# Do Excessive School Absences Link to Children's Social-Behavioral Development and Executive Functioning?

> **NIH NIH R03** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $78,905

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Despite a great body of research linking school absences with children’s academic achievement, surprisingly
little is established about whether and how absences may be linked to children’s social-behavioral engagement
and executive functioning. However, there are developmental concerns associated with missing school, such as
increased alienation from peers and adults, engagement in current and future risky behaviors, and fewer long-
term economic opportunities. These negative ramifications are even stronger for vulnerable populations. Our
research will fill in these gaps in knowledge and be one of the first to use nationally representative data to assess
the associations between school absenteeism and children’s social-behavior development and executive
functioning during the elementary school years. Our proposal is significant because we will not only identify how
absenteeism correlates to the development of these skills, but we will also determine: (a) which school and
classroom policies and practices are linked with absenteeism; and (b) consider these associations across grade-
levels. In doing so, the results from this proposal will provide greater insight on which possible targets should be
considered to address developmental decline and social-behavioral risks.
To this end, we address the following four research aims: Aim 1: Identify classroom and school policies and
practices and family attributes that are associated with lower levels of absenteeism and behavioral engagement
and executive functioning in kindergarten. Aim 2: Examine the associations between absenteeism and children’s
behavioral engagement and executive functioning in kindergarten. Aim 3: Determine who is at greatest risk as
a result of school absenteeism in kindergarten. Aim 4: Assess the extent to which the trends, correlates, and
outcomes of school absences change between kindergarten and fifth grade.
We rely on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011. These data
provide extensive information on various domains of children’s development as they progress through
elementary school. A key advantage of these data will be the breadth of information on children, families,
teachers, and schools, which will permit for more robust estimates, as we can control for confounders to an
extent not possible previously. An additional advantage is that the sample includes a remarkably diverse group
of children. Taken together, our effort to identify factors that shape children’s school absences and their social-
behavior and executive functioning, particularly for vulnerable populations, means that our results can help
policymakers target school policies and develop new initiatives to address this public health issue.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9918436
- **Project number:** 5R03HD098420-03
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Arya Ansari
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $78,905
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-16 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9918436

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9918436, Do Excessive School Absences Link to Children's Social-Behavioral Development and Executive Functioning? (5R03HD098420-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9918436. Licensed CC0.

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