Table 2.
Risk of mental health (MH)-related events and diagnoses when exposed to different levels of child protection involvement
| Any MH event | MH-related event | MH diagnosis | ||||
| Characteristics | Univariate | Multivariate | Univariate | Multivariate | Univariate | Multivariate |
| HR (95% CI) | HR (95% CI)* | HR (95% CI)* | HR (95% CI)* | HR (95% CI) | HR (95% CI)* | |
| Gender | ||||||
| Female | 0.93 (0.91 to 0.95) | 0.92 (0.90 to 0.94) | 1.10 (1.08 to 1.13) | 1.11 (1.08 to 1.15) | 0.86 (0.84 to 0.88) | 0.84 (0.82 to 0.87) |
| Male | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Aboriginality | ||||||
| Non-aboriginal | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Aboriginal | 4.20 (4.08 to 4.33) | 1.65 (1.58 to 1.73) | 6.26 (6.05 to 6.48) | 2.21 (2.10 to 2.32) | 2.03 (1.94 to 2.12) | 0.95 (0.89 to 1.01) |
| Socioeconomic status (SES) | ||||||
| 1 (Most dis-adv) | 2.63 (2.53 to 2.73) | 1.38 (1.32 to 1.44) | 3.26 (3.10 to 3.42) | 1.46 (1.38 to 1.55) | 1.96 (1.87 to 2.06) | 1.24 (1.17 to 1.30) |
| 2 | 1.62 (1.56 to 1.69) | 1.20 (1.15 to 1.25) | 1.74 (1.65 to 1.83) | 1.22 (1.16 to 1.29) | 1.51 (1.44 to 1.59) | 1.17 (1.11 to 1.23) |
| 3 | 1.37 (1.31 to 1.43) | 1.13 (1.08 to 1.18) | 1.40 (1.32 to 1.48) | 1.12 (1.06 to 1.19) | 1.30 (1.23 to 1.37) | 1.11 (1.05 to 1.17) |
| 4 | 1.21 (1.15 to 1.26) | 1.09 (1.04 to 1.14) | 1.23 (1.16 to 1.30) | 1.09 (1.03 to 1.16) | 1.18 (1.12 to 1.25) | 1.07 (1.01 to 1.13) |
| 5 (least dis-adv) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Parental marital status at birth | ||||||
| Single | 2.48 (2.42 to 2.55) | 1.16 (1.11 to 1.20) | 2.80 (2.71 to 2.89) | 1.16 (1.11 to 1.22) | 2.12 (2.05 to 2.20) | 1.15 (1.10 to 1.21) |
| Married/defacto | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Maternal age at birth | ||||||
| <20 years | 3.14 (3.03 to 3.25) | 1.24 (1.18 to 1.31) | 3.87 (3.71 to 4.03) | 1.28 (1.19 to 1.37) | 2.39 (2.28 to 2.50) | 1.18 (1.10 to 1.26) |
| 20–29 years | 1.44 (1.40 to 1.47) | 1.06 (1.03 to 1.09) | 1.53 (1.49 to 1.58) | 1.06 (1.02 to 1.11) | 1.33 (1.29 to 1.36) | 1.05 (1.01 to 1.09) |
| >29 years | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Paternal age at birth | ||||||
| <20 years | 2.69 (2.54 to 2.86) | 0.97 (0.89 to 1.04) | 3.38 (3.15 to 3.62) | 0.98 (0.89 to 1.08) | 2.04 (1.89 to 2.22) | 0.95 (0.86 to 1.05) |
| 20–29 years | 1.47 (1.44 to 1.51) | 1.08 (1.05 to 1.12) | 1.56 (1.52 to 1.61) | 1.08 (1.04 to 1.12) | 1.38 (1.34 to 1.42) | 1.08 (1.05 to 1.12) |
| >29 years | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Maternal MH contact | ||||||
| No | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Yes | 2.86 (2.80 to 2.94) | 1.89 (1.84 to 1.95) | 2.84 (2.75 to 2.93) | 1.69 (1.62 to 1.75) | 3.00 (2.91 to 3.09) | 2.15 (2.08 to 2.23) |
| Maternal substance contact | ||||||
| No | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Yes | 3.74 (3.64 to 3.85) | 1.42 (1.36 to 1.47) | 4.58 (4.43 to 4.74) | 1.55 (1.48 to 1.62) | 2.85 (2.75 to 2.95) | 1.27 (1.21 to 1.33) |
| Paternal MH contact | ||||||
| No | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Yes | 2.00 (1.94 to 2.06) | 1.42 (1.37 to 1.47) | 1.97 (1.90 to 2.04) | 1.35 (1.29 to 1.41) | 2.14 (2.06 to 2.22) | 1.56 (1.49 to 1.63) |
| Paternal substance contact | ||||||
| No | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Yes | 2.24 (2.17 to 2.30) | 1.30 (1.25 to 1.35) | 2.51 (2.42 to 2.60) | 1.39 (1.33 to 1.45) | 1.98 (1.91 to 2.06) | 1.20 (1.14 to 1.26) |
| Child protection involvement | ||||||
| No involvement | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Unsubstantiated allegation | 3.98 (3.82 to 4.15) | 2.24 (2.13 to 2.36) | 4.46 (4.25 to 4.68) | 2.31 (2.18 to 2.46) | 3.41 (3.23 to 3.59) | 2.18 (2.05 to 2.32) |
| Substantiated allegation | 5.34 (5.09 to 5.61) | 2.71 (2.55 to 2.89) | 6.36 (6.01 to 6.73) | 2.84 (2.63 to 3.05) | 4.28 (4.02 to 4.55) | 2.69 (2.49 to 2.90) |
| Substantiated allegation and entered out-of-home care |
8.45 (8.07 to 8.85) | 3.03 (2.83 to 3.24) | 10.90 (10.36 to 11.47) | 3.54 (3.28 to 3.82) | 5.86 (5.53 to 6.20) | 2.65 (2.45 to 2.87) |
*All other covariates included (aboriginality, gender, SES, parent marital status at birth, maternal age at birth, paternal age at birth, maternal MH contact, maternal substance-related contact, paternal MH contact, paternal substance-related contact).