<p>This study aimed to adapt the School Refusal Evaluation Scale (SRES), originally developed in French culture, to Turkish culture. Additionally, the aim was to investigate the relationships between school refusal, academic resilience, and school satisfaction. In this context, the study was carried out in 2 stages (Study 1 and 2). Study 1, involving 548 adolescents (318 girls/230 boys), validated the SRES in Turkish culture with satisfactory confirmatory factor analysis results. In Study 2, the relationships among school refusal, academic resilience, and school satisfaction were examined. The sample consisted of 440 adolescents (236 girls/204 boys) who were reached through convenience sampling. Structural equation model analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the latent constructs. Results showed that academic resilience negatively predicted school refusal (<i>β</i> = − 0.12; <i>p</i> &lt; .05; 95% CI [-0.19; − 0.02]) and positively predicted school satisfaction (<i>β</i> = 0.45; <i>p</i> &lt; .001; 95% CI [0.38; 0.51]), while school satisfaction negatively predicted school refusal (<i>β</i> = − 0.53; <i>p</i> &lt; .001; 95% CI [-0.60; − 0.43]). Moreover, school satisfaction mediated the relationship between academic resilience and school refusal (<i>β</i> = − 0.24; <i>p</i> &lt; .001; 95% CI [-0.28; − 0.16]). The current study suggests that academic resilience holds considerable importance in decreasing the incidence of school refusal and increasing students’ school satisfaction. The results of the study provide information on intervention-oriented guidance for educational policies, educators, and school counselors.</p>