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Socioeconomic disparities in the mental health of Indigenous children in Western Australia

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  • Shepherd, Carrington CJ
  • Li, Jianghong
  • Mitrou, Francis
  • Zubrick, Stephen R.

Abstract

[BACKGROUND:] The burden of mental health problems among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is a major public health problem in Australia. While socioeconomic factors are implicated as important determinants of mental health problems in mainstream populations, their bearing on the mental health of Indigenous Australians remains largely uncharted across all age groups. [METHODS:] We examined the relationship between the risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties (CSEBD) and a range of socioeconomic measures for 3993 Indigenous children aged 4–17 years in Western Australia, using a representative survey conducted in 2000–02. Analysis was conducted using multivariate logistic regression within a multilevel framework. [RESULTS:] Almost one quarter (24%) of Indigenous children were classified as being at high risk of CSEBD. Our findings generally indicate that higher socioeconomic status is associated with a reduced risk of mental health problems in Indigenous children. Housing quality and tenure and neighbourhood-level disadvantage all have a strong direct effect on child mental health. Further, the circumstances of families with Indigenous children (parenting quality, stress, family composition, overcrowding, household mobility, racism and family functioning) emerged as an important explanatory mechanism underpinning the relationship between child mental health and measures of material wellbeing such as carer employment status and family financial circumstances. [CONCLUSIONS:] Our results provide incremental evidence of a social gradient in the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Improving the social, economic and psychological conditions of families with Indigenous children has considerable potential to reduce the mental health inequalities within Indigenous populations and, in turn, to close the substantial racial gap in mental health. Interventions that target housing quality, home ownership and neighbourhood-level disadvantage are likely to be particularly beneficial.

Suggested Citation

  • Shepherd, Carrington CJ & Li, Jianghong & Mitrou, Francis & Zubrick, Stephen R., 2012. "Socioeconomic disparities in the mental health of Indigenous children in Western Australia," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12, pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:251560
    DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-756
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    Cited by:

    1. Katrina D Hopkins & Stephen R Zubrick & Catherine L Taylor, 2014. "Resilience amongst Australian Aboriginal Youth: An Ecological Analysis of Factors Associated with Psychosocial Functioning in High and Low Family Risk Contexts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Mylène Riva & Christina Larsen & Peter Bjerregaard, 2014. "Household crowding and psychosocial health among Inuit in Greenland," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 59(5), pages 739-748, October.
    3. Kedir Y. Ahmed & Julaine Allan & Hazel Dalton & Adrian Sleigh & Sam-ang Seubsman & Allen G. Ross, 2023. "Reviewing Publicly Available Reports on Child Health Disparities in Indigenous and Remote Communities of Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-13, May.

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