Intergenerational patterns of child protection system involvement in an Australian population cohort

There is substantial diversity in patterns of intergenerational maltreatment within families.

To characterise familial patterns of child protection contacts across generations among a representative population sample of Australian children.

Participants were 75,784 Australian children (followed from birth to age ~18 years) and their parents from the New South Wales Child Development Study.

Child protection (CP) data (child: 2001-2021; parents: 1971-2021) were used to categorise family members into four subpopulations according to intergenerational patterns of contact with the CP system. Sociodemographic factors and CP system contacts were examined for all family members within intergenerational CP groups, using binary logistic regression.

Most families (67.8%) had no contact with child protection across generations. Approximately 31% of children were known to CP services, relative to 5% of mothers and 1.7% fathers in the cohort. The majority of children known to CP services (85%) had no parental history of maltreatment ('cycle initiator' families). Almost 79% of children whose parents had historical CP records were also known to CP services ('cycle maintainers'; representing 15% of all children known to CP services) and 21% were unknown to child protection services (classed as 'cycle breakers'; representing 4% of all children known to CP services). Parents classified as 'cycle maintainers' had more serious, frequent, and earlier involvement with the CP system, and higher levels of disadvantage, compared to other groups.

Socioeconomic drivers of intergenerational CP system involvement deserve attention from policy makers.