Research has identified a subset of young people who feel unable to engage in mainstream education. Given the hard-to-reach nature of this group, their views on what has caused their isolation from others have received little focus in previous literature. The present study aimed to explore the experiences and views of a subset of young people seen within an inner London Pupil Referral Unit who were extremely socially withdrawn and unable to attend mainstream education. They were asked what they believe led them to their current situation, the impact of isolation, how their life is going and what they value. Key themes identified were the role of anxiety in withdrawal from education and the protective capacity of social contact, even via social media, in preventing negative outcomes of withdrawal. Sleep, health, education, family and social contact were identified as risk and protective factors and were also things participants identified as values. This research provides insight into potential ways to support young people in returning to mainstream education as well as ideas for preventative measures that may protect future generations from such extreme isolation. This research was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, but lessons learned bear relevance in current times.

研究已经确定了一部分感到无法参与主流教育的年轻人。鉴于这个群体难以接触的性质，他们对导致他们与他人隔离的原因的看法在以前的文献中很少受到关注。本研究旨在探讨在伦敦内部学生转介小组中看到的一小部分年轻人的经历和观点，这些年轻人在社会上极度孤僻，无法接受主流教育。他们被问及他们认为是什么导致了他们目前的处境、孤立的影响、他们的生活进展如何以及他们重视什么。确定的关键主题是焦虑在退学中的作用以及社会接触的保护能力，即使是通过社交媒体，在防止退学的负面结果方面。睡眠、健康、教育、家庭和社会接触被确定为风险和保护因素，也是参与者确定的价值观。这项研究提供了对支持年轻人重返主流教育的潜在方法的见解，以及可能保护子孙后代免受这种极端孤立的预防措施的想法。这项研究是在 COVID-19 大流行之前进行的，但吸取的教训与当前具有相关性。