Skip to main content

Table 1 Mental health, SES and demographic characteristics of Aboriginal children aged 4–17 years in Western Australia a

From: Socioeconomic disparities in the mental health of Indigenous children in Western Australia

 

Number

% (95% CI)

Mental health status

Risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties

  

 Low risk

14800

64.6 (62.2–66.9)

 Moderate risk

2610

11.4 (10.3–12.6)

 High risk

5490

24.0 (21.9–26.1)

SES characteristics

Education: primary carer

  

 13 or more years

1370

6.0 (4.6–7.6)

 Years 11-12

5080

22.2 (20.0–24.4)

 Year 10

9920

43.3 (40.7–46.0)

 Year 9 or lessb

5960

26.0 (23.7–28.4)

Occupationc

  

 Managers and professionals

2910

13.0 (11.2–15.0)

 Tradespersons, clerical workers and labourers

8480

38.0 (35.4–40.7)

 Not employed

10900

49.0 (46.2–51.8)

Family financial strain

  

 Can save a lot

1080

4.7 (3.5–6.2)

 Can save a bit

5780

25.3 (23.0–27.6)

 Some left over but spend it

3040

13.3 (11.5–15.3)

 Just enough to get by

10400

45.2 (42.6–47.9)

 Spending more than we get

2050

9.0 (7.5–10.6)

Housing tenure

  

 Owned or being paid off

4800

21.0 (18.6–23.6)

 Renting

16600

72.3 (69.6–75.0)

 Other

960

4.2 (3.0–5.6)

Number of indicators of poor housing quality

  

 None

6930

30.3 (27.7–32.9)

 One

6180

27.0 (24.7–29.3)

 Two

4950

21.6 (19.4–24.0)

 Three or more

4840

21.1 (18.9–23.6)

SEIFAd (quintiles)

  

 Top (more advantaged)

120

0.5 (0.1–1.9)

 Third and fourth

3750

16.4 (13.1–20.0)

 First and second (less advantaged)

19000

83.1 (79.4–86.5)

IRISEOe (quintiles)

  

 Top (more advantaged)

260

1.1 (0.4–2.3)

 Fourth

3660

16.0 (13.5–18.8)

 Third

7310

32.0 (28.9–35.2)

 Second

6580

28.8 (25.4–32.4)

 First (less advantaged)

5020

22.0 (18.5–25.7)

Demographics

Age (years)

  

 4-11

13900

60.6 (58.6–62.5)

 12-17

9040

39.4 (37.5–41.4)

Sex

  

 Male

11700

51.2 (49.3–53.1)

 Female

11200

48.8 (46.9–50.7)

Level of relative isolation

  

 None

7830

34.2 (31.6–36.9)

 Low

5590

24.4 (21.8–27.1)

 Moderate

4680

20.4 (17.1–24.0)

 High

2550

11.2 (8.4–14.4)

 Extreme

2260

9.8 (7.1–13.0)

  1. a Numbers are weighted estimates of the population of Aboriginal children in each category, and have been rounded. Proportions are based on all Aboriginal children aged 4–17 years (N = 22900). The frequencies of missing responses have not been reported.
  2. b Includes those who had not attended an educational institution.
  3. c Highest occupational class of primary and secondary carers. Occupation categories have been dichotomised based on skill levels defined in the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, second edition. ‘Managers and professionals’ include occupational skill levels 1 & 2. ‘Tradespersons, clerical workers and labourers’ include occupational skill levels 3–5.
  4. d Customised version of the index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage that forms part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Socioeconomic Index for Areas (SEIFA) product. Quintiles were determined based on the distribution of values for all Australian CDs.
  5. e Biddle’s Index of Relative Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes. The index was derived using the characteristics of Aboriginal persons only and quintiles were determined based on the distribution of values for all Australian Indigenous Areas.
Back to article page

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

Contact us