Adversity profiles of children receiving care and support from social services: A latent‐class analysis of school‐aged children in Wales

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundChildren receive care and support from social services due to the risk of harm or impeded development or because of disability. This study aimed to identify typologies of adversity experienced by children receiving care and support from social services and to explore how typologies differ by sociodemographic characteristics.MethodsThis is a cross‐sectional study of ‘Children Receiving Care and Support’ (N = 12 792) during 2017/2018 in Wales, UK. We sought to (1) examine the prevalence of household adversities experienced by children in receipt of care and support from social services; (2) identify typologies of household adversities; and (3) explore how typologies of household adversities differ by family characteristics (demographics, measures of social disadvantage, perinatal and care factors).ResultsWe found evidence for multiple risk factor constellations. The four‐class solution suggested four distinct classes of adversities: child disability (50.0%), low adversities (20.3%), family poor health (6.7%) and multiple risks (23.0%). Children in the ‘multiple risk’ class were significantly more likely to be younger, more deprived and ‘looked after’ by the local authority compared with those in the ‘low adversities’ class.ConclusionsGiven the presence of different constellations of household adversities, policies and interventions that address multiple risk factors simultaneously may be more effective and have longer‐lasting benefits.