Geographic mapping of adverse childhood experiences and adolescent suicidal ideation/self-harm in New South Wales, Australia
Watkeys, Oliver J., Laurens, Kristin R, Tzoumakis, Stacy, Dean, Kimberlie, Harris, Felicity, Cheung, Melissa Mei Yin, Carr, Vaughan J, & Green, Melissa J. (2025) Geographic mapping of adverse childhood experiences and adolescent suicidal ideation/self-harm in New South Wales, Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 59(12), pp. 1084-1094.
Open access copy at publisher website
Description
OBJECTIVE: Rates of suicide, suicidal ideation and self-harm are higher in regional and remote areas of Australia. This study aimed to examine the regional co-occurrence of adolescent suicidal ideation/self-harm and adverse childhood experiences, with consideration of area-based indices of socio-economic disadvantage and remoteness and the availability of mental healthcare professionals in New South Wales (NSW).
METHODS: Participants were 73,883 young people, born between 2002 and 2005, represented in the NSW Child Development Study (NSW-CDS) - a record-linkage study utilising Commonwealth and State government records. Aggregated longitudinal data according to statistical areas of residence were used to geographically map adolescent suicidal ideation/self-harm against prior adverse childhood experiences, socio-economic disadvantage, geographical remoteness and the number of mental healthcare professionals per region.
RESULTS: The average number of adverse childhood experiences and the proportion of children residing in areas of socio-economic disadvantage and geographical remoteness were strongly associated with the regional incidence of suicidal ideation/self-harm. Associations between the incidence of suicidal ideation/self-harm and the number of mental healthcare professionals in each region were not significant in adjusted models. Young people growing up in regions outside of Greater Sydney, particularly those in north-west NSW, had the greatest exposure to early adverse childhood experiences, the highest proportion residing in socio-economic disadvantaged and geographically remote areas and the highest incidence of adolescent suicidal ideation/self-harm.
DISCUSSION: These findings have policy implications for the geographic allocation of resources to prevent self-harm and suicide in young people. Early-life interventions should be aimed at reducing adverse childhood experiences.
Impact and interest:
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| ID Code: | 260254 | ||
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| Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) | ||
| Refereed: | Yes | ||
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| Measurements or Duration: | 11 pages | ||
| DOI: | 10.1177/00048674251369628 | ||
| ISSN: | 0004-8674 | ||
| Pure ID: | 204593813 | ||
| Divisions: | Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Health Current > Schools > School of Psychology & Counselling |
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| Funding Information: | This research used population data owned by the NSW Department of Education; Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), managed by the NSW Education Standards Authority; NSW Department of Communities and Justice; NSW Ministry of Health; ACT Health; NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages; the Australian Coordinating Registry (on behalf of Australian Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Australian Coroners and the National Coronial Information System); Australian Bureau of Statistics; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; Department of Social Services; NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research; NSW Department of Justice and NSW Police Force. This research used data from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education. The findings and views reported are those of the authors and should not be attributed to these Departments and Agencies, or the NSW and Australian Government. Record linkage was performed by the Centre for Health Record Linkage ( http://www.cherel.org.au ) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Data Integration Service Centre ( https://www.aihw.gov.au/our-services/data-linkage ). We acknowledge the contribution of members of the NSW Child Development Study Lived Experience Network to this work. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was conducted by the University of New South Wales with financial support from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant (APP1148055), an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project (DP230101990), a Department of Health and Aged Care Medical Research Future Fund Million Minds Mental Health Grant (APP2006436) and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from Suicide Prevention Australia (awarded to OW) funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Funding bodies had no role in the design, collection, analysis, interpretation, writing or decision to submit this manuscript for publication. | ||
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| Copyright Owner: | © The Author(s) 2025 | ||
| Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au | ||
| Deposited On: | 25 Sep 2025 10:22 | ||
| Last Modified: | 07 Jan 2026 21:14 |
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