Abstract
BackgroundSchool absenteeism has been studied in detail in relation to health risk behaviours using cross sectional studies.AimThe aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the association amongst alcohol, drug use and high-school learners’ absenteeism.SettingThis study was set in the Western Cape.MethodsData were collected at three separate time points from 2950, 2675 and 2230 grade 8 learners aged 13–18 years old on school absenteeism, alcohol and drug use and sociodemographic characteristics. Associations between school absenteeism, alcohol and cannabis and sociodemographic factors use were examined using descriptive and chi-square analyses. Binary logistic regression was performed using generalised linear mixed model analyses.ResultsResults revealed that 9.3% of the learners were absent for 2 weeks in the 15 weeks of the school year. Alcohol consumption (X2 = 34.1, p < 0.001; odds ratio [OR]: 1.64 (1.38–1.94), p < 0.001) and smoking cannabis (X2 = 49.9, p < 0.001; OR: 2.01 (1.65–2.45), p < 0.001) were associated with school absenteeism at bivariate and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, alcohol (OR: 1.42 (1.06–1.89), p < 0.05) and cannabis (OR: 1.57 (1.11–2.22), p < 0.05) use remained robust in predicting learners school absenteeism after adjusting for age, sex and socioeconomic status.ConclusionThese findings suggest that alcohol consumption and smoking cannabis are contemporary factors associated with school absenteeism. Therefore, interventions to ensure learners’ consistent attendance to school should integrate prevention of alcohol and cannabis use.
Highlights
Substance use has been studied in great detail in relation to adolescents’ health risk behaviours in South Africa
Our results revealed that learners who participated in peer education programmes were more likely to be absent from school
The study has demonstrated that consumption of alcohol and smoking cannabis are important factors contributing to school absenteeism
Summary
Substance use has been studied in great detail in relation to adolescents’ health risk behaviours in South Africa. In Limpopo province, studies have shown that alcohol use among school going adolescents was a serious public health concern.[1,2,3] In another study in the Western Cape province, alcohol use and other drug use were associated with risky sexual behaviours between grades 8–10 learners.[4] Govender et al.[5] in multi-system model of risk and protective factors found that alcohol consumption by adolescents was associated with sexual risk behaviour in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province Of all these studies conducted among school going adolescents in South Africa, none investigated the relationship between substance use and school absenteeism. School absenteeism has been studied in detail in relation to health risk behaviours using cross sectional studies
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Schedule a callMore From: The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa
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