Open research questions in Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
565 gap statements mined from Youth Substance Use and School Attendance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 4,647 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.
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What the literature leaves open
The direction of the relationship between school attendance and parental mental health is unclear. There is a need for a more nuanced understanding of established risk factors including pupil anxiety and depression. The current study aims to address the gap in understanding how family factors cause and maintain attendance problems.
Examining the direction of association between attendance-related difficulties and maternal depression symptoms in two UK birth cohorts · 2026 · DOILack of standardized, empirically validated treatment for severe anxious school refusal (ASR) in adolescents. Limited understanding of the effectiveness of CBT in a hospital day-care unit for adolescents with severe ASR. Need for a minimum threshold of effectiveness to be established before designing a phase III randomized controlled study.
Cognitive-behavioural therapy in hospital day-care unit for adolescents with severe anxious school refusal: a phase II multicentre study · 2026 · DOIThe study notes that existing research on interventions for school attendance is limited and often of weak quality. The paper highlights the need for further research to understand how best to support children experiencing EBSA.
Emotionally Based School Avoidance in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Neurodiversity, Agency and Belonging in School · 2024 · DOIThe lack of harmonization in the definition of absenteeism is a significant challenge. The limited current state of monitoring in Germany, which focuses primarily on recording attendance data, is another challenge. The paper also notes that political considerations may lead schools to refrain from publishing figures if they fall short of established objectives or report high absenteeism rates.
Addressing School Absenteeism Through Monitoring: A Review of Evidence-Based Educational Policies and Practices · 2024 · DOIFuture research should aim to include more diverse participant pools. Future research should be conducted in a broader range of countries, including low- and middle-income countries. Future research should aim to deepen insight into how school environments impact school refusal.
Understanding the Contextual Variables that Contribute to the School Refusal Behavior of Neurodivergent Adolescents: A Scoping Review · 2026 · DOIThere is a lack of diverse participant pools in existing research on school refusal. There is a need for more research in low- and middle-income countries. The review highlights the importance of understanding contextual variables in contributing to school refusal.
Understanding the Contextual Variables that Contribute to the School Refusal Behavior of Neurodivergent Adolescents: A Scoping Review · 2026 · DOIThe study highlights the need for interventions to address the challenges posed by long distances to school.
Miles to Learn: The Influence of Long Distance to School on Attendance, Enrollment and Retention in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya · 2026 · DOISchool refusal is a complex phenomenon that encompasses an interplay of psychological factors, family influences, and systemic and cultural challenges. The decline in school attendance rates has prompted significant concern among policymakers. The existing literature on school refusal has not adequately addressed the need for a multisystemic approach that integrates holistic and ecological support strategies.
Transformative change or status quo? An investigation of the Senate Inquiry recommendations on policy and practice regarding school refusal in Australia · 2026 · DOIThere is a lack of research on the potential of Senate Inquiry recommendations to deliver transformational change in the context of school refusal. The existing literature on school refusal has not adequately addressed the need for a multisystemic approach that integrates holistic and ecological support strategies.
Transformative change or status quo? An investigation of the Senate Inquiry recommendations on policy and practice regarding school refusal in Australia · 2026 · DOIThere is a need for effective policies to prevent school dropout in Korea. The existing policies and programs may not be sufficient to address the complex issues surrounding school dropout.
Identifying the predictors of suspension risk is a complex task due to the multiple factors involved. The study had to address the issue of missing data and ensure that the sample was representative of the population. The study had to balance the complexity of the model with the need for interpretability and simplicity.
Future research could examine whether similar temporally structured patterns of absenteeism emerge across different institutional, cultural, and educational contexts. Future research could examine how absenteeism patterns vary across demographic groups, educational stages, and student populations within different school contexts.
Institutional time and collective behavior: end-of-week school absenteeism as a social pattern · 2026 · DOIThere is a need to understand the complex causes and risk factors of mood disorders. There is a need to identify effective intervention strategies for the treatment of mood disorders.
Mood Disorders and Learning: Implications for Educational Practice and Mental Health Interventions · 2026 · DOIThe need for a mathematical model to describe the dynamics of student absenteeism. The lack of analysis on the stability properties of such a model.
The concept of persistent absenteeism has inherent limitations, as it does not differentiate between various forms of absence. The paper identifies a gap in understanding the underlying causes of school absenteeism. The analysis aims to address this gap by distinguishing between authorised and unauthorised absences.
Predictors of authorised, unauthorised and persistent absence among secondary school pupils in Scotland · 2026 · DOIWhen the reason for absence has not yet been established before the register closes, the absence must be recorded with code N. Code N: Reason for absence not yet established 407.
Exploring the early observations of parents supporting their children with school attendance problems ( SAPs ): A co‐produced study · 2026 · DOISchool absence is a complex issue, influenced by multiple factors, including individual, family, school and societal factors. Punitive approaches to discipline can worsen mental health and increase the risk of absence. There is a need for effective strategies to improve school attendance, particularly for vulnerable children and young people.
Despite a comprehensive and iterative search strategy, no studies were identified in which school refusal was the primary focus of investigation for this population.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a range of adverse developmental outcomes; however, their associations with severe social withdrawal (hikikomori tendencies) and the potential role of executive function (EF) remain poorly understood.
Exploring executive functions in the relationship between childhood adverse experiences and hikikomori tendencies among Singaporean young adults · 2026 · DOITo examine the cultural backgrounds, common mental health disorders, and psychosocial stressors among transcultural patients at a regional Victorian CAMHS.
Investigate the mechanisms by which child attendance-related difficulties may influence maternal depression symptoms, - Examine the effectiveness of interventions targeting child attendance-related difficulties in reducing maternal depression symptoms, - Explore the generalizability of the findings to other populations…
Examining the direction of association between attendance-related difficulties and maternal depression symptoms in two UK birth cohorts · 2026 · DOIThe need for further research to understand how best to support children experiencing EBSA in returning to school is pressing - Building a holistic understanding of the factors that lead a minority of children to perceive school as a hostile…
Emotionally Based School Avoidance in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Neurodiversity, Agency and Belonging in School · 2024 · DOIThe study identifies a gap in understanding the impact of long distances to school on educational participation in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The study also identifies a gap in understanding the role of the School Feeding Programme (SFP) in mitigating the challenges posed by long distances to school.
Miles to Learn: The Influence of Long Distance to School on Attendance, Enrollment and Retention in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya · 2026 · DOIFurther investigation into the factors contributing to why some young people's attendance starts poor but gets progressively better through the course of the year, - Better understanding of the challenges that emerge as young people progress through secondary school, - Examining the effectiveness of targeted interventions in improving…
High-quality research on school absence is limited, - Limited improvement in attendance rates despite initiatives, - Insufficient support for needs related to mental health and/or…
Most-cited papers in Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
- Withdrawing From School · Review of Educational Research · 1989 · 1,589 citations
- “GOOD‐BYE, TEACHER …”1 · Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis · 1968 · 903 citations
- Missing Data in Educational Research: A Review of Reporting Practices and Suggestions for Improvement · Review of Educational Research · 2004 · 810 citations
- School absenteeism and school refusal behavior in youth: A contemporary review · Clinical Psychology Review · 2007 · 698 citations
- Impact of views to school landscapes on recovery from stress and mental fatigue · Landscape and Urban Planning · 2016 · 619 citations
- School effects on psychological outcomes during adolescence. · Journal of Educational Psychology · 2002 · 532 citations
- Risk Factors for School Absenteeism and Dropout: A Meta-Analytic Review · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · 2019 · 487 citations
- High School Dropouts: A Review of Issues and Evidence · Review of Educational Research · 1987 · 486 citations
- Peer rejection as antecedent of young children's school adjustment: An examination of mediating processes. · Developmental Psychology · 2001 · 466 citations
- Teacher judgments concerning the acceptability of school-based interventions. · Professional Psychology Research and Practice · 1985 · 455 citations
Most recent work
- The decline in pupils’ emotional engagement with school. How does England compare to other countries? · Comparative Education · 2026
- Creating Welcoming Schools: The Role of Positive Climates in Reducing Absenteeism · American Educational Research Journal · 2026
- Investigating School Refusal in the Italian Context: SCREEN Validation and Its Associations With Resilient Coping and Affect · Psychology in the Schools · 2026
- Health-Related School Absenteeism Among US School-Age Children With Chronic Health and Social Needs · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · 2026
- Predictors and patterns of absenteeism among students with disabilities: implications for inclusive education · Frontiers in Education · 2026
- Deciding to drop out of school during compulsory education: Testing developmental and contextual models in students from low-income families · Learning and Individual Differences · 2026
- Cognitive-behavioural therapy in hospital day-care unit for adolescents with severe anxious school refusal: a phase II multicentre study · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026
- Hikikomori in the urban digital era: a psychodynamic, transdiagnostic model and multimodal interventions · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · 2026
- A history of the present absences · Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research · 2026
- An Examination of Chronic Absenteeism and Youth Mental Health in Georgia: Before, During, and After COVID-19 · Urban Education · 2026
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