School absenteeism and school refusal behavior in youth: A contemporary review
Abstract
Absenteeism from school is a serious public health issue for mental health professionals, physicians, and educators. The prevalence of unexcused absences from school exceeds that of major childhood behavior disorders and is a key risk factor for violence, injury, substance use, psychiatric disorders, and economic deprivation. This article involves a contemporary research review on absenteeism prevalence, comorbid physical and psychiatric conditions, classification, contextual risk factors, cross-cultural variables, assessment, intervention, and outcome. Contextual risk factors include homelessness and poverty, teenage pregnancy, school violence and victimization, school climate and connectedness, parental involvement, and family variables, among others. A description of intervention includes medical, clinical, and systemic interventions. Medical professionals, community- and school-based mental health professionals, and educators are encouraged to fully understand the parameters of school absenteeism to develop better, consensual policies regarding definition, classification, assessment, and intervention of youths with problematic school absenteeism.
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Previous reviews of risk factors for school absenteeism and dropout were merely qualitative in nature.
“However, these reviews were merely qualitative in nature, and until today, the literature on risk factors for school absenteeism and dropout has never been meta-analytically or quantitatively synthesized.”
From Risk Factors for School Absenteeism and Dropout: A Meta-Analytic Review (2019) · cites this paper as Kearney 2008b
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- Authors
- Kearney, C. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kearney, Christopher A.
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-03
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 451-471
- ISSN
- 0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2048999606
- Cited by
- 906
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 88 · 2025: 62 · 2024: 63 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 63 · 2020: 78 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 73 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 31
- FWCI
- 55.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Review (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, school refusal, youth, unexcused absences, contextual risk factors, homelessness, poverty, adolescent pregnancy, school violence, school climate, parental involvement, family factors, psychiatric comorbidity, substance use, violence, intervention, assessment, cross-cultural factors, school mental health
- MeSH terms
- Absenteeism, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Mental Disorders, Female, Ill-Housed Persons, Humans, Juvenile Delinquency, Male, Poverty, Pregnancy, Pregnancy in Adolescence, Risk Factors, Students, United States, Prevalence, Substance-Related Disorders
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