SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY AND ABSENTEEISM (CHRONIC ABSENCE) AMONG MIDDLE-SCHOOL STUDENTS (A FIELD STUDY IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EL OUED PROVINCE, ALGERIA)

Abstract

This study examined the level of perceived psychological school safety among secondary-school students, estimated the rate of chronic absenteeism (≥10% of membership days), and tested their association. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed. A pilot study was conducted to adapt and validate the Arabic school safety scale(Manzil Al-Anzi, 2004); item–total correlations ranged 0.33–0.86, with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93. The main sample comprised 400 students from three secondary schools in El Oued (197 male, 203 female). Administrative attendance records were used to calculate chronic absenteeism based on membership days. Results showed that 72% of students reported high school safety, with significant differences across safety levels, while the school-level chronic absenteeism rate was 4.60% (low). Using Modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors, a 22% decrease in the prevalence of chronic absenteeism was observed for each +1 SD increase in per ceived safety (aPR ≈ 0.78),with no significant sex differences. Findings highlight the importance of strengthening psychological safety(supportive relationships, positive discipline, clear rules) to maintain satisfactory attendance and prevent escalation into at-risk categories.