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Table 1 Characteristics of adolescents in Southwest Ethiopia by school absenteeism

From: Food insecurity, school absenteeism and educational attainment of adolescents in Jimma Zone Southwest Ethiopia: a longitudinal study

Characteristics

Non-absentees [n 1660]

Absentees [n 349]

P

Gender

   

   Male

51.8%

46.4%

0.067

   Female

48.2%

53.6%

 

Age (Years) †

14.8 (1.3)

14.7 (1.3)

0.277

Residence*

   

   Urban

36.9%

36.7%

0.216

   Semi-urban

28.5%

32.7%

 

   Rural

34.6%

30.7%

 

Adolescent food insecurity

   

   Food secure

82.1%

67.0%

< 0.001

   Food insecure

17.8%

33.0%

 

Severe household food insecurity

   

   No

63.7%

49.0%

< 0.001

   Yes

36.3%

51.0%

 

Illness during the last one month before the survey

   

   Yes

88.9%

75.1%

< 0.001

   No

11.1%

24.9%

 

Being part of female headed household

   

   No

82.4%

80.5%

0.402

   Yes

17.6%

19.5%

 

Number of days in a week the adolescent has to work for at least 1 hour†

1.9(1.6)

2.3(1.3)

< 0.001

The highest grade the adolescent aspires to complete†

13.7(6.9)

13.3(4.9)

0.006

The highest grade attained at round 2 of the survey†

6.2(2.5)

5.9(2.3)

0.047

  1. *"Semi-urban" refers to small towns including Yebbu, Serbo and Dedo and "urban" refers to Jimma City.
  2. Means and proportions were compared using t-test and Chi-square tests, respectively.
  3. †Means with standard deviations in brackets are shown, unless otherwise indicated.
  4. Percentages are computed out of row totals.