eCite Digital Repository
Mental disorders in children known to child protection services during early childhood
Citation
Green, MJ and Hindmarsh, G and Kariuki, M and Laurens, KR and Neil, AL and Katz, I and Chilvers, M and Harris, F and Carr, VJ, Mental disorders in children known to child protection services during early childhood, Medical Journal of Australia pp. 1-7. ISSN 0025-729X (2019) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
© 2019 AMPCo Pty Ltd
Abstract
Design, Setting, Participants: Retrospective analysis of linked New South Wales administrative data, 2001-2016, for a population cohort of children (mean age in 2016, 13.2 years; SD, 0.37 years) enrolled in the longitudinal NSW Child Development Study (NSW-CDS), wave 2 linkage.
Main Outcome Measures: Associations between being the subject of a child protection report (any, and by level of child protection response) during early childhood (birth to 6 years of age) and diagnoses of mental disorders during middle childhood (6-14 years).
Results: 13 796 of 74 462 children in the NSW-CDS (18.5%) had been the subjects of reports to child protection services during early childhood: 1148 children had been placed in out-of-home care at least once, and 1680 had been the subjects of substantiated risk-of-significant-harm reports but were not placed in care, while 9161 had non-substantiated reports, and 1807 had reports of facts that did not reach the threshold for significant harm. After adjusting for sex, socio-economic disadvantage, perinatal complications, and parental mental illness, early childhood contact with protection services was associated with increased frequency of being diagnosed with a mental disorder during middle childhood (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.72; 95% CI, 2.51-2.95). The frequency was highest for children who had been placed in out-of-home care (aOR, 5.25; 95% CI, 4.46-6.18).
Conclusion: Childhood-onset mental disorders are more frequently diagnosed in children who come to the attention of child protection services during early childhood, particularly in children placed in out-of-home care.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | childhood adversity, mental disorders, out-of-home care, child psychiatry, mental health policy, population health, social determinants of health, stress, trauma and stressor related disorders |
Research Division: | Health Sciences |
Research Group: | Epidemiology |
Research Field: | Epidemiology not elsewhere classified |
Objective Division: | Health |
Objective Group: | Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) |
Objective Field: | Neonatal and child health |
UTAS Author: | Neil, AL (Associate Professor Amanda Neil) |
ID Code: | 135597 |
Year Published: | 2019 |
Funding Support: | National Health and Medical Research Council (1133833) |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 15 |
Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
Deposited On: | 2019-11-05 |
Last Modified: | 2019-12-06 |
Downloads: | 0 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page