Child Injury Risks are Close to Home: Parent Psychosocial Factors Associated with Child Safety

Abstract

Objective: In several populations, maternal depression has been associated with reduced child safety. In an urban pediatric Emergency Department, we examined the relationship between parental depression, social support, and domestic conflict and child safety behaviors.Methods: We studied consecutive patients in an Emergency Department. Trained interviewers used a structured instrument to assess patient, primary caregiver, and household demographics, socio-economic status, psychosocial factors, child safety behaviors (whether a gun was in the home, poisons were locked, a functioning smoke detector was present, and use of carseats or seatbelts), and whether the home was smokefree. 1,116 patients provided adequate data.Results: Depression was associated with a modest and not statistically significant reduction in child safety behaviors in this population. Lack of social support and the presence of domestic conflict were robustly, independently, and statistically significantly associated with less safe homes. Domestic conflict was associated with more smoking in the home.Conclusion: In our population, child safety was associated less with depression and more with parental lack of social support and domestic conflict. These can be assessed in a Emergency Department and may be amenable to intervention. Abstract Objective: In several populations, maternal depression has been associated with reduced child safety. In an urban pediatric Emergency Department, we examined the relationship between parental depression, social support, and domestic conflict and child safety behaviors.Methods: We studied consecutive patients in an Emergency Department. Trained interviewers used a structured instrument to assess patient, primary caregiver, and household demographics, socio-economic status, psychosocial factors, child safety behaviors (whether a gun was in the home, poisons were locked, a functioning smoke detector was present, and use of carseats or seatbelts), and whether the home was smoke-free. 1,116 patients provided adequate data.Results: Depression was associated with a modest and not statistically significant reduction in child safety behaviors in this population. Lack of social support and the presence of domestic conflict were robustly, independently, and statistically significantly associated with less safe homes. Domestic conflict was associated with more smoking in the home.Conclusion: In our population, child safety was associated less with depression and more with parental lack of social support and domestic conflict. These can be assessed in a Emergency Department and may be amenable to intervention.

Home injury risks to young children in Karachi, Pakistan: a pilot study

“…Our study shows that 34% of the households had chemicals that were kept locked up, which is comparable to a study from the USA, where this percentage is said to be between 26% and 32% 20. However, another study from the USA showed that in 4.3% of the households not all the chemicals were locked up,23 which is in contrast with our finding. A Singaporean study showed comparable risks for sharp furniture 7…”

Does the home environment influence inequalities in unintentional injury in early childhood? Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

“…Parental factors such as supervision,35 risk taking behaviours,36 37 ability to match children's capabilities to tasks, wanting to foster independence in their children, ability to recognise hazards,38 maternal depression and social support39 are associated with childhood injuries and may also be socially distributed. Further research into these areas (and how they might interact with the home environment) could help establish why inequalities in injuries persist and contribute to the design or adaptation of policies to reduce them.…”

Association Between Maternal Postpartum Depression and Unintentional Injury Among 4-Month-Old Infants in Japan

“…The association remains significant even after adjusting for confounders, including young maternal age, marital status, social support status, maternal psychiatric history, or economic situation. Previous studies reported that younger maternal age [9], single-parent families [8], lack of social support [25], and low economic status [26], were associated with unintentional injury among infants and toddlers. Further, maternal depression has been previously linked to occurrences of injury among infants and toddlers [13].…”