Adolescent school absenteeism: modelling social and individual risk factors

Background: School absenteeism is a complex problem that includes risk factors associated with individual traits, socio-economic conditions, family structure, the school and society. The consequences of extensive school absenteeism can be detrimental for the youth. Method: In this exploratory study we aimed to investigate the relative importance of different risk factors on school absenteeism. We assessed 865 Norwegian high school students testing a model of school absenteeism using Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM). Results: Analysis show that on the individual level most of the measured risk factors were significantly associated with absenteeism. School absenteeism was predicted by externalising behaviour, family work and health, and school environment directly. Conclusion: The implications of the findings on school absenteeism are that it will be important to focus more on the context and co-occurrence of these problems in order to fully understand them.