Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Investigation of Personality Traits in Relation to Adolescent School Absenteeism

  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We examined the Big Five personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness, as well as four narrower traits of Aggression, Optimism, Tough-Mindedness, and Work Drive in relation to absences from school for middle- and high-school students. Participants were 248 seventh grade students, 321 tenth grade students, and 282 twelfth grade students. Most of the Big Five absence correlations were significant in the expected direction at all 3 grade levels. While Aggression, Optimism, Work Drive were significantly related to absences, only Work Drive added incremental variance to the prediction of absences beyond the Big Five traits. Study results were generally similar across grade levels. Findings were discussed in terms of dispositional absenteeism, the generalizability of the Big Five trait model, and the utility of more narrowband traits. Implications were drawn for early identification of absence-prone students and the precedent role of personality variables in school absence research on the effects of other variables, programs, and interventions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Aiken, C., Rush, J. P., and Wycoff, J. (1993). A preliminary inquiry into Alabama youth gang membership. J. Gang Res. 1(2): 37–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, M. C. (1998). Personality and job performance: The importance of narrow traits. J. Org. Behav. 19: 289–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aspy, D. N., Roebuck, F. B., and Aspy, C. B. (1984). Tomorrow's resources are in today's classroom. Pers. Guid. J. 62(8): 455–459.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barton, K., Dielman, T. E., and Cattell, R. B. (1972). Personality and IQ measures as predictors of school achievement. J. Educ. Psychol. 63: 398–404.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bhatnagar, J. K., and Sharma, M. (1992). A study of the relationship between parental education and academic achievement in a semirural setting. Psychol. Stud. 37(2-3): 126–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn, R. (1979). Psychopathy and personality: The dimensionality of self-report and behaviour rating data in abnormal offenders. Br. J. Soc. Clin. Psychol. 18(1): 111–119.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, D. G., and Mazanov, J. (1999). Sources of adolescent stress, smoking, and the use of other drugs. Stress Med. 15(4): 215–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, H. C. (1992). Season of birth and school attendance. Br. J. Educ. Psychol. 62(3): 392–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A. (1998). Personality development across the life course. In Damon, W., and Eisenberg, N. (eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology.Wiley, New York, pp. 311–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cattell, R. B., Eber, H. W., and Tatsuoka, M. M. (1970). Handbook for the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF). Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, Champaign, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ceci, S. J., and Williams, W. M. (1997). Schooling, intelligence, and income. Am. Psychol. 52(10): 1051–1058.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., and Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance and adjustment. J. Educ. Psych. 93(1): 55–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clegg, C. W. (1983). Psychology of employee lateness, absence, and turnover:Amethodological critique and an empirical study. J. Appl. Psychol. 68: 88–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., and Cohen, P. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression/ Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corville-Smith, J., Ryan, B. A., Adams, G. R., and Dalicandro, T. (1998). Distinguishing absentee students from regular attenders: The combined influence of personal, family, and school factors. J. Youth Adolesc. 27: 629–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P., and McCrae, R. (1994). Stability and change in personality from adolescence through adulthood. In Halverson, C. F., Jr., Kohnstamm, G. A., and Martin, R. P. (eds.), The Developing Structure of Temperament and Personality From Infancy to Adulthood. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 139–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crespo, M. (1984). School absenteeism and aspirations: A non-recursive path model. Br. Educ. Res. J. 10(2): 175–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Raad, B. (2000). The Big Five Personality Factors (The Psycholexical Approach to Personality). Hogrefe and Huber, Seattle, WA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Digman, J. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 41: 417–440.

    Google Scholar 

  • Digman, J. (1997). Higher order factors of the Big Five. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 73: 1246–1256.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, R. C. (1977). Personal traits and success in schooling and work. Educ. Psychol. Meas. 37(1): 125–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feshbach, S. (1984). Cognitive competencies and aggressive behavior: A developmental study. Aggres. Behav. 10(3): 185–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, F. (1934). Individual Differences. Holt, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galloway, D., Martin, R., and Wilcox, B. (1985). Persistent absences from school and exclusion from school: The predictive power of school and community variables. Br. Educ. Res. J. 11(1): 51–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie, B.V. (1999). Is math achievement a matter of personality type? J. Psych. Type 49: 37–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graziano, W., Jensen-Campbell, L., and Finch, J. (1997). The self as a mediator between personality and adjustment. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 73: 392–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graziano,W. G., and Eisenberg, N. H. (1997). Agreeableness: A dimension of personality. In Hogan, R., Johnson, J., and Briggs, S. (eds.). Handbook of Personality Psychology. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guilford, J. P., and Fruchter, B. J. (1979). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. McGraw-Hill, New York.

  • Hammer, T. H., and Landau, J. (1981). Methodological issues in the use of absence data. J. Appl. Psychol. 66: 574–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, C., Sanders, S. L., Massaro, S., and Last, C. G. (1998). Predictors of severity of absenteeism in children with anxiety-based school refusal. J. Clin. Child Psychol. 27(3): 246–254.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, D. A., and Hulin, C. L. (1989). Investigations of absenteeism: Using event history models to study the absence-taking process. J. Appl. Psychol. 74: 300–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann, D. J., Post, A. L., Wittmaier, B. C., and Elsasser, T. C. (1977). Relationship between personality factors and adaptation to stress in a military institution. Psychol. Rep.,40(3, Pt. 1): 831–834.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hirata, S., and Sako, T. (1998-1999). Perceptions of school environment among Japanese junior high school, non-attendant, and juvenile delinquent students. Learn. Environ. Res. 1: 321–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, J., and Ones, D. S. (1997). Conscientiousness and integrity at work. In Hogan, R., Johnson, J., and Briggs S. (eds.), Handbook of Personality Psychology. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 849–870.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, J., and Roberts, B. W. (1996). Issues and non-issues in the bandwidth-fidelity trade-off. J. Org. Behav. 17: 627–637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, M. P., and Anderson, R. J. (1978). Early identification of potential school dropouts: A literature review. Child Welfare 57(4): 221–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwamoto, S., and Yoshida, K. (1997). School refusal in Japan: The recent dramatic increase in incidence is a cause for concern. Soc. Behav. Pers. 25(4): 315–319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen-Campbell, L. A., Graziano, W. G., and Hair, E. C. (1996). Personality and relationships as moderators of interpersonal conflict in adolescence. Merrill-Palmer Quart. 42: 148–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. A. and Ostendorf, F. (1993). Clarification of the five-factor model with the abridged Big Five dimensional circumplex. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 65(3): 563–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., Martocchio, J. J., and Thoresen, C. J. (1997). Five-factor model of personality and employee absence. J. Appl. Psychol. 82(5): 745–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanungo, R. N. (1982). Measurement of job and work involvement. J. Appl. Psychol. 67(3): 341–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, C. A. (1993). Depression and school refusal behavior:Areview with comments on classification and treatment. J. School Psychol. 31: 267–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lounsbury, J. W., Loveland, J. M., Sundstrom, E. D., Gibson, L. W., Drost, A. W., and Hamrick, F. L. (2003a). An investigation of personality traits in relation to career satisfaction. J. Career Assess. 31(5): 531–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lounsbury, J. W., Tatum, H., Gibson, L. W., Park, S. H., Sundstrom, E. D., Hamrick, F. L., and Wilburn, D. (2003b). The development of a Big Five adolescent personality scale. Psychoeduc. Assess. 21: 111–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lounsbury, J. W., Sundstrom, E., Gibson, L. W., and Loveland, J. L. (2003). Broad versus narrow personality traits in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Learning Indiv. Diffs. 14(1): 65–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lounsbury, J. W., Gibson, L. W., and Hamrick, F. L. (2004). The development of a personological measure of work drive. J. Business and Psych. 18(4): 347–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandryk, T. R., and Schuerger, J. M. (1974). Cross-validation of the HSPQ as a predictor for high school grades. Educ. Psychol. Meas. 34: 449–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matumoto, J. (1994). A followup study of school refusal: The relationship between parents' expectations and the process of the child's school refusal. Jpn. J. Family Psychol. 8(1): 13–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., and Costa, P. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model across instruments and observers. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 49: 710–727.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., and Costa, P. (1997). Conceptions and correlates of openness to experience. In Hogan, R., Johnson, J., and Briggs, S. (eds.), Handbook of Personality Psychology. Academic, Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 826–847.

    Google Scholar 

  • McShane, G., Walter, G., and Rey, J. M. (2001). Characteristics of adolescents with school refusal. Aust. N. Z. J. Psychiatry 35(6): 822–826.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Merriam-Webster, Inc. (1981). Webster's Third New International Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mirels, H. L., and Garrett, J. B. (1971). The Protestant Ethic as a personality variable.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 36(1): 40–44.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Monk, D. H., and Ibrahim, M. A. (1984). Patterns of absence and pupil achievement. Am. Educ. Res. J. 21(2): 295–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moos, R. H., and Moos, B. S. (1978). Classroom social climate and student absences and grades. J. Educ. Psychol. 70(2): 263–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, I. B., and McCaulley, M. H. (1985). Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J. C., and Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric Theory. McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oakland, J. A. (1969). Measurement of personality correlates of academic achievement in high school students. J. Consult. Psychol. 16(5): 452–457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ones, D. S., and Viswesvaran, C. (1996). Bandwidth-fidelity dilemma in personality measurement for personnel selection. J. Org. Behav. 17: 609–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orpinas, P., and Frankowski, R. (2001). The Aggression Scale: A selfreport measure of aggressive behavior for young adolescents. J. Early Adolesc. 21(1): 50–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orr, A. J. (1996-1998). The effect of track position on absenteeism. Soc. Psychol. Educ. 1(4): 323–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paunonen, S. V. (1998). Hierarchical organization of personality and prediction of behavior. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 74: 538–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paunonen, S. V., Rothstein, M. G., and Jackson, D. N. (1999). Narrow meaning about the use of broad personality measures for personnel selection. J. Org. Behav. 20(3): 389–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, M. (1997). What makes schools effective? A comparison of the relationships of communitarian climate and academic achievement and attendance during middle school.Am. Educ. Res. J. 34(4): 633–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prola, M., and Stern, D. (1984). Optimism about college life and academic performance in college. Psychol. Rep. 55(2): 347–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen, J. L. (1991). Data transformation and absenteeism. Methodika 5: 47–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rau,W., and Durand, A. (2000). The academic ethic and college grades: Does hard work help students to make the grade? Sociol. Educ. 73(1): 19–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rayner, S., and Riding, R. (1996). Cognitive style and school refusal. Educ. Psychol. 16(4): 445–451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, K. (1984). Some social, psychological, and educational aspects related to persistent school absenteeism. Res. Educ. 31: 63–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, A. S., Spence, J. T., and Clark, H. (1992). Psychological determinants of health and performance: The tangled web of desirable and undesirable characteristics. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 61: 755–765.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., and Evans, D. E. (2000). Temperament and personality: Origins and outcomes. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 78: 122–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, R. J., Hough, L. M., and Dunnette, M. D. (1996). Broadsided by broad traits: How to sink science in five dimensions or less. J. Org. Behav. 17: 639–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, W., Maton, K. I., and Tett, D. M. (1998). School importance and dropout among pregnant adolescents. J. Adolesc. Health 22(5): 376–382.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stoecker, J. A. (1999). Optimism and grade expectations. Psychol. Rep. 84(3): 873–879.

    Google Scholar 

  • Towberman, D. B. (1994). Psychosocial antecedents of chronic delinquency. J. Offend.Rehabil. 21(1-2): 151–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (1996). Schools and Staffing Survey, 1993-94.United States Department of Education, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Washington, E. R., and Alcorn, J. D. (1978). The effects of school integration on social insight among Black students classified as introverts or extraverts. South. J. Educ. Res. 12(1): 47–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, C. J., Driver, R.W., and Watson, K. D. (1985). Methodological issues in absenteeism research: Multiple absence measures and multivariate normality. Acad. Manage. Rev. 10(3): 577–586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., and Clark, L. A. (1997). Measurement and mismeasurement of mood: Recurrent and emergent issues. J. Pers. Assess. 68: 267–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, R. L. (1999). Those “dumb” jocks are at it again: A comparison of the educational performance of athletes and nonathletes in North Carolina high schools from 1993-1996. High School J. 82(4): 223–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, J. S., and Trapnell, P. D. (1997). Personality structure: The return of the Big Five. In Hogan, R., Johnson, J., and Briggs, S. (eds.), Handbook of Personality Psychology.Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 737–765.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. John W. Lounsbury
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert P. Steel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. James M. Loveland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lucy W. Gibson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lounsbury, J.W., Steel, R.P., Loveland, J.M. et al. An Investigation of Personality Traits in Relation to Adolescent School Absenteeism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 33, 457–466 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOYO.0000037637.20329.97

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOYO.0000037637.20329.97

Search

Navigation