School absenteeism, anxiety and adjustment in adolescents: Preliminary study

In the present investigation, the presence of anxiety is studied in a sample of adolescents with school absenteeism. The relation of this variable with diverse dimensions of adjustment is also analyzed. We worked with a sample of 85 students that presented more than 25% of hours of unjustified school absence in a month. Their ages ranged between 12 and 16 years old. Sixty two of them were men and 23 women; all of them were studying secondary education. Instruments used included the STAI-C (Spielberger, 2001) and the Behavior Adaptation Inventory for adolescents (IAC; Cruz & Cordero, 2004). Results do not reflect significant differences in either anxiety or adjustment levels between absentee boys and girls in ordinary class situations. Personal and family adjustment were the dimensions that predicted anxiety in school absenteeism to a greater extent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)