Melvin, GA;
Freeman, M;
Ashford, LJ;
Hastings, RP;
Heyne, D;
Tonge, BJ;
Bailey, T;
... Gray, KM; + view all
(2023)
Types and correlates of school absenteeism among students with intellectual disability.
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
, 67
(4)
pp. 375-386.
10.1111/jir.13011.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: It appears that students with intellectual disability (ID) are more frequently absent from school compared with students without ID. The objective of the current study was to estimate the frequency of absence among students with ID and the reasons for absence. Potential reasons included the attendance problems referred to as school refusal, where absence is related to emotional distress; truancy, where absence is concealed from parents; school exclusion, where absence is instigated by the school; and school withdrawal, where absence is initiated by parents. METHODS: Study participants were 629 parents (84.6% mothers) of Australian school students (Mage = 11.18 years; 1.8% Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) with an ID. Participants completed a questionnaire battery that included the School Non-Attendance ChecKlist via which parents indicated the reason their child was absent for each day or half-day absence their child had over the past 20 school days. The absence data presented to parents had been retrieved from school records. RESULTS: Across all students, absence occurred on 7.9% of the past 20 school days. In terms of school attendance problems as defined in existing literature, school withdrawal accounted for 11.1% of absences and school refusal for 5.3% of absences. Students were also absent for other reasons, most commonly illness (32.0%) and appointments (24.2%). Of students with more than one absence (n = 217; 34.5%), about half were absent for more than one reason. Students attending mainstream schools had lower attendance than those attending special schools. CONCLUSIONS: Students with ID were absent for a range of reasons and often for multiple reasons. There were elevated rates of school withdrawal and school refusal. Understanding the reasons for absenteeism can inform targeted prevention and intervention supports.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Types and correlates of school absenteeism among students with intellectual disability |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/jir.13011 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.13011 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research published by MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
| Keywords: | Absenteeism, intellectual disability, school attendance problem, school refusal |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10165059 |
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