Dataset Information

Social assistance and trajectories of child mental health problems in Canada: evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:To examine the link between stability and change in social assistance (SA) use and children's mental health trajectories to better understand whether social policies targeted at low-income families might be an effective population-based mechanism for preventing mental health problems among children at risk. METHODS:The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (N?=?8981) is used to classify children into 5 categories based on their family's pattern of SA use from age 4-5 to 10-11: always or never on SA, a single transition on or off SA, or fluctuations on and off SA. Latent growth modelling is used to compare trajectories of emotional and behavioural problems among children with different patterns of SA exposure to their counterparts never on SA over this same time period. RESULTS:Child emotional and behavioural problems are exacerbated over time in accordance with patterns of SA use: chronic SA use (behavioural) and moving onto SA (emotional and behavioural). These differential rates of change result in mental health disparities at age 10-11 that were not present at age 4-5. Children exposed to SA when they were age 4-5 but subsequently moved off continue to demonstrate elevated levels of emotional and behavioural problems at age 10-11. CONCLUSIONS:Successful social policies and interventions will require understanding the specific mechanisms through which SA undermines child mental health and how programs can be modified to reduce its negative consequences.

SUBMITTER: Comeau J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7438430 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Social assistance and trajectories of child mental health problems in Canada: evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.

Comeau Jinette J Duncan Laura L Georgiades Katholiki K Wang Li L Boyle Michael H MH

Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique 20200302 4

<h4>Objectives</h4>To examine the link between stability and change in social assistance (SA) use and children's mental health trajectories to better understand whether social policies targeted at low-income families might be an effective population-based mechanism for preventing mental health problems among children at risk.<h4>Methods</h4>The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (N = 8981) is used to classify children into 5 categories based on their family's pattern of SA use fr ...[more]

PMID: 32124402

Similar Datasets

Project description:Introduction:Globally, 10-20% of children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders, with half of all them starting by the age of 14 and three-quarters before the age of 25. In Nepal, 40% of the population is younger than 18 years of age, and as such there is a large proportion of the population that is at risk of developing a mental disorder. There has been a recent recognition of child and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal, although prior to this it had remained almost invisible on the health agenda. In response to growing concern, there is a need to conduct a review on children and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal. Objective:To review the existing studies on child and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal. Methodology:A scoping review approach was used to identify studies on child and adolescent mental problems in Nepal. A search of Medline and PubMed databases for articles published from the database inception to August 2018 was conducted. Results:Ten papers were identified, and they all together included 7876 participants. Two studies reported on Post traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) and described a prevalence of 10.7% to 51% of earthquake-affected children and adolescents in the Kathmandu district of Nepal. Another study reported that 53.2% of former child soldiers met the cut-off score for PTSS. Two school surveys found that the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in school children ranged between 12.9 and 17.03%, whereas a study on emotional and behavioural disorders in homeless children reported a prevalence of 28.6%. The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was estimated to be as high as three in every 1000 persons in Nepal by one study. The clinical prevalence of anxiety disorders was reported ranging from 18.8% to 24.4% while that of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was 10-11.7% in various clinical samples of children and adolescents. Conclusion:Only a few studies on the prevalence of child and adolescent mental health in Nepal have been conducted. Clearly, there is a need for better study design and larger studies to understand more fully the prevalence of child and adolescent mental health disorders in Nepal, in order to adequately plan public health services accordingly.

Dataset Information

Social assistance and trajectories of child mental health problems in Canada: evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.

Publications

Social assistance and trajectories of child mental health problems in Canada: evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets