Discussion
This exploratory analysis of the CIS-2003 revealed that
almost one in five child maltreatment investigations in
Canada feature mothers with reported mental health issues.
Further, the study documents differential outcomes for
these mothers and their children: maltreatment is more
likely to be substantiated, their children are more likely to
be removed, their cases are more likely to be kept open and
a court application is more likely to be made.
Consistent with previous research, significant associations
were found between maternal mental health issues,
socioeconomic disadvantage (lower educational attainment,
low income, low employment, public housing), and
other caregiver risk factors including exposure to domestic
violence and fewer social supports (Oyserman et al. 2000;
Reiger et al. 1990, cited in Velleman 2004). These multiple
disadvantages partially—but not fully—explained the differential
outcomes observed in this study: adjusted odds
ratios reported in Table 4 are substantially lower than the
unadjusted odds ratios reported in Table 1.
We found that child functioning issues were documented
in over half of the cases involving children of
mothers with mental health issues. And child functioning
issues, particularly emotional and behavioral problems,
were more prevalent in cases involving mothers with