A Study of School Absenteeism and Student Well-being in Elementary Schools

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

CBT: The EMOTION Intervention is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, which has been shown to be effective in both the treatment and prevention of anxiety and depression in children. The EMOTION intervention has been developed as a school-based program and consists of an intensive course lasting eight weeks, using a hybrid model with eight face-to-face group meetings at school and eight hours of digital sessions completed by the child at home. Additionally, it is desirable for parents to support their children; hence, guardians will be offered the opportunity to attend an informational meeting. They will also receive a brochure detailing how they can support and assist their child. A group leader manual and a workbook for the children have been developed (Martinsen et al., 2017).

Study summary

This study will be conducted at elementary schools in Oslo and aims to explore multiple aspects of school absenteeism and student well-being. It has two main objectives: 1) a preventive focus specifically related to school attendance and functioning, and 2) a user perspective that includes measuring user satisfaction with the interventions used in the study. The aim is to investigate whether the EMOTION intervention can be utilized to enhance school attendance and functioning for children experiencing emerging difficulties in attending school, who also tend to be more sad and anxious than their peers. Additionally, the study seeks to compare changes in anxiety and sadness with previous studies involving the EMOTION intervention through benchmarking. The perceptions of parents regarding the causes of their children's difficulties will also be examined. Evaluating user satisfaction with the EMOTION intervention in relation to emerging school absenteeism and the implementation of attendance teams in the schools is another objective. This will contribute to increased knowledge about interventions targeting children with emerging difficulties in school attendance and their experiences with these interventions.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Primar outcomes for absenteeism — From screening for enrollment (T1), at the end of treatment after approximately 10 weeks (T2) and 6 moths after the intervention finished (T3)
  Primary outcome measures Children: School attendance: Screen for Early Development of School Absenteeism: SCREEN. Scores from 1 - 5 , not at all to very, higher score indicates higher absentism. Primary outcome measures Parents: Screen for Early Development of School Absenteeism: SCRE

Trial sites (1)

More University of Oslo trials in Norway