Table 1 Overview of variables from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) example [12, 13] examining the impact of maternal mental health on a child’s behavioural difficulties in early childhood. The exposure and confounders were recorded at wave 1 (2004), with the outcome variable recorded at wave 3 (2008)
From: Confounding-adjustment methods for the causal difference in medians
Role | Variable | Values and additional details |
|---|---|---|
Outcome Y | Behavioural difficulties score | Range 0-40; Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire [5] |
Exposure A | Probable serious maternal mental illness | Yes:\(A=1\)/No:\(A=0\); Yes defined as a K10 score < 4 [14, 15] |
Confounders \(\varvec{C}\) | Sex of child | Male/Female |
Whether the child has siblings | Yes/No | |
Child’s physical functioning score | Range 0-100; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory [4] | |
Behavioural difficulties score (baseline) | Range 0-40; Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire [5] | |
Maternal age | Recorded in years | |
Maternal smoking status | Yes/No | |
Maternal risky alcohol consumption | Yes/No; Yes defined as > 2 standard alcoholic drinks per day | |
Maternal completion of high school | Yes/No | |
Family financial hardship score | Range 0-6 | |
Consistent parenting score | Range 1-5 |