Missing school appears to be both a cause and a symptom of
depression, researchers have found. Middle school students with
absenteeism in one year were more likely to have depression and
conduct problems the next year independent of other factors in
an analysis of longitudinal studies by Jeffrey Wood, PhD, of the
University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues. But during
middle and high school, having depression and conduct problems
in one year also independently predicted absenteeism the next,
the group reported online in Child Development. "These findings
are consistent with the hypothesis that these two aspects of
youth adjustment may at times exacerbate one another, leading
over the course of time to more of each," Wood's group noted in
the paper. For example, depression can promote missed days
through lack of energy and interest, while missing a lot of
school can lead to academic failure and social isolation that
leads to or worsens depression, they explained. "Absenteeism
could be a useful target