Understanding School Non-Attendance in Adolescence: Perceived Competence, Psychological and Social Barriers, and Educational Vulnerability

School Attendance Problems (SAPs) are multidimensional phenomena with significant short- and long-term effects not only for students’ socio-emotional and cognitive development but also for the broader social welfare of the country. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examined the associations between self-perceived competence and distinct non-attendance motivations among adolescents at risk for SAPs. In Study 1, Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (EFA: n = 391; CFA: n = 593) supported a refined 13-item four-factor structure of the Italian version of the Adolescent Reasons for School Non-Attendance Scale (ARSNA), with satisfactory fit indices (CFI = 0.90; TLI = 0.87; RMSEA = 0.07), demonstrating its suitability for use with Italian adolescents. In Study 2 (n = 183 at-risk adolescents), hierarchical regression analyses, controlling age, gender, academic achievement, and failed subjects, revealed that lower self-perceived academic competence was associated with Truancy-related reasons (β = −0.27, p < 0.01), whereas School Refusal-related reasons were associated with lower self-perceived general (β = −0.23, p < 0.01) and academic competence (β = −0.18, p < 0.05). These findings provide the first Italian validation of the ARSNA and highlight competence-related processes as central mechanisms underlying Truancy and School refusal in at-risk adolescents, with direct implications for early identification and targeted intervention.