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Objectives: To examine associations between child maltreatment and health service use, both overall, by type and by the number of types of maltreatment reported. Design, setting: Cross‐sectional, retrospective survey using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire‐R2: Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study); computer‐assisted mobile telephone interviews using random digit dialling, Australia, 9 April – 11 October 2021. Participants: Australians aged 16 years or more. The target sample size was 8500 respondents: 3500 people aged 16–24 years and 1000 respondents each from the five age groups (25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65 years or more). Main outcome measures: Self‐reported health service use during the past twelve months: hospital admissions, length of stay, and reasons for admission; and numbers of consultations with health care professionals, overall and by type. Associations between maltreatment and health service use are reported as odds ratios adjusted for age group, gender, socio‐economic status, financial hardship (childhood and current), and geographic remoteness. Results: A total of 8503 participants completed the survey. Respondents who had experienced child maltreatment were significantly more likely than those who had not to report a hospital admission during the preceding twelve months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–1.66), particularly admission with a mental disorder (aOR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.03–5.6). The likelihood of six or more visits to general practitioners (aOR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.87–3.02) or of a consultation with a mental health nurse (aOR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.75–4.06), psychologist (aOR, 2.40; 95% CI, 2.00–2.88), or psychiatrist (aOR, 3.02; 95% CI, 2.25–4.04) were each higher for people who reported maltreatment during childhood. People who reported three or more maltreatment types were generally most likely to report greater health service use. Conclusions: Child maltreatment has a major impact on health service use. Early, targeted interventions are vital, not only for supporting children directly, but also for their longer term wellbeing and reducing their health system use throughout life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence in Australia of each type of child maltreatment; to identify gender‐ and age group‐related differences in prevalence. Design, setting: Cross‐sectional national survey; mobile telephone interviews using random digit dialling (computer‐generated), Australia, 9 April – 11 October 2021. Retrospective self‐report data using validated questionnaire (Juvenile Victimisation Questionnaire‐R2 Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study). 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: Proportions of respondents reporting physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence to age 18 years, assessed with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire‐R2 Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study), overall and by gender and age group, and weighted to reflect characteristics of the Australian population aged 16 years or more in 2016. Results: Complete survey data were available for 8503 eligible participants (14% response rate). Physical abuse was reported by 32.0% of respondents (95% confidence interval [CI], 30.7–33.3%), sexual abuse by 28.5% (95% CI, 27.3–29.8%), emotional abuse by 30.9% (95% CI, 29.7–32.2%), neglect by 8.9% (95% CI, 8.1–9.7%), and exposure to domestic violence by 39.6% (95% CI, 38.3–40.9%). The proportions of respondents who reported sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect were each statistically significantly larger for women than men. The reported prevalence of physical abuse by respondents aged 16–24 years was lower than for those aged 25–34 years, and that of sexual abuse was lower than for those aged 35–44 years, suggesting recent declines in the prevalence of these maltreatment types. Conclusions: Child maltreatment is common in Australia, and larger proportions of women than men report having experienced sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect during childhood. As physical and sexual abuse may have declined recently, public health policy and practice may have positive effects, justifying continued monitoring and prevention activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate associations between all five types of child maltreatment (emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to domestic violence) and health risk behaviours and conditions. Design, setting, participants: Nationally representative survey of Australian residents aged 16 years and older conducted by computer‐assisted telephone interviewing. Main outcome measures: Associations between child maltreatment and the following health risk behaviours and conditions: current smoker, binge drinking (at least weekly in past 12 months), cannabis dependence (according to the Cannabis Severity of Dependence Scale), obesity (based on body mass index), self‐harm in past 12 months, and suicide attempt in past 12 months. Results: A total of 8503 participants completed the survey. All five types of child maltreatment were associated with increased rates of all of the health risk behaviours and conditions that we considered. The strongest associations were in the youngest age group (16–24‐year‐olds). Sexual abuse and emotional abuse were associated with the highest odds of health risk behaviours and conditions. Cannabis dependence, self‐harm and suicide attempts were most strongly associated with child maltreatment. Experiencing more than one type of child maltreatment was associated with higher rates of health risk behaviours and conditions than experiencing one type of child maltreatment. Conclusions: Child maltreatment is associated with substantially increased rates of health risk behaviours and conditions. Prevention and intervention efforts should be informed by trauma histories, and holistic psychosocial care should be incorporated into programs focusing on behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian population. Design: Population‐representative survey conducted by computer‐assisted telephone interviewing. Setting, participants: Australian residents aged 16 years and older. Main outcome measures: Mental disorder diagnoses of lifetime major depressive disorder, current alcohol use disorder (mild, moderate and severe), current generalised anxiety disorder and current post‐traumatic stress disorder. Results: More than one in three Australians (3606/8503 surveyed participants; 38.0%; 95% CI, 36.7–39.3%) met the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders in non‐maltreated participants was 21.6% (95% CI, 19.9–23.3%; n = 851). This increased to 36.2% (95% CI, 33.5–38.9%; n = 764) for those who experienced a single type of maltreatment and 54.8% (95% CI, 52.6–56.9%; n = 1991) for participants who experienced multi‐type maltreatment. Compared with non‐maltreated Australians, maltreated participants had about three times the odds of any mental disorder (odds ratio [OR], 2.82; 95% CI, 2.47–3.22), generalised anxiety disorder (OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 2.48–3.97), major depressive disorder (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 2.68–3.80) and severe alcohol use disorder (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.83–3.76), and almost five times the odds of post‐traumatic stress disorder (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 3.00–7.07). Associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders were strongest for sexual abuse, emotional abuse and multi‐type maltreatment. The strength of the associations did not differ by gender. Adjustment for childhood and current financial hardship and for current socio‐economic status did not significantly attenuate the associations. Conclusions: Mental disorders are significantly more likely to occur in individuals who experience child maltreatment, particularly multi‐type maltreatment. Prevention of child maltreatment provides an opportunity to substantially reduce the prevalence of mental illness and improve the health of the Australian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]