II. Definitions
- Chronic Absenteeism
- Missed school days (K-12) 10% of total (approximately 18 days in a U.S. school year)
III. Epidemiology
IV. Risk Factors
- School characteristics
- Urban schools with predominately non-white students or rural schools
- Unreliable or unsafe route to school
- Lack of peers at school
- Bullying (or other unsafe conditions)
- Poor school performance
- Frequent school absences at younger age (primary school, first few grades)
- No pre-kindergarden program
- Ethnicity
- American Indian
- Pacific Islander
- Black
- Hispanic
- Family Factors
- Homelessness or housing insecurity
- Food insecurity
- Incarcerated parent
- Parent did not complete school or did not attend college
- Parent had negative school experiences
- Lack of structure in home
- Parent unemployed
- Parent works multiple jobs or nightshift
- Child has caregiving responsibility at home
- Family members with chronic health conditions
- Health Conditions
- Chronic illness (e.g. Diabetes Mellitus, Asthma)
- Mental health conditions (e.g. ADHD, Major Depression, Anxiety Disorder)
- Substance Abuse
- Poor access to dental and medical care
- No school nurse
- Pregnancy (or parenthood)
- Insomnia
- Disabilities
- Social Factors
- Socioeconimically disadvantaged
- Member of socially ostracized group (e.g. lesbian, gay, Transgender)
- Non-english speaking
- Violence exposure
V. Complications
- Lower academic achievement
- School drop out
- Higher Risk behaviors
- Work absenteeism
- Lower income
VI. Prevention
- Identify children at high risk of absenteeism
- Intervene in children who have missed more than 5% of school days (approximately 9 missed days)
- Address school attendance as important in clinic visits
- Inquire about barriers (see risk factors above)
- Encourage pre-Kindergarden program (in pre-school aged children)
- Manage chronic medical and mental health conditions
- Establish sick-day plans (e.g. Diabetes Sick Day Management, Asthma Action Plan)
- Treat Anxiety Disorder, Major Depression and Attention Deficit Disorder
- Address Substance Abuse
VII. References
Images: Related links to external sites (from Bing)
Related Studies
| Definition (PSY) | Student's deliberate, often chronic absence from school without an accepted medical or other justifiable reason. |
| Concepts | Individual Behavior (T055) |
| SnomedCT | 154948004, 192600007, 268784007, 105479008 |
| Italian | Marinare la scuola |
| Japanese | 無断欠席, ﾑﾀﾞﾝｹｯｾｷ |
| Spanish | haraganería, ausentismo escolar injustificado (hallazgo), ausentismo escolar injustificado, haraganería (hallazgo), tuna, Absentismo |
| Czech | Záškoláctví |
| English | truancy, student absenteeism, truant, [X]Truancy from school, Truant, Truancy (finding), Truancy, School Truancy |
| Hungarian | Iskolakerülés |
| Portuguese | Vadiagem |
| Dutch | spijbelen |
| French | Absentéisme |
| German | Schuleschwaenzen |
