achievement. The study sample consisted of 1,316 Italian students, 504 male (38.3%) and 812 female (61.7%). All participants ranged from age 13 to 20 years, with an average age of 16.27 (SD = 1.45). The results highlighted the roles of mastery orientation and learned helplessness in the relationship between students' perceptions of school alienation and academic achievement. The findings contribute to the literature on school alienation, highlighting the potential implications for schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).