Table 4.
Relationship between maternal social characteristics and psychological distress
| Psychological Distress | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Low/Moderate | High/Very high | ||||||
| n | Col % | n | % | n | % | OR | 95 % CI | |
| Mother’s age when baby born | ||||||||
| 15–19 years | 54 | 16.0 | 37 | 68.5 | 17 | 31.5 | 1.8 | [0.9,3.7] |
| 20–24 years | 135 | 40.1 | 108 | 80.0 | 27 | 20.0 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| 25–29 years | 91 | 27.0 | 63 | 69.2 | 28 | 30.8 | 1.8 | [1.0,3.3] |
| 30+ years | 57 | 16.9 | 46 | 80.7 | 11 | 19.3 | 1.0 | [0.4,2.1] |
| Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander | ||||||||
| Aboriginal &/or Torres Strait Islander | 312 | 92.6 | 231 | 74.0 | 81 | 26.0 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| Non-Aboriginal | 25 | 7.4 | 23 | 92.0 | 2 | 8.0 | 0.2 | [0.1,1.1] |
| Place of residence | ||||||||
| Major city | 130 | 38.6 | 102 | 78.5 | 28 | 21.5 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| Regional | 121 | 35.9 | 96 | 79.3 | 25 | 20.7 | 0.9 | [0.5,1.7] |
| Remote | 86 | 25.5 | 56 | 65.1 | 30 | 34.9 | 2.0* | [1.1,3.6] |
| Number of children in family | ||||||||
| One child | 141 | 41.8 | 110 | 78.0 | 31 | 22.0 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| 2-3 children | 125 | 37.1 | 97 | 77.6 | 28 | 22.4 | 1.0 | [0.6,1.8] |
| 4–10 children | 71 | 21.1 | 47 | 66.2 | 24 | 33.8 | 1.8 | [1.0,3.4] |
| Total number of people (adults & children) in household | ||||||||
| 1-2 people | 18 | 5.6 | 16 | 88.9 | 2 | 11.1 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| 3-4 people | 140 | 43.3 | 108 | 77.1 | 32 | 22.9 | 2.4 | [0.5,10.9] |
| 4-5 people | 59 | 18.3 | 46 | 78.0 | 13 | 22.0 | 2.3 | [0.5,11.1] |
| 5–14 people | 106 | 32.8 | 75 | 70.8 | 31 | 29.2 | 3.3 | [0.7,15.2] |
| Highest educational qualification | ||||||||
| Less than year 12 | 131 | 38.9 | 83 | 63.4 | 48 | 36.6 | 2.8*** | [1.6,4.9] |
| Year 12 | 32 | 9.5 | 23 | 71.9 | 9 | 28.1 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| Certificate/Traineeship | 152 | 45.1 | 126 | 82.9 | 26 | 17.1 | 1.9 | [0.8,4.6] |
| Diploma/Degree | 22 | 6.5 | 22 | 100.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | [1.0,1.0] |
| Health care concession card | ||||||||
| No | 44 | 13.2 | 41 | 93.2 | 3 | 6.8 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| Yes | 289 | 86.8 | 211 | 73.0 | 78 | 27.0 | 5.1** | [1.5,16.8] |
| Smoked cigarettes in pregnancy | ||||||||
| No | 171 | 51.2 | 144 | 84.2 | 27 | 15.8 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| Yes | 163 | 48.8 | 108 | 66.3 | 55 | 33.7 | 2.7*** | [1.6,4.6] |
| Someone to talk to in pregnancy | ||||||||
| Sometimes/No/Didn’t want to talk | 103 | 30.8 | 65 | 63.1 | 38 | 36.9 | 1.0 | [ref] |
| Always | 232 | 69.3 | 188 | 81.0 | 44 | 19.0 | 0.4*** | [0.2,0.7] |
| Total | 337 | 100.0 | 254 | 75.4 | 83 | 24.6 | ||
Denominators vary due to missing values
*p < 0.05
**p < 0.01
***p < 0.001)