School absenteeism: an online survey via social networks
Abstract
School absenteeism is a significant social and public health problem. However, existing prevalence rates are often not representative due to biased assessment processes at schools. The present study assessed school absenteeism in Germany using a nationwide online self-report survey. Although our definition of school absenteeism was more conservative than in previous studies, nearly 9 % of the 1359 high school students reported school absenteeism within the past 7 days. Absent students lived less often with both parents, were on average of lower socioeconomic status, and reported more emotional problems, behavioral problems and less prosocial behavior than attending students. Being an indicator of a wide variety of problems in children and adolescents, school absenteeism deserves much more attention. Future directions for research and implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.
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Among students with absenteeism in the past 7 days, 35.0% missed a single class or part of a school day, 31.3% missed an entire day, and 33.7% missed 2+ days.
“For example, Pflug and Schneider (2016) found, among students with absenteeism in the past 7 days, that 35.0% missed a single class or part of a school day, 31.3% missed an entire day, and 33.7% missed 2+ days.”
From Reconciling Contemporary Approaches to School Attendance and School Absenteeism: Toward Promotion and Nimble Response, Global Policy Review and Implementation, and Future Adaptability (Part 1) (2019) · cites this paper as Pflug and Schneider, 2016
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- Authors
- Pflug, V., & Schneider, S.
- Affiliations
- Ruhr University Bochum (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Schneider, Silvia
- Venue
- Child Psychiatry & Human Development
- Published
- 2015-09-15
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 417-429
- ISSN
- 0009-398X (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3327
- OpenAlex
- W1938884351
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 11.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Child Psychiatry & Human Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- school absenteeism, high school students, social networks, prevalence, parental cohabitation, socioeconomic status, emotional problems, behavioral problems, prosocial behavior, adolescents, Germany
- MeSH terms
- Absenteeism, Adolescent, Child, Female, Germany, Humans, Male, Parents, Surveys and Questionnaires, Schools, Students, Social Networking
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