Risk factors
Tomison (1998) suggests that the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures can substantially underestimate the extent of child abuse and neglect and cites the figures for child sexual abuse for children under 16 years between 1995-1996 to be only 0.1%. By contrast Goldman and Padayachi’s (1997) study reported prevalence figures for child sexual abuse before 17 years of age to be 18.6 % for males and 44.6% for females. Fleming (1997), reported a 35% prevalence rate of child sexual abuse in a national community-based sample of 710 Australian women. Lanning et al., (1999), reporting on US data, suggest that the prevailing estimates of child sexual abuse range from 6% to 62% for females (up to 18 years) and 3% to 13% for males (up to 18 years). See - www.aifs.org.au/
These forms of abuse are reflected in the summary of risk factors influencing children’s development (Table 1). Of particular interest to schools are the School Context risk factors that have particular significance when planning for prevention. These are factors that schools can address through curriculum planning, pastoral care programs and support. However, students are influenced by a number of factors outside the school and an understanding of the increased risks faced by individuals or groups can assist schools both in identifying and supporting these students.
Table 1 Risk Factors potentially influencing the development of mental health and mental disorders in individuals: Pathways to Prevention Report (National Crime Prevention Authority, 1999)
Child Factors
| Family Factors
| School Context | Life Events
| Community and Cultural Factors |
|---|
Prenatal brain damage Prematurity Birth injury Low birth weight, birth complication Physical and intellectual disability Poor health in infancy Insecure attachment in infant/child Low intelligence Difficult temperament Chronic illness Poor social skills Low self-esteem Alienation Impulsivity | Having a teenage mother Having a single parent Absence of father in childhood Large family size Anti-social role models
(in childhood) Family violence and disharmony Marital discord in parents Poor supervision and monitoring of child Low parental involvement in child’s activities Neglect in childhood Long-term parental unemployment Criminality in parent Parental substance abuse Parental mental disorder Harsh or inconsistent discipline style Social isolation Experiencing rejection Lack of warmth and affection | Bullying Peer rejection Poor attachment to school Inadequate behaviour management Deviant peer group School failure | Physical, sexual and emotional abuse School transitions Divorce and family breakup Death of family member Physical illness/impairment Unemployment, homelessness Incarceration Poverty/ economic insecurity Unsatisfactory workplace relationships Workplace accident/ injury Caring for someone with an illness/ disability Living in nursing home or aged care hostel War or natural disasters | Socio-economic disadvantage Social or cultural discrimination Isolation Neighbourhood violence and crime Population density and housing conditions Lack of support services including transport, shopping, recreational facilities |
Author: Dr Marea Nicholson
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