Vulnerability within families headed by teen and young adult mothers investigated by child welfare services in Canada

• Main Authors: W. Hovdestad, M. Shields, G. Williams, L. Tonmyr
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Health Agency of Canada 2015-01-01
• Series: Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada
• Subjects: child maltreatment, child abuse, family violence, teen mother, adolescent mother, out-of-home care, Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
• Online Access: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-35-no-8-9-2015/vulnerability-within-families-headed-teen-young-adult-mothers-investigated-child-welfare-services-canada.html

Introduction: Young mothers' families are at increased risk of child maltreatment and other poor health and social outcomes. Methods: Chi-square analyses of pooled child welfare services data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003; CIS-2008) were used to compare 284 teen mothers (18 years or younger) and 800 young mothers (19-21 years) and their families with 5752 families where the mother was 22 years or older. Results: Twenty-six percent of young mothers were 18 years or younger. Most (68% of teen-mother families and 57% of families with a young adult mother) received social assistance as their main source of income compared with 36% of families with a mother aged 22 years or older. Teen and young adult mothers were more likely than those aged 22 or older to have childhood histories of out-of-home care (31% and 23% vs. 10%) and were more likely to have risk factors such as alcohol abuse (25% and 23% vs. 18%) and few social supports (46% and 41% vs. 37%). Secondary caregivers in families with young mothers also had more risk factors. Teen and young adult mother families were more likely to have their child placed out-of-home during the investigation (29% and 27% vs. 17%). All were equally likely to be victims of domestic violence and to have mental health issues. Conclusion: Within this sample of high-risk families, young mothers' families were more at risk than comparison families. Mothers' youth may be a useful criterion to identify families for targeted interventions.