Youth injury and parents’ unemployment—the importance of socio-economic status and ethnicity context

• Published in: European journal of public health Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 911 - 915
• Main Authors: Maya, Siman-Tov, Aviad, Tur-Sinai, Tanya, Kolobov, Orna, Baron-Epel, Yossi, Harel-Fisch
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.10.2020; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Adolescents; Affluence; Arab people; Boys; Children; Childrens health; Confidence intervals; Economic conditions; Economic factors; Economics; Employment; Ethnicity; Girls; Health behavior; Health risks; Health services; Home environment; Injuries; Jewish people; Medical treatment; Minority & ethnic groups; Parents; Parents & parenting; Public health; Respondents; Social factors; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Stitches; Unemployment; Youth; Youth employment
• ISSN: 1101-1262; 1464-360X
• DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaa061

Abstract Background Youth whose parents are unemployed have poorer health and well-being, including more injuries that result in hospitalization. The current study examined the possibility of an association of parents’ employment status with youth injury and the interaction of this status with other socio-economic factors and ethnicity. Methods We distributed to adolescents aged 11–15 years, in class, the Israel Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey. We distinguished between any injury and severe injury, defining the latter as one necessitating the use of a cast, stitches and crutches or overnight hospitalization. Results Of 13 705 respondents, 6224 (45%) had an injury in the past year that required medical treatment and 1827 pupils (13.5%) reported severe injuries. The odds of any injury were 1.86 for boys as against girls (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.73–1.99), 0.80 for school grade (95% CI 0.78–0.82), 1.56 for Arabs vs. Jews (95% CI 1.43–1.70) and 1.10 for high Family Affluence Scale (FAS) vs. medium FAS (95% CI 1.01–1.21). Only in the low FAS group, when two parents were unemployed, the odds for severe injury was 1.36 (95% CI 1.03–1.78); when one or two parents were employed, the odds of severe child injury were the same (OR 1.13 and 95% CI 0.92–1.40). Conclusion Factors that were found to increase the risk of injury among youth were parental unemployment, low socio-economic status and Arab ethnicity. The home environment was the most common place for injury.