Predictors of COVID testing among Australian youth: Insights from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Background

Testing has played a crucial role in reducing the spread of COVID. Although COVID symptoms tend to be less severe in children and adolescents, a key concern is young people’s role in the transmission of the virus given their highly social lifestyles. In this study, we aimed to identify the predictors associated with COVID testing in Australian youth using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).

Methods

We used the latest wave 9C1 of the LSAC, where data were collected from 16–21-year-old Australians via an online survey between October and December 2021. In total, 2291 Australian youths responded to the questions about COVID testing and COVID symptom severity. Data was stratified by living with/without parents, and bivariate and logistic regression analyses examined predictor variables (age, sex, country of birth, remoteness, education level, employment, relationship status, number of household members, living with parents, receiving the COVID financial supplement from government and index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage) and their distributions over the outcome variable COVID testing.

Results

Youths aged 16-17 were more likely to live at home than youths aged 20-21 years. The strongest predictor of COVID testing was living in major cities (regardless of living with or without parents). Changed household composition was significantly associated with COVID testing among the youths living in the parental home. While among the respondents living without their parents, living with multiple household members and low or no cohesion among household members was associated with higher rates of COVID testing.

Conclusion

Our study revealed young people have been very good at getting tested for COVID. To further incentivise testing in this age group, we should consider providing this age group with continued financial and social support while awaiting the outcome of the test and during any isolation.

Strengths and limitations of this study

• Large national cohort of young people strengthened the findings of the study and allowing us to examine the factors associated with COVID testing for the first time in Australia.

• A broad-based assessment of potential predictors of COVID testing, including sociodemographic and coronavirus specific factor.

• Cross-sectional observational design limits causal inference.

• Self-reported information about COVID testing can be subject to recall as well as social desirability bias.