The Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS), a national survey of the prevalence of child maltreatment and its correlates: methodology

Abstract

Objectives To describe the aims, design, methodology, and respondent sample representativeness of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS). Design, setting Cross‐sectional, retrospective survey; computer‐assisted mobile telephone interviewing using random digit dialling (computer‐generated), Australia, 9 April – 11 October 2021. Participants People aged 16 years or more. The target sample size was 8500 respondents: 3500 people aged 16–24 years and 1000 respondents each from five further age groups (25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65 years or more). Main outcome measures Primary outcomes: Emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence during childhood, assessed with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire‐R2 Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study). Secondary outcomes: selected mental disorder diagnoses (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, MINI), selected physical health conditions, health risk behaviours, health service use. Results The demographic characteristics of the ACMS sample were similar to those of the Australian population in 2016 with respect to gender, Indigenous status, region and remoteness category of residence, and marital status, but larger proportions of participants were born in Australia, lived in areas of higher socio‐economic status, had tertiary qualifications, and had income greater than $1250 per week. Population weights were derived to adjust for these differences. Associations between the number of calls required to recruit participants and maltreatment rates and health outcomes were not statistically significant. Conclusions The ACMS provides the first reliable estimates of the prevalence of each type of child maltreatment in Australia. These estimates, and those of associated mental health and health risk behaviours reported in this supplement can inform policy and practice initiatives for reducing the prevalence of child maltreatment and its consequences. Our benchmark study also provides baseline data for repeated waves of the ACMS that will assess the effectiveness of these initiatives.

The prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia: findings from a national survey

“…The ACMS is a cross‐sectional survey study of people in Australia aged 16 years or more about their childhood and health. As detailed elsewhere in this supplement, 16 participants were recruited using a mobile phone sampling frame and random digit dial methodology.…”

“…The adapted version of the JVQ‐R2 includes 16 items that assessed all five major types of maltreatment. 16 The behaviourally specific questions elicited dichotomous responses (yes or no) about whether the participant had experienced any subdomain of each maltreatment type (physical abuse, two subdomains; sexual abuse, four; emotional abuse, three; neglect, three; exposure to domestic violence, four subdomains). Follow‐up questions assessed characteristics of these experiences, including the number of times they were experienced.…”

“…The study procedures are detailed elsewhere in this Supplement. 16 In short, the target survey respondent number was 8500: 3500 people aged 16–24 years (purposively oversampled) and 1000 in each of the age groups 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, and 65 years or more. To ensure that the sample was representative of the Australian population, survey data were weighted by age group, gender, Indigenous status, country of birth (Australia or overseas), highest educational level, and residential socio‐economic status (Relative Socio‐economic Advantage and Disadvantage quintiles).…”

Introducing the Australian Child Maltreatment Study: baseline evidence for a national public health challenge

“…Key findings from this landmark study are presented in six articles. Haslam and colleagues 4 describe the study methods. A shortcoming of previous child maltreatment research has been the non‐standardised and unreliable way in which experiences are assessed.…”

“…Rigorous protocols were established to support the safety and welfare of participants and interviewers. 4 The sample was representative of the national population and included an oversample of 3500 Australians aged 16–24 years.…”