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Household member substance problems and children's health in the United States
Kristin Turney1, Alexandra Olsen1
1University of California, Irvine, USA.
Insights
Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. children face household substance problems, an adverse childhood experience (ACE). This exposure is linked to poorer child health, potentially worsening socioeconomic health disparities.
Area of Science:
- Child Health
- Public Health
- Sociology
Background:
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) significantly impact child development and health outcomes.
- Household member substance problems represent a critical, understudied ACE.
- Existing research lacks a nationally representative analysis of this specific ACE in U.S. children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between household member substance problems and children's health indicators.
- To determine the prevalence of this ACE in a national sample of U.S. children.
- To examine mediating factors, such as household characteristics and other ACEs, in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), a nationally representative sample.
- Employed logistic regression models to analyze the relationship between the ACE and 14 child health indicators.
- Controlled for household characteristics and co-occurring ACEs to understand independent effects.
Main Results:
- Approximately 9.0% of U.S. children experience household member substance problems.
- Children exposed to this ACE exhibit higher rates of health problems compared to unexposed children.
- Most observed health differences are explained by confounding household factors and other ACEs.
Conclusions:
- Children exposed to household member substance problems constitute a vulnerable population.
- This ACE disproportionately affects socioeconomically disadvantaged children, increasing their health risks.
- Household substance problems may exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities in children's health outcomes.
Abstract:
A sizable number of children are exposed to household member substance problems, an adverse childhood experience (ACE), yet little research uses a nationally representative sample of U.S. children to examine this association. We used newly released data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized children in the United States, and logistic regression models to investigate the relationship between household member substance problems and 14 indicators of children's health. We find 9.0% of children in the United States have experienced household member substance problems. We also find children exposed to household member substance problems are more likely to have health problems than children not exposed to household member substance problems, but that most of these descriptive differences can be explained by household characteristics and other ACEs. Children exposed to household member substance problems are a vulnerable population. Given that household member substance problems are concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged children, children at a greater risk of health problems than their counterparts, this ACE may exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities in children's health.