Absenteeism In Children with ADHD Symptomology: The Roles of Parental Educational Support and Parent-Teacher Trust

Youth with ADHD are absent from school at twice the rate of their non-ADHD peers (Niemi et al., 2022). While parental educational support benefits academic outcomes, its impact on school attendance in children with ADHD is less understood, as is the relationship between school attendance in children with ADHD and parent-teacher trust. This study investigates two questions: (1) Is parental educational support associated with school attendance among children with ADHD symptoms, and does child age moderate this? (2) Is parent-teacher trust associated with children’s school attendance, and does child age moderate this? In 2022, data were collected from 95 parents of children aged 9–14 with ADHD symptoms across Canada. Regression analyses indicated that greater parental educational support was significantly associated with fewer school absences, R² = .20, F(3, 90) = 7.36, p < .001. Moreover, moderation analysis showed that child age significantly moderated this relationship, such that the effect of parental support on reducing absences was stronger for older children, b = –.05, p = .005. Parent-teacher trust was also significantly associated with fewer absences, R² = .16, F(3, 90) = 5.68, p = .001. However, moderation analysis found that child age did not significantly moderate this relationship, b = –.06, t(94) = –0.393, p = .694. These findings suggest that both parental support for learning and strong parent-teacher trust contribute to improved school attendance among children with ADHD symptoms. Notably, the role of parental support becomes increasingly important as children age. This insight may guide educators and health professionals in fostering collaboration to reduce absenteeism in this population.