Risk factors for teenage childbirths among child welfare clients: Findings from Sweden

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature on preventing teenage childbirths by asking whether the pattern and strength of risk factors is the same for high-risk child welfare clients, as for their peers in the majority population. Longitudinal register data on more than 700,000 Swedish females, including around 29,000 child welfare clients, were analyzed by means of linear probability models and calculations of population attributable fractions. Comparisons of effect sizes suggest that the differences in pattern were marginal, but there were notable differences in strength. The girls' school failure was the most prominent risk factor across all groups, also when prevalence was taken into account. In the majority population, the hypothetical reduction of teenage childbirths is on the scale of 30% if this risk factor could be eliminated. In the child welfare subgroups, however, the hypothetical improvement was even larger, around 40%. Reducing the high rate of school failure could thus yield a profound reduction in teenage childbirths in child welfare subgroups, where the incidence of teenage childbirth is substantially higher compared to other peers.

Dental healthcare utilisation among young adults who were in societal out‐of‐home care as children: A Swedish National Cohort Study

“…This categorisation of children with OHC experience has been used in a host of previous national cohort studies (e.g. Brännström, Vinnerljung, & Hjern, ; Vinnerljung & Hjern, ), and has shown good discriminatory qualities: Short OHC ( N = 16,094): Persons who were placed in OHC for the first time before age 13 and who stayed in care less than five years totally before age 20. The average age of first placement was 6 years and the average time spent in care was 1.3 years. Long OHC ( N = 11,153 ) : Persons who were placed in OHC for the first time before age 13 and who remained in care for five years or more.…”

Does poor school performance cause later psychosocial problems among children in foster care? Evidence from national longitudinal registry data

“…School performance seems also to be a powerful mediating mechanism on the path from childhood to adult life (Jablonska et al, 2012). For foster children this mediating effect seems to rather radically reduce the additional influence from traditional risk factors -like indications of parental psychopathology for unfavorable psychosocial long-term outcomes (Berlin et al, 2011;Brännström et al, 2015). This is not to say that other risk factors are unimportant.…”

Child welfare clients have higher risks for teenage childbirths: which are the major confounders?

“…Secondly, poor school performance was by far the most potent confounder, indicating that this is a strong risk factor for teenage childbirth in child welfare populations, as it is in majority population samples. 11 , 17 Lastly, indications of parental mental ill-health and/or parental substance abuse also had a substantial confounding effect as did socioeconomic background (maternal educational attainment). Intergenerational transmission of teenage childbirth and indications of poverty had more modest confounding influences.…”

“…10 After adjusting analyses of population samples for the strong selection factors that characterises child welfare youth, high crude risks for teenage childbirths are usually substantially reduced but not obliterated. 5 , 11 …”