Intergenerational patterns of child protection contact and offspring mental disorders from birth to age 18 years: A population-based study of Australian young people

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BACKGROUND: While the association between child maltreatment and later mental illness is well established, less is known about whether this relationship extends intergenerationally. OBJECTIVE: To investigate intergenerational child protection service (CPS) contact and offspring mental disorder diagnoses across four familial patterns: no CPS contact, cycle breakers (parental CPS contact only), cycle initiators (offspring CPS contact only), and cycle maintainers (both generations). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study used linked administrative data from >75,000 Australian children (birth to ∼18 years) and their parents. METHODS: Binary logistic regression models examined associations between intergenerational CPS patterns and offspring mental disorder diagnoses (internalizing, externalizing, neurodevelopmental disorders, self-harm/suicidal ideation) adjusting for socio-demographic indicators and parental history of mental illness. RESULTS: In adjusted models, offspring categorized as cycle breakers differed from offspring from families with no CPS contact for internalizing disorders (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.14-2.03) and externalizing disorders (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.37-2.83). Offspring classified into initiator and maintainer families were more likely to have all disorder types compared to offspring from families with no CPS contact; the largest ORs were for externalizing disorders (initiator, OR = 5.41, 95% CI = 4.91-5.97; maintainer, OR = 8.82, 95% CI = 7.6010.23) and self-harm/suicidal ideation (initiator, OR = 5.21, 95% CI = 4.66-5.82; maintainer, OR = 7.82, 95% CI = 6.54-9.35). CONCLUSIONS: Cycle breaker families and families with no CPS contact had similarly low levels of mental disorder across diagnosis type. Findings show a strong association between child maltreatment victimization and mental illness, underscoring the importance of early, targeted intervention to inform child protection and mental health policy.

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