Prevalence of truancy among school-going adolescents in three South Asian countries: association with potential risk and protective factors

We examined the prevalence and evaluated the associated risk and protective factors of adolescent school truancy through sex-stratified models by analysing 7562 adolescent data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) of three South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The prevalence of school truancy was 26.6%. The highest truancy was found in Bangladesh (37%), followed by Pakistan (24.7%) and Afghanistan (14.7%). Male adolescents had a 2.05 times higher relative risk ratio (RRR) [95% CI: 1.29, 3.28] of having truancy of & GE; 3 days (last month) than the female respondents. Respondents of older age, bullied, and injured had significantly higher RRR of truancy of & GE; 3 days than their counterparts. Household food insecurity also significantly increased male and female students' RRR of school truancy. However, peer and high parental support significantly reduced the RRR of 1-2 days and & GE; 3 days of truancy of male and female students.