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Inequalities in the distribution of childhood adversity from birth to 11 years
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 20:18 authored by Meregith O’Connor, Natalie Slopen, Laia Becares, David Burgner, David R Williams, Naomi PriestObjective Exposure to early adversity carries long term harmful consequences for children's health and development. This study aims to 1) estimate the prevalence of childhood adversity for Australian children from infancy to 10–11 years, and 2) document inequalities in the distribution of adversity according to socioeconomic position (SEP), Indigenous status, and ethnicity. Methods Adversity was assessed every 2 years from 0–1 to 10–11 years in the nationally representative birth cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107). Adversity included legal problems; family violence; household mental illness; household substance abuse; harsh parenting; parental separation/divorce; unsafe neighborhood; family member death; and bullying (from 4 to 5 years). Adversities were examined individually and summed for a measure of multiple adversity (2+ adverse experiences). Results By 10–11 years, 52.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 51.0–54.7) of children had been exposed to 2 or more adversities. When combined with low SEP, children from ethnic minority and from Indigenous backgrounds had 4 to 8 times the odds of exposure to 2 or more adversities than children from higher SEP Anglo-Euro backgrounds, respectively (odds ratio [OR] 4.3, 95% CI 2.8–6.6 and OR 8.1, 95% CI 4.4–14.8). Ethnic minority and Indigenous children from higher SEP backgrounds had increased odds of exposure to multiple adversity than similarly advantaged Anglo-Euro children (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.3 and OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.3–4.3, respectively). Conclusions Addressing early adversity is a significant opportunity to promote health over the life course, and reduce health inequalities experienced by marginalized groups of children.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Academic PediatricsISSN
1876-2859Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Page range
1-10Department affiliated with
- Social Work and Social Care Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-01-21First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-12-12First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-01-21Usage metrics
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