Table 4. Initial candidate predictors: Child, maternal and family characteristics of children in the low literacy and middle-high literacy groups at 10 years.
| Predictor variables | Low ARS at 10 years (N = 502) | Middle-high ARS at 10 years (N = 2834) | Unadjusted Odds Ratio a b | p | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | OR | 95%CI | ||
| PPVT group at age 4 | <.0001 | ||||||
| Low (bottom 15%) | 114 | 31.6 | 247 | 68.4 | 3.43 | 2.62–4.49 | |
| Middle-high group | 312 | 11.7 | 2351 | 88.3 | ref. | ||
| PPVT group at age 6 | <.0001 | ||||||
| Low (bottom 15%) | 117 | 30.8 | 263 | 69.2 | 3.07 | 2.47–3.82 | |
| Middle-high group | 343 | 12.5 | 2406 | 87.5 | ref. | ||
| PPVT group at age 8 | <.0001 | ||||||
| Low (bottom 15%) | 145 | 34.3 | 278 | 65.7 | 3.72 | 2.96–4.69 | |
| Middle-high group | 325 | 11.6 | 2478 | 88.4 | ref. | ||
| Child Characteristics at age 4 | |||||||
| Sex | <.0001 | ||||||
| male | 321 | 19 | 1369 | 81 | 1.75 | 1.44–2.12 | |
| female | 181 | 11 | 1465 | 89 | ref. | ||
| Ethnicity | <.0001 | ||||||
| ATSI C | 45 | 45 | 55 | 55 | 4.92 | 3.23–7.48 | |
| SC Non-ATSI | 457 | 14.1 | 2777 | 85.9 | ref. | ||
| Birthweight | 0.1053 | ||||||
| Low birthweight | 38 | 18.3 | 170 | 81.7 | 1.34 | 0.94–1.89 | |
| Normal birthweight | 450 | 14.6 | 2638 | 85.4 | ref. | ||
| SC Ear Infections | 0.0005 | ||||||
| yes | 59 | 23 | 197 | 77 | 1.69 | 1.26–2.27 | |
| no | 443 | 14.4 | 2637 | 85.6 | ref. | ||
| Who Am I (quintiles) | <.0001 | ||||||
| 1 (lowest) | 205 | 34 | 398 | 66 | 11.16 | 7.17–17.38 | |
| 2 | 135 | 18.9 | 579 | 81.1 | 5.36 | 3.45–8.32 | |
| 3 | 63 | 11.5 | 487 | 88.5 | 2.93 | 1.86–4.61 | |
| 4 | 52 | 7.7 | 627 | 92.3 | 1.59 | 0.98–2.58 | |
| 5 (highest) | 32 | 4.2 | 722 | 95.8 | ref. | ||
| Persistence (quintiles) | <.0001 | ||||||
| 1 (lowest) | 118 | 24.2 | 369 | 75.8 | 3.59 | 2.51–5.13 | |
| 2 | 128 | 16.6 | 645 | 83.4 | 2.16 | 1.49–3.13 | |
| 3 | 82 | 11.8 | 610 | 88.2 | 1.51 | 1.04–2.17 | |
| 4 | 55 | 10.7 | 461 | 89.3 | 1.4 | 0.93–2.09 | |
| 5 (highest) | 37 | 8 | 423 | 92 | ref. | ||
| Reactivity (quintiles) | <.0001 | ||||||
| 1 (most reactive) | 131 | 22 | 464 | 78 | 2.73 | 1.92–3.88 | |
| 2 | 82 | 16.1 | 427 | 83.9 | 1.81 | 1.27–2.57 | |
| 3 | 78 | 12.6 | 542 | 87.4 | 1.38 | 0.99–1.93 | |
| 4 | 75 | 12.4 | 531 | 87.6 | 1.29 | 0.89–1.88 | |
| 5 | 50 | 8.6 | 532 | 91.4 | ref. | ||
| Sociability (quintiles) | 0.8966 | ||||||
| 1 (lowest) | 77 | 14.7 | 446 | 85.3 | 0.92 | 0.67–1.26 | |
| 2 | 109 | 14.9 | 622 | 85.1 | 1.05 | 0.77–1.44 | |
| 3 | 86 | 14.1 | 524 | 85.9 | 0.92 | 0.67–1.27 | |
| 4 | 71 | 12.2 | 510 | 87.8 | 0.92 | 0.65–1.29 | |
| 5 | 76 | 15.6 | 410 | 84.4 | ref. | ||
| Maternal Characteristics at age 4 | |||||||
| Mother’s age at birth | 0.4385 | ||||||
| teen | 17 | 22.4 | 59 | 77.6 | 1.43 | 0.81–2.52 | |
| 40 and over | 12 | 12.5 | 84 | 87.5 | 0.87 | 0.47–1.62 | |
| 20–39 | 462 | 14.8 | 2666 | 85.2 | ref. | ||
| Mother alcohol problem | 0.0131 | ||||||
| yes | 60 | 17.5 | 282 | 82.5 | 1.46 | 1.08–1.96 | |
| no | 346 | 13.7 | 2176 | 86.3 | ref. | ||
| Mother smoker | <.0001 | ||||||
| yes | 133 | 21.4 | 488 | 78.6 | 2.06 | 1.64–2.6 | |
| no | 286 | 12.4 | 2025 | 87.6 | ref. | ||
| Mother K6 symptomatic | <.0001 | ||||||
| yes | 90 | 21.2 | 335 | 78.8 | 1.81 | 1.4–2.34 | |
| no | 325 | 13.1 | 2165 | 86.9 | ref. | ||
| Maternal education | <.0001 | ||||||
| Year 12 | 149 | 13.7 | 940 | 86.3 | 1.68 | 1.29–2.19 | |
| Year 11 or less | 266 | 22.4 | 920 | 77.6 | 3.25 | 2.53–4.17 | |
| University | 83 | 8 | 959 | 92 | ref. | ||
| Maternal work hours | <.0001 | ||||||
| zero hours (includes not in labour force) | 249 | 18.5 | 1095 | 81.5 | 1.86 | 1.5–2.3 | |
| full-time: 38 hours+ | 62 | 14 | 381 | 86 | 1.08 | 0.79–1.48 | |
| part time: 1–37 hours | 191 | 12.3 | 1358 | 87.7 | ref. | ||
| Maternal consistency (quintiles) | <.0001 | ||||||
| 1 (least consistent) | 156 | 24.6 | 478 | 75.4 | 3.25 | 2.44–4.33 | |
| 2 | 94 | 18.1 | 426 | 81.9 | 2.09 | 1.53–2.86 | |
| 3 | 89 | 11.9 | 656 | 88.1 | 1.27 | 0.91–1.76 | |
| 4 | 86 | 12.1 | 623 | 87.9 | 1.22 | 0.88–1.7 | |
| 5 | 70 | 10.1 | 622 | 89.9 | ref. | ||
| Maternal inductive reasoning (quartiles) | 0.8426 | ||||||
| 1 (lowest reasoning) | 94 | 17.7 | 437 | 82.3 | 1.08 | 0.81–1.43 | |
| 2 | 159 | 13.8 | 996 | 86.2 | 0.95 | 0.74–1.22 | |
| 3 | 116 | 15.2 | 647 | 84.8 | 0.98 | 0.76–1.27 | |
| 4 | 126 | 14.8 | 726 | 85.2 | ref. | ||
| Maternal warmth (quintiles) | 0.0319 | ||||||
| 1 (lowest warmth) | 114 | 15.9 | 604 | 84.1 | 0.84 | 0.62–1.12 | |
| 2 | 111 | 13.4 | 720 | 86.6 | 0.68 | 0.51–0.9 | |
| 3 | 64 | 15.9 | 339 | 84.1 | 0.79 | 0.57–1.08 | |
| 4 | 99 | 13.2 | 650 | 86.8 | 0.65 | 0.48–0.88 | |
| 5 | 108 | 18 | 493 | 82 | ref. | ||
| Maternal hostility (quintiles) | 0.0007 | ||||||
| 1 (greatest hostility) | 134 | 18.7 | 584 | 81.3 | 1.69 | 1.26–2.25 | |
| 2 | 128 | 14.2 | 774 | 85.8 | 1.28 | 0.94–1.75 | |
| 3 | 69 | 13 | 463 | 87 | 1 | 0.72–1.4 | |
| 4 | 102 | 16.8 | 504 | 83.2 | 1.53 | 1.1–2.11 | |
| 5 | 63 | 11.6 | 480 | 88.4 | ref. | ||
| Family characteristics at age 4 | |||||||
| Mother Non-English speaking background | 0.0673 | ||||||
| yes | 46 | 11.6 | 350 | 88.4 | 0.76 | 0.56–1.02 | |
| no | 452 | 15.5 | 2470 | 84.5 | ref. | ||
| Family structure | <.0001 | ||||||
| Single mother family | 96 | 27.7 | 251 | 72.3 | 2.41 | 1.88–3.09 | |
| Other | 406 | 13.6 | 2583 | 86.4 | ref. | ||
| Siblings | <.0001 | ||||||
| 1 sibling | 208 | 12.4 | 1467 | 87.6 | 0.58 | 0.43–0.77 | |
| 2 siblings | 138 | 15.1 | 776 | 84.9 | 0.73 | 0.53–0.99 | |
| 3 siblings | 65 | 22.1 | 229 | 77.9 | 1.28 | 0.86–1.89 | |
| 4 or more siblings | 27 | 26.2 | 76 | 73.8 | 1.61 | 0.96–2.69 | |
| only child | 64 | 18.3 | 286 | 81.7 | ref. | ||
| Family income | <.0001 | ||||||
| under $600/week | 118 | 26.6 | 326 | 73.4 | 4.1 | 2.88–5.82 | |
| $600–999 | 130 | 17.9 | 596 | 82.1 | 2.45 | 1.75–3.43 | |
| $1,000-$1,499 | 108 | 13.2 | 709 | 86.8 | 1.7 | 1.19–2.44 | |
| $1,500-$1,999 | 65 | 11 | 526 | 89 | 1.28 | 0.88–1.85 | |
| $2,000 or more/week | 52 | 9 | 523 | 91 | ref. | ||
| Health care card | <.0001 | ||||||
| yes | 160 | 26.1 | 452 | 73.9 | 2.46 | 1.99–3.05 | |
| no | 342 | 12.6 | 2382 | 87.4 | ref. | ||
| Financial hardship | <.0001 | ||||||
| yes | 200 | 21.8 | 718 | 78.2 | 1.87 | 1.53–2.29 | |
| no | 302 | 12.5 | 2113 | 87.5 | ref. | ||
| SEIFA disadvantage index (quintiles) | <.0001 | ||||||
| 1 (lowest SEIFA) | 146 | 21.5 | 534 | 78.5 | 2.34 | 1.7–3.23 | |
| 2 | 116 | 16.4 | 591 | 83.6 | 1.52 | 1.11–2.08 | |
| 3 | 87 | 13.3 | 567 | 86.7 | 1.24 | 0.88–1.75 | |
| 4 | 77 | 12.3 | 550 | 87.7 | 1.16 | 0.82–1.64 | |
| 5 | 76 | 11.4 | 592 | 88.6 | ref. | ||
| Reads to child | <.0001 | ||||||
| no reading | 26 | 29.5 | 62 | 70.5 | 3.48 | 2.21–5.45 | |
| 1–2 days/ week | 123 | 20.6 | 475 | 79.4 | 2.15 | 1.68–2.76 | |
| 3–5 days/ week | 170 | 16.7 | 848 | 83.3 | 1.59 | 1.25–2.01 | |
| daily | 182 | 11.2 | 1448 | 88.8 | ref. | ||
| Playgroup | 0.1240 | ||||||
| no | 298 | 15.1 | 1675 | 84.9 | 1.19 | 0.95–1.49 | |
| yes | 121 | 12.4 | 852 | 87.6 | ref. | ||
| Hours a week in care | 0.1141 | ||||||
| 9–20 | 330 | 15.4 | 1806 | 84.6 | 1.48 | 0.92–2.4 | |
| 21–30 | 83 | 13.1 | 550 | 86.9 | 1.14 | 0.68–1.91 | |
| 31+ | 41 | 15.9 | 217 | 84.1 | 1.48 | 0.82–2.65 | |
| 0–8 | 22 | 11.1 | 177 | 88.9 | ref. | ||
aWeighted
b95% Confidence Intervals
cStudy child Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status