Psychological Determinants of Student Absenteeism in Higher Education Institution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Student absenteeism is a persistent challenge in higher education globally and is strongly associated with academic disconnection, poor performance, and increased failure risk. While current research has largely underlined socioeconomic and institutional factors, comparatively little empirical attention has been given to psychological factor of absenteeism, particularly in the situation of public universities in Pakistan. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the psychological factors and student’s’ absenteeism in the university level at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Using a quantitative research design, Data were collected from Bacha Khan University Charsadda and Government Post Graduate Collage Charsadda student’s through a well a well-structured questionnaire. The chi-square tests were run to test the relationship between the psychological factor and student’s absenteeism. The findings indicate that absenteeism of the student is largely associated to psychological factors. Strong association was observed between low academic self-efficacy, fear of being criticized by peers, inability to concentrate because of personal issues, and previous academic failure and student absenteeism. Moderate associations were observed with anxiety and stress, low self-confidence and with absence of peer support and weak yet significant correlations with sleep-related fatigue, isolation, and depressive feelings. Challenges in acclimatizing to the university environment however were not significantly linked. The study concludes that absenteeism as a key predictor of psychological distress and social disengagements rather than not just non-compliance. The findings recommended that the universities should adopt student based and psychologically supportive engagements such as counseling services, peer mentoring and mechanisms to enhance academic self-efficacy and social sense of belonging. Addressing student’s’ psychological well-being is vital for improving attendance, engagement, and overall academic success.

Keywords: Student absenteeism; psychological factors; academic self-efficacy; anxiety and stress; higher education; Pakistan