Table 1. Mean comparisons of short- and long-term school absence (%) and related absence categories (%).
| Short-term absence: | Total absence (%) | Absence due to illness (%) | Excused absence (%) | Non-excused absence (%) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Group (n) | M (SD) | t / F | M diff. CI | M (SD) | t / F | M diff. CI | M (SD) | t / F | M diff. CI | M (SD) | t / F | M diff. CI |
| Sex | Males (92) | 33.35 (25.69) | -.880 | -12.29, 4.72 | 56.58 (37.32) | -.036 | -12.96, 12.50 | 13.01 (23.13) | -.870 | -13.00, 5.08 | 27.15 (33.23) | .763 | -6.78, 15.32 |
| Females (60) | 37.14 (26.31) | 56.81 (41.01) | 16.97 (29.93) | 22.88 (34.44) | |||||||||
| Age (years) | 6–12 (74) | 31.69 (24.47) | -1.468 | -14.43, 2.13 | 58.95 (37.04) | .704 | -8.00, 16.85 | 16.65 (27.38) | .957 | -4.30, 12.38 | 21.70 (29.74) | -1.352 | -18.03, 3.38 |
| 13–17 (78) | 37.84 (27.04) | 54.52 (40.31) | 12.61 (24.64) | 29.03 (36.84) | |||||||||
| Mental health problem, Y | No (112) | 33.71 (24.02) | -0.808 | -15.08, 6.40 | 56.24 (38.46) | -0.230 | -15.77, 12.48 | 14.35 (25.84) | -0.182 | -10.37, 8.62 | 27.63 (34.70) | 1.331 | -3.99, 20.45 |
| Yes (40) | 38.04 (30.73) | 57.88 (39.79) | 15.22 (26.76) | 19.40 (30.16) | |||||||||
| Mental health problem, P | No (102) | 31.50 (24.44) | -2.304* | -18.88, -1.45 | 57.15 (39.17) | 0.214 | -11.81, 14.67 | 15.75 (27.46) | 0.794 | -5.31, 12.45 | 24.16 (33.45) | -0.677 | -15.45, 7.56 |
| Yes (50) | 41.67 (27.72) | 55.71 (38.05) | 12.18 (22.82) | 28.11 (34.27) | |||||||||
| Living with both parents | No (68) | 38.38 (24.68) | 1.520 | -1.92, 14.72 | 52.91 (37.96) | -1.079 | -19.27, 5.66 | 10.74 (19.83) | -1.714 | -14.94, 1.06 | 33.40 (34.92) | 2.670** | 3.74, 25.01 |
| Yes (84) | 31.98 (26.68) | 59.72 (39.23) | 17.68 (29.85) | 19.03 (31.36) | |||||||||
| Mothers level of education (years) | 0–10 (8) | 35.42 (23.57) | 0.907 | 41.87 (38.73) | 2.436 | 18.74 (20.50) | 0.144 | 39.39 (25.84) | 1.130 | ||||
| 11–15 (105) | 36.59 (25.97) | 61.20 (37.50) | 14.70 (27.22) | 23.15 (32.86) | |||||||||
| 16–20 (39) | 30.04 (26.26) | 47.54 (40.43) | 13.38 (24.00) | 28.83 (36.84) | |||||||||
| Fathers level of education (years) | 0–10 (26) | 37.95 (24.59) | 0.276 | 45.79 (40.61) | 1.278 | 7.89 (14.31) | 1.408 | 42.48 (37.26) | 5.248** | ||||
| 11–15 (87) | 34.71 (26.19) | 58.33 (37.41) | 14.64 (25.93) | 24.73 (33.38) | |||||||||
| 16–20 (39) | 33.08 (26.63) | 60.23 (39.95) | 18.90 (31.31) | 15.74 (27.78) | |||||||||
| Long-term absence: | Total absence (%) | Absence due to illness (%) | Excused absence (%) | Non-excused absence (%) | |||||||||
| Sex | Males (92) | 23.01 (16.16) | -.550 | -6.72, 3.80 | 57.99 (32.28) | -.321 | -12.78, 9.20 | 16.06 (20.69) | .183 | -6.32, 7.61 | 24.86 (29.29) | .343 | -8.20, 11.65 |
| Females (60) | 24.48 (15.86) | 59.78 (35.36) | 15.42 (22.04) | 23.14 (31.70) | |||||||||
| Age (years) | 6–12 (74) | 20.06 (12.80) | -2.725** | -11.86, -1.89 | 63.01 (32.19) | 1.555 | -2.27, 19.06 | 16.62 (21.77) | .461 | -5.21, 8.39 | 19.02 (26.38) | -2.088* | -19.57, -0.54 |
| 13–17 (78) | 26.94 (18.00) | 54.61 (34.26) | 15.03 (20.68) | 29.08 (32.80) | |||||||||
| Mental health problem, Y | No (112) | 21.53 (14.14) | -2.335** | -14.53, -1.11 | 59.11 (32.77) | 0.251 | -10.65, 13.76 | 15.63 (20.87) | -0.176 | -8.41, 7.04 | 24.38 (30.18) | 0.133 | -10.28, 11.76 |
| Yes (40) | 29.35 (19.42) | 57.55 (35.60) | 16.31 (22.23) | 23.64 (30.52) | |||||||||
| Mental health problem, P | No (102) | 20.53 (13.25) | -3.079** | -15.30, -3.28 | 59.41 (33.03) | 0.372 | -9.28, 13.59 | 17.47 (22.66) | 1.521 | -1.53, 11.67 | 22.14 (28.73) | -1.192 | -16.48, 4.08 |
| Yes (50) | 29.82 (19.20) | 57.25 (34.51) | 12.40 (17.43) | 28.34 (32.83) | |||||||||
| Living with both parents | No (68) | 26.29 (14.82) | 1.885 | -0.23, 10.00 | 53.97 (33.94) | -1.576 | -19.27, 2.17 | 11.63 (14.21) | -2.341* | -13.94, -1.17 | 32.93 (33.23) | 3.231** | 6.13, 25.52 |
| Yes (84) | 21.40 (16.68) | 62.52 (32.70) | 19.19 (25.02) | 17.10 (25.52) | |||||||||
| Mothers level of education (years) | 0–10 (8) | 27.63 (17.43) | 2.420 | 43.17 (30.71) | 3.008 | 17.13 (12.89) | 0.447 | 39.69 (26.90) | 1.344 | ||||
| 11–15 (105) | 25.03 (16.08) | 62.97 (32.64) | 14.73 (21.08) | 22.30 (29.90) | |||||||||
| 16–20 (39) | 18.87 (14.92) | 50.37 (34.30) | 18.43 (22.85) | 26.07 (31.20) | |||||||||
| Fathers level of education (years) | 0–10 (26) | 28.88 (15.28) | 1.736 | 48.66 (35.15) | 1.497 | 9.08 (11.03) | 4.128* | 42.26 (34.16) | 7.062** | ||||
| 11–15 (87) | 22.43 (15.64) | 61.53 (32.06) | 14.44 (18.77) | 22.88 (29.00) | |||||||||
| 16–20 (39) | 22.65 (16.96) | 59.06 (34.83) | 23.34 (28.44) | 15.04 (25.18) | |||||||||
Note: Y: Youths, P: Parents, M: Mean. SD: Standard Deviation. M diff. CI = Mean difference confidence intervals (95%). t: t-value from independent samples t-test, F: F-value from One-way ANOVA.
* p < .05 level (2-tailed).
** p < .01 level (2-tailed).