SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2020
School absenteeism as a risk factor for self-harm and suicidal ideation in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures on self-harming and suicidal behaviors in adolescents: A comprehensive meta-analysis.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Is Limited English Proficiency Associated With Differences in Care Processes and Treatment Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Orthopaedic Surgery? A Systematic Review.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2024Pooled it
- Spatial, geographic, and demographic factors associated with adolescent and youth suicide: a systematic review study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- The longitudinal course of childhood bullying victimization and associations with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in children and young people: A systematic review of the literature.Journal of adolescence · 2023Pooled it
- Cost-Effectiveness of Internet-Delivered Emotion Regulation Therapy for Adolescents With Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Within-Trial Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2025Trial
- Smartphone-Measured Sleep Health Risk Factors Detect Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Adolescents.JAACAP open · 2026Article
- Explaining Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescents in the Urban Community Context: Insights From a School-Based Study in Depok City, Indonesia.Journal of community psychology · 2026Article
- A network analysis of school refusal behavior among Hani adolescents in rural border regions of Yunnan, China.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Truancy, Psychosocial Distress, and Risk Behaviors in School-Going Adolescents: Insights From a National School-Based Survey in the Philippines.The Journal of school health · 2026Article
- Network analysis of school refusal behavior and internalizing and externalizing problems among Chinese adolescents.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Sociodemographic differences in the risk of suicides in children and young people: a population level linked study in England, 2011 to 2022.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2026Article
- School experiences and self-harm in the OxWell study.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Enhancing adaptation and learning in educational environments (SENSE project): a case series study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- School attendance matters: co-occurring trajectories of school attendance and academic achievement from elementary to secondary school in a Canadian context.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Commentary: Framing chronic absenteeism and emotionally based school absenteeism as public health problems.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- The impact of school absence on mental health in children and young people: Analysis of an English national birth cohort.PloS one · 2026Article
- Impacts of COVID-19 on School Absenteeism Among Canadian Children and Youth.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2025Article
- Predictive Model of Suicidal Ideation Among Children and Adolescents in Pediatric Outpatient Settings.Child psychiatry and human development · 2025Article
- Adolescent and Parental Perspectives of Food Insecurity at Home and at School Among Adolescents Attending Junior High Schools in Cape Coast, Ghana.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Comparing rural and urban mothers' awareness of self-harm and associated risk factors among high school students in Bangladesh.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Self-harm and suicidal ideation in children and adolescents are common and are risk factors for completed suicide. Social exclusion, which can take many forms, increases the risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation. One important marker of social exclusion in young people is school absenteeism. Whether school absenteeism is associated with these adverse outcomes, and if so to what extent, remains unclear. To determine the association between school absenteeism and both self-harm (including completed suicide) and suicidal ideation in children and adolescents, we conducted a systematic review of observational studies. We conducted meta-analysis and report a narrative synthesis where this was not possible. Meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies showed that school absenteeism was associated with an increased risk of self-harm [pooled adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.20-1.57, P = 0.01] and of suicidal ideation (pooled aOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02-1.42, P = 0.03). A small number of studies showed that school absenteeism had a longitudinal association with both adverse outcomes. Heterogeneity in the exposure and outcome variables, study design and reporting was prominent and limited the extent to which it was appropriate to pool results. School absenteeism was associated with both self-harm and suicidal ideation in young people, but this evidence was derived from a small number of cross-sectional studies. Further research into the mechanisms of this association could help to inform self-harm and suicide prevention strategies at clinical, school and population levels.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.