Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28040827›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2017

Family structure and childhood mental disorders: new findings from Australia.

Francisco Perales, Sarah E Johnson, Janeen Baxter, David Lawrence, Stephen R Zubrick

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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  4. Factors Affecting Recidivism in Children Drawn into Crime.Turk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry · 2025
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  13. Age, Sex and Relationship Strengths: Internalizing Symptom Differences in Children and Youth Within a Clinical Sample.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Francisco PeralesARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Long Pocket Precinct, 80 Meiers Rd, Building C, Indooroopilly, Brisbane, QLD, 4068, Australia.
Sarah E JohnsonARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008, Australia. sarah.johnson@telethonkids.org.au.
Janeen BaxterARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Long Pocket Precinct, 80 Meiers Rd, Building C, Indooroopilly, Brisbane, QLD, 4068, Australia.
David LawrenceARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008, Australia.
Stephen R ZubrickARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMany children now live in non-traditional families-including one-parent, blended, and step families. While a substantial body of international evidence indicates that these children display poorer cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes than children living in traditional families, research on childhood mental disorders is scarce. This report provides new evidence of the relationships between family structure and childhood mental disorders in an under-researched context, Australia.

methodsWe use recent, nationally representative data on children aged 4-17 from Young Minds Matter, the second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Well-being (N = 6310). Mental disorders were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Version IV and included social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorder.

resultsCompared to children living in original families, children in one-parent, blended, and step families experienced a higher prevalence of mental disorders. Amongst children whose parents separated, the time since separation was not statistically significantly related to the prevalence of mental disorders.

conclusionsAlthough we are unable to assess causality, our findings highlight the strength of the association between family structure and child and adolescent mental health. They also stress the need for programs to support children, parents, and families in non-traditional family types to reduce mental health inequalities in childhood and later life.

Indexed as

Family CharacteristicsAdolescentAustraliaChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleMental DisordersAustraliaChildhoodFamily structureMental disordersParental separation

Identifiers

PMID28040827

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.