title: Characteristics of non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal children and families with substantiated child maltreatment: a population-based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate specific child and parental factors associated with increased vulnerability to substantiated child maltreatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cohort study of all children born in Western Australia during 1990-2005 using de-identified record linked child protection, disability services and health data. Cox regression was used for univariate and multivariate analysis to determine the risk of substantiated child maltreatment for a number of child and parental factors, including child disability, parental age, socio-economic status, parental mental health, substance use and assault-related hospital admissions. Separate analyses were conducted for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study found a number of child and parental factors that increase the risk of substantiated child maltreatment. The strongest factors were child intellectual disability, parental socio-economic status, parental age and parental hospital admissions related to mental health, substance use and assault.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Awareness of the factors that make children and families vulnerable may aid the targeting of child maltreatment prevention programmes. To prevent child abuse and neglect it is essential that we have a platform of universal services, which assist parents in their role, as well as targeted services for at-risk families.
authors.affiliation: Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia. melissao@ichr.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Donnell
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nassar
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jacoby
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005192:Family Health; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D010290:Parents; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014904:Western Australia