Out-of-home care among immigrant children in Sweden: A national cohort study

Abstract

We used data from several national registers for ten entire birth cohorts (n > 1 million) to examine the representation of first generation immigrant children among first time entries into out-of-home care (foster or residential care) at ages 7-12 and 13-17. Logistic regression models were used to adjust results for socioeconomic background factors. Immigrant children were categorised in six groups relating to birth country/continent. Compared with Swedish-born peers, immigrant children from non-European countries had between two- and three-fold sex and birth-year adjusted odds for being placed in care for the first time at ages 7-12. After adjustments for five socioeconomic background variables, none of these overrisks remained. Instead there was a tendency towards immigrant background being associated with reduced risks, statistically significant for immigrant children born in non-Nordic European countries. Immigrant children had between two- and six-fold age and birth-year adjusted odds for entering care for the first time during adolescence. After adjusting the results for socioeconomic background, only immigrant children born in Sub-Saharan Africa or in Asia outside the Middle East had significant overrisks for care entries at ages 13-17 (odds ratio = 1.5). © Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare.