Connect
MJA
MJA

Adolescent Pregnancy Among Girls Known to Child Protection Services: An Australian Longitudinal Cohort Study Using Data Linkage

Oliver Watkeys, Kimberlie Dean, Kristin R. Laurens, Stacy Tzoumakis, Vaughan J. Carr, Melissa J. Green
Correspondence: melissa.green@unsw.edu.au
Med J Aust 2026; 224 (1) || doi: 10.5694/mja2.70130
Published online: 18 January 2026

Abstract

In a population cohort of 44,216 adolescent girls, about 73.5% of those who became pregnant were known to child protection services. Exposure to higher levels of child protection response was associated with increased cumulative incidence and an earlier age of pregnancy.

  • Oliver Watkeys, Kimberlie Dean, Kristin R. Laurens, Stacy Tzoumakis, Vaughan J. Carr, Melissa J. Green



Correspondence: melissa.green@unsw.edu.au

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.