Table 4.

Self-reported reasons for absence

	Low absence		Moderate absence		High absence
	n = 3684		n = 4394		n = 910
	%	n	%	n	%	n	p-value
At home	5.8	214	16.5	724	35.1	319	<.000
With friends	0.5	19	1.5	66	3.7	34	.009
At work	0.2	8	0.9	38	1.6	15	<.000
Illness related	28.0	1031	57.9	2544	69.2	630	<.000
Organizational work/politics/sport	1.3	49	2.2	97	0.9	8	.001
Unexcused absence	3.5	128	5.4	238	6.5	59	<.000

P-value indicates significant differences between adolescents with low, moderate and high absence. The p-values are derived from chi-square tests