Mental health-related hospitalisations of adolescents and their contact with child protection services to age 11 years, South Australia: a whole-of-population descriptive study

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dc.contributor.authorJudd, J.
dc.contributor.authorPilkington, R.M.
dc.contributor.authorMalvaso, C.
dc.contributor.authorProcter, A.M.
dc.contributor.authorMontgomerie, A.
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, J.J.
dc.contributor.authorJureidini, J.N.
dc.contributor.authorPetersen, J.
dc.contributor.authorLynch, J.
dc.contributor.authorChittleborough, C.R.
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionFirst published: 21 October 2024
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVES: To investigate the number of mental health-related hospitalisations of adolescents (12-17 years) in South Australia by level of contact with the child protection system (0-11 years). STUDY DESIGN: Whole-of-population descriptive study; analysis of de-identified linked administrative data from the Better Evidence Better Outcomes Linked Data (BEBOLD) platform. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Adolescents born in South Australia, 1991-1999; linked SA Department for Child Protection, Admitted Patient Care (SA Health), and South Australian Perinatal Statistics collection (SA Department for Health and Wellbeing) data. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of adolescents (12-17 years) hospitalised with mental health-related diagnoses; proportion of mental health-related hospitalisations of adolescents, by level of child protection contact (0-11 years) (no contact, notification but not screened in, screened-in notification but not investigated, investigation but not substantiated, substantiation, and out-of-home care). RESULTS: Of 175 115 adolescents born during 1991-1999, 5646 (3.2%) had been hospitalised with mental health conditions, and 27 203 (15.5%) had histories of contact with child protection services. The proportion of adolescents admitted to hospital with mental health-related diagnoses increased with the level of prior child protection contact, from 3366 of 147 912 adolescents with no contact (2.3%), to 398 of 6645 with notifications (6.0%), to 209 of 1191 who had been placed in out-of-home care (17.5%). Contact with child protection services was recorded for 2280 of 5646 adolescents admitted to hospital with mental health-related diagnoses (40.4%); 4477 of 10 633 mental health-related hospitalisations (44.9%) were of adolescents with histories of child protection services contact, including 1285 hospitalisations (12.1%) of adolescents for whom substantiated maltreatment (but not out-of-home care) was recorded, and 568 hospitalisations (5.3%) of adolescents who had been placed in out-of-home care. CONCLUSION: About 45% of mental health-related hospitalisations of 12-17-year-old adolescents were of people who had had contact with child protection services by the age of 11 years, although only 15.5% of all adolescents had histories of child protection contact. The trauma associated with a history of child protection can have longer term sequelae, and this should be considered when adolescents are hospitalised with mental health conditions.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityJessica Judd, Rhiannon M Pilkington, Catia Malvaso, Alexandra M Procter, Alicia Montgomerie, Jemma JA Anderson, Jon N Jureidini, Julie Petersen, John Lynch, Catherine R Chittleborough
dc.identifier.citationMedical Journal of Australia, 2024; 221(10):540-545
dc.identifier.doi10.5694/mja2.52489
dc.identifier.issn0025-729X
dc.identifier.issn1326-5377
dc.identifier.orcidJudd, J. [0000-0002-0484-3561]
dc.identifier.orcidPilkington, R.M. [0000-0001-6974-8496]
dc.identifier.orcidMalvaso, C. [0000-0003-1227-5434]
dc.identifier.orcidMontgomerie, A. [0000-0002-9620-3894]
dc.identifier.orcidJureidini, J.N. [0000-0001-7585-2660]
dc.identifier.orcidLynch, J. [0000-0003-2781-7902]
dc.identifier.orcidChittleborough, C.R. [0000-0003-3196-7137]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/143072
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/570120
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1099422
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1056888
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1187489
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE200100679
dc.rights© 2024 AMPCo Pty Ltd.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52489
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectHospitalization
dc.subjectMental Disorders
dc.subjectChild Abuse
dc.subjectAdolescent
dc.subjectChild
dc.subjectChild, Preschool
dc.subjectInfant
dc.subjectSouth Australia
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectChild Protective Services
dc.titleMental health-related hospitalisations of adolescents and their contact with child protection services to age 11 years, South Australia: a whole-of-population descriptive study
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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