The Perceptions of Anxiety-related School Absenteeism in Youth: A Qualitative Study Involving Youth, Mother, and Father

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Maria Cabo Dannow
  • Barbara Hoff Esbjørn
  • Sophie Wollny Risom

School absenteeism is an understudied field, and little is known about youths’ and parents’ perceptions of the problem. We examined the experiences of three youths with anxiety-related school absenteeism and their parents using a qualitative phenomenological approach. Results highlight the overarching domains consisting of the contribution of individual, school, and parental factors. Underlying main themes were also identified. These included: ambivalence towards school attendance, school at the organisational level, school at the student-teacher level, school at the student-peer level, parental responsibility, and limited understanding and knowledge concerning school absenteeism. Furthermore, subthemes were identified. Findings are discussed and practice implications are outlined, including the need for developing a common policy and procedure concerning anxiety-related school absenteeism in Danish schools.

Original languageEnglish
JournalScandinavian Journal of Educational Research
Volume64
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)22-36
Number of pages15
ISSN0031-3831
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © 2018 Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.

    Research areas

  • Anxiety-related school absenteeism, parent perspective, qualitative method, youth experience

ID: 269512823