The Relationship between School Absenteeism and Substance Use: An Integrative Literature Review

Gakh, Maxim; Coughenour, Courtney; Assoumou, Bertille; Vanderstelt, Melissa

doi:10.1080/10826084.2019.1686021

Cited by 37 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Taken together, the relationships between the use of illicit drugs and legally approved substances are complex and intertwined or mutually reinforcing [35,36]. They may be affected by the personal circumstances and environmental conditions of the abusers, and may cause other forms of behavioral maladjustment [17,37,38]. Nevertheless, our current understanding of this complicated phenomenon of substance abuse is limited, and so more cross-disciplinary research is again recommended.…”

Section: Substance Abuse and Its Types And Formsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substance Abuse and Public Health: A Multilevel Perspective and Multiple Responses

Yeung

Tam

2020

IJERPH

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Substance abuse has been a thorny public health concern throughout human history. Manifestly, prevention and treatment are the two main strategies commonly adopted to tackle the problem of substance abuse. They are in fact cross-disciplinary, and they relate to the various domains of heredity, biology, psychology, cognitive science, family, social development and cultural structures. This special issue, “Substance Abuse, Environment and Public Health,” has published empirical studies from different regions and countries globally to enhance the international exchange of latest views and findings on the etiology, processes and influences of substance abuse across different domains, through which a multilevel perspective is considered more helpful for analyzing its complex nature, courses and consequences. This in turn suggests the possible need to employ multiple responses dynamically and integratively in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse.

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Section: Substance Abuse and Its Types And Formsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substance Abuse and Public Health: A Multilevel Perspective and Multiple Responses

Yeung

Tam

2020

IJERPH

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“…Therefore, substance use research may be uniquely vulnerable to sample coverage error. Youth who do not attend school on a regular basis or who have dropped out may be more likely to have increased substance use [ 16 , 17 ] and may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of substance use. Thus, the systematic exclusion of this population underestimates prevalence estimates of substance use among youth, which can, in turn, affect policy, funding decisions, and the development and generalizability of prevention and intervention efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Neighborhoods’ Impact on Youth Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes in Paterson, New Jersey: Protocol for a Community-Based Participatory Research Study

Opara¹,

Leonard²,

Thorpe³

et al. 2021

JMIR Res Protoc

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Background Substance use among youth is a major public health concern. Of note, substance use among youth is increasing in prevalence, and the incidence of substance use at earlier ages is rising. Given the long-term consequences of early substance use, it is important to identify factors that increase youth vulnerability to drug use, as they may be important targets for future interventions. Objective This study aims to use innovative methods, such as venue-based sampling, to recruit youth who are disconnected from school and use community-based participatory research to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of substance use and important correlates among youth aged between 13 and 21 years in Paterson, New Jersey, a low-income, urban community. The study will use a convergent, mixed methods design involving multiple data collection components and the analysis of a ministrative data source, designed with the strengths of complex intervention frameworks in mind. The overall aims of the study are to identify the prevalence of substance use among youth who are engaged in school and not engaged in school; to understand important antecedents and correlates of substance use; and to use this information to inform social, environmental, and culturally appropriate interventions to address substance use and its correlates among youths in a lower-resourced urban community. Methods This study will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to address important questions. Specifically, semistructured interviews using focus group and interview methodologies will be used to assess youths’ lived experiences and will account for specific details that quantitative methods may not be able to attain. In addition, quantitative methods will be used to examine direct and multilevel associations between neighborhood factors and youth substance use and mental health outcomes. Results A previous analysis from a substance use initiative in Paterson, New Jersey found that youth who use substances such as marijuana and alcohol are more likely to have higher rates of depression and anxiety. On the basis of the research questions, this study will examine the association between neighborhood characteristics, substance use, and mental health symptoms among youth in Paterson by using quantitative and qualitative methods and will use these findings to inform the adaptation of a community- and evidence-based substance use prevention intervention for these youths. Conclusions The findings of this study will provide an important contribution to understanding the role of socioecological factors in predicting substance use and mental health outcomes among youth in a lower-resourced, urban community. Furthermore, these findings will serve as evidence for the development of a culturally informed, community-based prevention program to address substance use disparities for youth, including those who are truant in Paterson, New Jersey. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/29427

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“…Furthermore, the relationship between chronic absenteeism and substance use is difficult to fully understand because of methodological issues. Gakh et al 18 in an integrative literature review demonstrated that the relationship between school absenteeism and substance use provided a limited understanding of how and why this association manifests. Using cross-sectional and local-level data often limits nuanced investigation on substance use and school absenteeism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using cross-sectional and local-level data often limits nuanced investigation on substance use and school absenteeism. Therefore, Gakh et al 18 called for absenteeism research that uses longitudinal methods and national data, which articulate methodologies and self-appraised limitations. There is a deficit of longitudinal studies on substance use and school absenteeism in South Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol and drug use as factors for high-school learners’ absenteeism in the Western Cape

Osuafor

2021

South African Journal of Psychiatry

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Background: School absenteeism has been studied in detail in relation to health risk behaviours using cross sectional studies.Aim: The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the association amongst alcohol, drug use and high-school learners’ absenteeism.Setting: This study was set in the Western Cape.Methods: Data 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.Results: Results 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.Conclusion: These 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.

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The Relationship between School Absenteeism and Substance Use: An Integrative Literature Review

Cited by 37 publications

References 47 publications

Substance Abuse and Public Health: A Multilevel Perspective and Multiple Responses

Substance Abuse and Public Health: A Multilevel Perspective and Multiple Responses

Understanding Neighborhoods’ Impact on Youth Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes in Paterson, New Jersey: Protocol for a Community-Based Participatory Research Study

Alcohol and drug use as factors for high-school learners’ absenteeism in the Western Cape

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