This is something I hear startlingly often. It's not the majority of kids, by any means, but I've had a number of students who fail classes so they have to go to summer school, just to escape from home.

It wasn’t that intense for me or even a conscious choice. For me it was neglect and a chaotic environment. (Think growing up as a “roommate” of a depressed nonfunctional alcoholic)

Similarly, I had enough positive attention that I wanted to continue and make it to college.

Edit: bad-> intense. I need to stop minimizing what I went through.