Association of pupil vandalism, bullying and truancy with teachers' absence due to illness: a multilevel analysis.
The aim of this study was to examine whether vandalism, bullying, and truancy among pupils at school are associated with absence due to illness among teachers. Data on such problem behaviour of 17,033 pupils in 90 schools were linked to absence records of 2364 teachers. Pupil reported vandalism and bullying at the school-level were associated with teachers' short-term (1- to 3-day) absences. Cumulative exposure to various forms of pupils' problem behaviour was associated with even higher rates of short-term absences among teachers. No association was found between pupils' problem behaviour and teachers' long-term (>3-day) absences. In conclusion, there seems to be a link between pupils' problem behaviour and teachers' short-term absence due to illness. Further work should determine whether problem behaviour is a cause or a consequence of absences or whether the association is noncausal.
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland. jenni.ervasti@ttl.fi
Jenni
J
Ervasti
Mika
M
Kivimäki
Riikka
R
Puusniekka
Pauliina
P
Luopa
Jaana
J
Pentti
Sakari
S
Suominen
Jussi
J
Vahtera
Marianna
M
Virtanen
D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D058445:Bullying; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013332:Student Dropouts