Parental offending and children’s emergency department presentations in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

ObjectivesChildren whose parents have a history of criminal offending may be at risk of higher rates of emergency department (ED) presentation, along with other adverse health outcomes. We used data from a large, population-based record linkage project to examine the association between maternal and paternal criminal offending and the incidence of ED presentations among child offspring.MethodsData for 72 772 children with linked parental records were drawn from the New South Wales Child Development Study. Information on parental criminal offending (spanning 1994–2016) and child ED presentations (spanning 2005–2016; approximately ages 2–12 years) was obtained from linked administrative records. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between parental offending and the incidence of children’s ED presentations for any reason and for physical injury, while accounting for important covariates.ResultsChild rates of ED presentation, particularly for physical injury, were higher among those with parental history of criminal offending, after adjusting for covariates. The magnitude of the association was higher for paternal criminal offending (ED presentation for any reason: HR=1.44 (95% CI 1.41 to 1.48); physical injury: HR=1.70 (95% CI 1.65 to 1.75)) than maternal criminal offending (any reason: HR=0.99 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.03); physical injury: HR=1.05 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.10)).ConclusionChildren of parents, particularly of fathers, with a history of criminal offending have an increased incidence of ED presentation, including for potentially avoidable physical injury. These findings require replication and further research to understand the mechanisms underlying these associations.

Earlier Contact with Child Protection Services Among Children of Parents With Criminal Convictions and Mental Disorders

“…Parental contact with the criminal justice system is a marker of severe familial adversity (Farrington et al, 2006; Phillips et al, 2006) and is closely associated with child maltreatment and contact with child protection services more broadly (Phillips et al, 2004; Whitten et al, 2019a), including OOHC placement (Green et al, 2019). Part of this association is likely due to the many shared familial and social adversities that predict both parental offending and child maltreatment (Phillips & Dettlaff, 2009; Whitten et al, 2019b). However, the risk of child maltreatment also increases following parental contact with the criminal justice system (McDaniel & Slack, 2005; Turney, 2014a), and this may reflect the amplification of numerous economic and social stressors that may arise following contact with the criminal justice system.…”

‘What about the dads?’ Linking fathers and children in administrative data: A systematic scoping review

“…Whitten and colleagues showed that children's rate of emergency department presentation for any reason (aHR* = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.41-1.48) and rates of child ED presentation for physical injury (aHR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.65-1.75) were higher if fathers had a history of criminal offending (Whitten et al, 2019a). They also reported that paternal offending had the strongest association with children's persisting difficulties, particularly conduct difficulties (aOR = 2.63, 95% CI: 2-3.46) (Whitten et al, 2019b).…”

Children’s contact with police as a victim, person of interest and witness in New South Wales, Australia

“…The risk of involvement in criminal activity and violence in youth is known to be particularly high among subgroups of the population, including those who identify as Indigenous or other minority ethnic groups, such as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people in Australia (Fitzgerald & Weatherburn, 2002; Kenny & Lennings, 2007), and those who reside in poor or rural areas (Baglivio, Wolff, Epps, & Nelson, 2017; Steele et al., 2016). Involvement in or exposure to crime during childhood and early adolescence is associated with a number of adverse health outcomes across the life-course, such as risk of physical injury (Whitten, Green, et al., 2019), mental illness (Fowler, Tompsett, Brakiszewski, Jacques-Tiura, & Baltes, 2009; Schiling, Aseltine, & Gore, 2007) and externalizing problems (A. D. Farrell, Mehari, Kramer-Kuhn, & Goncy, 2014), including substance use problems (Whitten, Burton, Tzoumakis, & Dean, 2019). Early involvement in crime is also associated with a range of adverse social outcomes, including peer rejection (Higgins, Piquero, & Piquero, 2011), school failure (Jakobsen, Fergusson, & Horwood, 2012) and adjustment problems in later life (Jennings, Rocque, Fox, Piquero, & Farrington, 2016; Piquero, Farrington, Nagin, & Moffitt, 2010).…”