School absenteeism and self-efficacy in very-low-income students in Italy: Cross-lagged relationships and differential effects of immigrant background

Dora Bianchi, Elisa Cavicchiolo, Sara Manganelli, Fabio Lucidi, Andrea Chirico, Laura Girelli, Mauro Cozzolino and Fabio Alivernini

Children and Youth Services Review, 2022, vol. 136, issue C

Abstract: School absenteeism is a serious problem among very-low-income students, with long-term consequences for well-being. Unfortunately, most acknowledged risk factors are difficult to modify through school-based interventions. However it is possible to hypothesize a link of school absenteeism with self-efficacy beliefs. The present two-wave study investigated the cross-lagged and bidirectional associations between school absenteeism and different domains of self-efficacy, among 242 very-low-income preadolescents and adolescents living in Italy (Mage = 12.76; SDage = 2.37; 42.6% female; 19% immigrants; T1-T2 attrition rate of 18.8%; response rate of 79.1%). All participants were certified as living below the poverty line. Self-report questionnaires were administered in after-school educational centers for disadvantaged students. The results showed a bidirectional negative relationship between school absenteeism and resistive self-efficacy, and a negative relationship from school absenteeism to emotional self-efficacy. Moreover, academic self-efficacy turned out to be a negative predictor of school absenteeism only for immigrants. Implications for prevention, intervention, and future research are discussed.

Keywords: School absenteeism; Self-efficacy; Very-low-income; Immigrants; Adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:136:y:2022:i:c:s0190740922000822

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106446

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