School Absenteeism and Neighborhood Deprivation and Threat: Utilizing the Child Opportunity Index to Assess for Neighborhood-Level Disparities in Passaic County, NJ

Abstract

Leveraging publicly available data about schools” absenteeism from the New Jersey Department of Education, the present study examined how neighborhood-level resource deprivation and violent crime related to chronic absenteeism in Passaic County's elementary, middle, and high schools. Results highlighted geographic disparities in Passaic County, New Jersey, whereby predominantly racial/ethnic, under-resourced, communities of color have significantly greater levels of resource deprivation and threat. Additionally, greater neighborhood-level resource deprivation and neighborhood violent crime were associated with higher rates and trajectories of absenteeism across three academic school years. These findings highlight the importance of considering neighborhood context in absenteeism prevention programs.