Beder in his study of 129 nonparticipants in ABE in Iowa found that of 32 reasons for nonparticipation, five of the six most quoted reasons related to attitudes towards ABE or perceptions of ABE (Beder and Quigley, 1990). These reasons were:

“I would feel strange going back to school.”
“There aren’t many people in adult high school classes my age.”
“Going back to school would be like going to high school all over again.”
“I am too old to go back to school.”
“A high school diploma wouldn't improve my life.”

The mean age for nonparticipants who responded to the study was 56-57 years and their mean income was $23,500.

Factor analysis in this study reduced the 32 reasons to four factors: Low Perception of Need, Perceived Effort, Dislike for School and Situational Barriers. There is an overlap of some of these factors with those discovered by Hayes and Darkenwald (1988) cited above. Low perception of need was found to correlate with age. As adults age, their perception of need declines. Perceived difficulty and dislike for school correlated poorly or not at all with socio-demographic variables suggesting that reasons for nonparticipation cut across the socio-demographic groups. Situational barriers correlated with marriage, number of children in the home and full-time employment.

These newer studies on nonparticipants in ABE indicate that in addition to motivational factors and barriers or deterrents to participation, practitioners should be cognizant of the group of people who could be called "avoiders" or "resisters". If people know about ABE programs and are indifferent to them or consciously avoid them, what should the response of the ABE field be? Should the right not to participate be included in the rights of the undereducated? Should the field induce participation through stimulating advertising or incentives? Should the field more clearly examine its program offerings and instructional strategies and try to make them more responsive to the population it aims to serve? The answers to these questions are crucial for trying to resolve problems of low participation.