Table 2.

Rate of school absence according to emotional disorder status and parent- and teacher-reported emotional difficulties scores

	Total absence		Authorised absence		Unauthorised absence
	Rate ratio and 95% CI	p value	Rate ratio and 95% CI	p value	Rate ratio and 95% CI	p value
Anxiety disorder
Unadjusted	2.21 (1.82–2.67)	<0.001	2.03 (1.67–2.47)	<0.001	3.52 (1.94–6.39)	<0.001
Adjusted	1.69 (1.39–2.06)	<0.001	1.61 (1.32–1.97)	<0.001	2.23 (1.19–4.15)	0.012
Depressive disorder
Unadjusted	4.59 (3.41–6.17)	<0.001	3.13 (2.18–4.51)	<0.001	16.55 (9.03–30.32)	<0.001
Adjusted	3.40 (2.46–4.69)	<0.001	2.39 (1.63–3.50)	<0.001	11.24 (5.40–23.39)	<0.001
Parent-reported emotional difficulties
Unadjusted	1.11 (1.08–1.13)	<0.001	1.10 (1.08–1.12)	<0.001	1.14 (1.07–1.21)	<0.001
Adjusted	1.07 (1.05–1.10)	<0.001	1.07 (1.05–1.09)	<0.001	1.08 (1.00–1.15)	0.048
Teacher-reported emotional difficulties
Unadjusted	1.13 (1.10–1.15)	<0.001	1.12 (1.09–1.14)	<0.001	1.20 (1.12–1.28)	<0.001
Adjusted	1.10 (1.08–1.13)	<0.001	1.09 (1.07–1.12)	0.008	1.13 (1.06–1.22)	0.001

Based on 7977 initial sample; 7213 children had no psychiatric disorder, 263 had an anxiety disorder and 68 had a depressive disorder. Anxiety and depression are binary predictors; emotional difficulties are continuous scores ranging from 0 to 10 and hence, the rate ratios represent the increase in rate of absence per one-point increase on the emotional difficulties scale. Adjusted estimates are adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, housing tenure, mother’s highest educational qualification, learning difficulty, stressful life events, and family type

CI confidence interval