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Anxiety as a risk factor for school absenteeism: what differentiates anxious school attenders from non-attenders?
Jo Magne Ingul1, Hans M Nordahl
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Levanger Hospital, Nord-Trøndelag Health Trust, Kirkegt 2, 7600 Levanger, Norway. jo.magne.ingul@hnt.no.
Background:
Anxiety is a major risk factor for problematic school absenteeism. However, most anxious students attend school. What differentiates anxious attenders from non-attenders?
Method:
High school students (N = 865) were assigned to groups based on anxiety and absenteeism scores. These groups were then tested for differences in risk factor profiles using discriminant analysis.
Results:
Anxious school attenders were less affected by negative personality traits, total number of risk factors, social anxiety, panic, and behavioural and family problems. They also displayed greater resilience.
Conclusions:
This study indicates that the risk for problematic school absenteeism increases as the number of risk factors aggregate and that treatment for anxious school refusal should be based on a profile of the individual's risk factors.
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