Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008

Care and support

Positive relationships with parents
Witnessing violence in the home
Early childbearing

ISBN 978-0-478-33506-4 (Print) 
ISBN 978-0-478-33507-1 (Online)

The other sections and the appendices of the Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008 can be found at www.msd.govt.nz

Care and support
Desired outcomes
All children and young people enjoy secure attachment to parents and caregivers in a nurturing relationship where they are valued, respected and supported.
Introduction
The care and support generated within families is the foundation for good health and optimal social functioning. Children and young people are more likely to develop social confidence and show positive behaviour when their parents or caregivers have good relationship and problem-solving skills, and use consistent and non-abusive discipline. 

There are many reasons why families may not always fully meet this ideal. Economic hardship puts pressure on relationships and parenting skills may suffer. Poor health or disability in family members increases the load on caregivers. Violence within families is directly detrimental to the wellbeing of those involved. Where a family does not have the resources to provide this essential care and support, community networks and organisations can step in to assist. Supportive communities offer children safe physical and social spaces that connect them to caring adults and social services. Active parental support for children, which enhances children’s achievement, is partly dependent on a sense of living in a supportive community.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) expressly recognises that parents have the most important role in bringing up children. The Preamble acknowledges the importance of the family environment for the “full and harmonious development” of a child’s personality, “in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding”. It also states that families should be given the necessary protection and assistance so that they can fully meet their responsibilities. In Article 3, the Convention sets out the principle that, in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
Indicators
Positive relationships with parents is an indicator of the quality of family life. Children and young people are better able to cope with the challenges and changes in their lives when they have warm and attentive relationships with their parents. The indicator is based on the views of secondary school students about their relationships with their parents.

Witnessing violence in the home is associated with a range of poor social and mental health outcomes, such as a higher risk of depression, anxiety and suicide. Young people who witness family violence are more likely to be both a victim of violence and a perpetrator of violence, and are less likely to get along well with their family. This indicator is also based on the perspective of young people of secondary school age.

Early childbearing is the third indicator in this domain. In New Zealand and most other developed countries, the timing of childbearing has changed substantially over the past 35 years, a trend associated with rising levels of enrolment in higher education. The median age of first time mothers in New Zealand was 28 years in 2007. An early transition to parenthood is not only a less common life event than in previous decades, it is also more likely to be accompanied by disadvantage. It is in this context that adolescent childbearing, while less than half the level it was in 1972, has come to be seen as an issue of concern for the wellbeing of both young mothers and their children. In this indicator, early childbearing is defined as the birth rate of females under 20 years.

Positive relationships with parents
Definition
The proportion of secondary school students aged 12–18 years who reported that their Mum and/or Dad (or someone who acts as Mum and/or Dad) cares a lot about them, that they feel close to Mum and/or Dad most of the time, and that they are able to spend enough time with Mum and/or Dad.
Relevance
When children and young people have strong positive relationships with their parents, they are better able to cope with challenges and changes in their lives. They may also achieve better at school and have healthier and happier relationships with others.
Current level
Most students of all ages, both sexes and all ethnic groups report positive relationships with their parents. More than 90 percent of students surveyed in 2001 reported that their Mum and/or Dad cared about them a lot. The majority of students (around 70 percent) also reported that most of the time they felt close to Mum and/or Dad. Most students (around 60 percent) reported that most weeks they get enough time to spend with Mum and/or Dad. However, many students (around 40 percent) reported not getting enough time with at least one of their parents.

Figure CS1.1 Proportion of secondary school students reporting positive relationships with their parents, by sex, 2001

Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2003)
Age differences
Similar proportions of students of different ages reported that their Mum and/or Dad cared about them a lot. Younger students were more likely than older students to report that most of the time they feel close to their Mum and/or Dad, and more likely to report that most weeks they get enough time with their Mum and/or Dad.

Table CS1.1 Proportion (%) of secondary school students reporting positive relationships with parents, by age, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below

Age in years	Mum and/or Dad care about me a lot	Most of the time I feel close to Mum and/or Dad	Most weeks I get enough time to spend with Mum and/or Dad	
12–13	92.1	76.7	65.4	
	(90.8, 93.4)	(75.0, 78.5)	(63.0, 67.8)	
14	92.5	71.5	62.8	
	(91.4, 93.6)	(69.4, 73.6)	(60.5, 65.2)	
15	92.1	66.9	60.4	
	(90.9, 93.4)	(64.3, 69.6)	(58.0, 62.8)	
16	92.2	69.4	59.6	
	(90.9, 93.5)	(67.1, 71.8)	(56.9, 62.3)	
17–18	94.2	68.8	59.1	
	(92.7, 95.6)	(66.0, 71.7)	(55.9, 62.3)	
Total	92.5	70.9	61.8	
	(91.8, 93.2)	(69.7, 72.1)	(60.5, 63.1)	
Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2003)
Note: If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.
Sex differences 
Similar proportions of male and female students reported positive relationships with their parents. 

Table CS1.2 Proportion (%) of secondary school students reporting positive relationships with parents, by sex, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below

Sex of student	Mum and/or Dad care about me a lot	Most of the time I feel close to Mum and/or Dad	Most weeks I get enough time to spend with Mum and/or Dad	
Male	92.7	72.4	62.9	
 	(91.6, 93.7)	(70.8, 73.9)	(60.9, 64.8)	
Female	92.3	69.6	60.8	
 	(91.4, 93.2)	(68.1, 71.0)	(59.2, 60.8)	
Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2003)
Ethnic differences
Most students in all ethnic groups report positive relationships with their parents. While the ethnic differences in prevalence of reported positive relationships with parents appear small, some differences were significant after adjustment for age, sex and socio-economic status. Pacific and New Zealand European students were more likely than other students to report that their Mum and/or Dad cared about them a lot, and that most of the time they feel close to their Mum and/or Dad. Asian and New Zealand European students were more likely to report that most weeks they get enough time with their Mum and/or Dad.
Table CS1.3 Proportion (%) of secondary school students reporting positive relationships with parents, by ethnic group, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below

Ethnic group	Mum and/or Dad care about me a lot	Most of the time I feel close to Mum and/or Dad	Most weeks I get enough time to spend with Mum and/or Dad	
Māori 	89.7	66.4	54.6	
	(88.1, 91.3)	(64.3, 68.5)	(52.2, 57.0)	
Pacific peoples	92.4	73.2	59.2	
	(90.3, 94.4)	(69.5, 77.0)	(55.7, 62.6)	
Asian 	89.6	64.8	64.0	
	(87.2, 92.0)	(60.0, 69.7)	(60.7, 67.4)	
Other 	91.3	68.2	60.0	
	(88.9, 93.6)	(63.4, 73.0)	(55.3, 64.8)	
NZ European 	94.4	73.7	65.3	
	(93.7, 95.1)	(72.3, 75.1)	(63.7, 66.8)	
Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2003)

Witnessing violence in the home 
Definition
The proportion of secondary school students aged 12–18 years who reported witnessing violence committed by an adult towards another adult or child in their home in the last 12 months, as measured by the Youth2000 Survey. Violence was defined in the survey as yelling or swearing, or hitting or physically hurting another adult or child.
Relevance
Witnessing family violence is associated with a range of poor social and mental health outcomes. Young people who witness family violence are more likely to be both a victim of violence and a perpetrator of violence, and less likely to get along well with their family. Witnessing violence is also associated with a higher risk of depression, anxiety and greater likelihood of attempting suicide. Frequent violence is particularly upsetting and can affect those who witness it well into adulthood. 
Current level
About half (49 percent) of all secondary students in the Youth2000 Survey reported that they had seen an adult in their home yell or swear at other adults at least once during the last 12 months. A smaller proportion of students (6 percent) witnessed adults in their home physically hurting other adults within that period. Just over 1 percent of students reported that adults in their home had hurt other adults three or more times in the last year.

Almost half of all students (48 percent) reported seeing adults in their home yelling or swearing at children during the last 12 months.  Around 16 percent of students experienced adults in their home hitting or physically hurting a child, with 4 percent reporting that this had happened on three or more occasions in the last year.

Figure CS2.1 Proportion of secondary school students witnessing violence by an adult in the home in the last 12 months, 2001

Source: Fleming, et al. (2007) p 33

Students who had witnessed adults in their home yelling, swearing, hitting or physically hurting adults or children were asked to rate the severity of the behaviour the last time it happened. Yelling and swearing at adults, and hitting or physically hurting children, were both seen as “pretty bad”, “really bad” or “terrible” by nearly a third (31 percent) of those who had seen these behaviours. Yelling and swearing at children was rated with the same severity by around quarter (26 percent) of students who had seen it occur. The type of family violence most likely to be seen as “pretty bad”, “really bad”, or “terrible” was adults hurting other adults, with 62 percent of students who had witnessed it rating it this way.
Age differences
Younger students were less likely to report witnessing adults in their home yelling or swearing at other adults, or adults in their home yelling or swearing at children. These differences in proportions appear small. However, the differences were significant after adjustment for sex, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

There were no differences between age groups in the proportion of students who witnessed adults in their home hitting other adults or adults in their home hitting children.

Table CS2.1 Proportion (%) of secondary school students witnessing violence by an adult in the home in the last 12 months, by type of violence and age of student, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below 

Age in years	Yelling or swearing at another adult	Hitting or hurting another adult	Yelling or swearing at a child	Hitting or hurting 
a child	
12–13	43.5	5.2	40.9	17.1	
	(40.9, 46.1)	(4.1, 6.3)	(38.2, 43.5)	(15.4, 18.8)	
14	47.7	6.5	47.7	16.9	
	(45.1, 50.2)	(5.3, 7.7)	(45.1, 50.4)	(15.0, 18.7)	
15	52.5	6.1	51.7	15.6	
	(50.0, 55.0)	(4.9, 7.3)	(49.3, 54.1)	(13.5, 17.6)	
16	51.5	5.3	49.3	14.8	
	(49.3, 53.6)	(4.2, 6.4)	(47.1, 51.6)	(12.8, 16.8)	
17–18	47.2	4.4	48.7	14.8	
	(44.3, 50.2)	(2.9, 5.9)	(45.7, 51.8)	(12.0, 17.5)	
Total	48.5	5.6	47.6	16.0	
	(47.0, 50.0)	(4.8, 6.4)	(46.1, 49.1)	(14.8, 17.2)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data 
Note: If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.
Sex differences
Similar proportions of male and female students reported witnessing adult violence in their home in the last 12 months.  The differences in proportions by sex appear small.  However, there were significant differences between male and female students after adjustment for age, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

Female students were more likely than male students to report witnessing an adult in their home yelling or swearing at another adult, an adult in their home yelling or swearing at a child, or an adult in their home hitting or hurting another adult.

Table CS2.2 Proportion (%) of secondary school students witnessing violence by an adult in the home in the last 12 months, by type of violence and sex of student, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below

Sex of student	Type of adult violence witnessed	
	Yelling or swearing at another adult	Hitting or hurting another adult	Yelling or swearing at a child	Hitting or hurting 
a child	
Male	42.8	4.7	45.5	14.9	
	(41.0, 44.6)	(3.8, 5.6)	(43.6, 47.3)	(13.5, 16.3)	
Female	53.4	6.4	49.4	16.9	
	(51.8, 55.0)	(5.3, 7.5)	(47.6, 51.2)	(15.3, 18.5)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data 

Ethnic differences
There were significant differences between ethnic groups, after adjustment for age, sex and socio-economic status, in the proportions of students who reported witnessing an adult in their home hitting or hurting a child or another adult. New Zealand European students were least likely to report witnessing this type of violence and Pacific and Māori students were most likely to report doing so.

Table CS2.3 Proportion (%) of secondary school students witnessing violence by an adult in the home in the last 12 months, by type of violence and ethnicity of student, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below

Ethnic group	Type of adult violence witnessed	
	Hitting or hurting a child	Hitting or hurting another adult	
Māori 	21.3	10.0	
	(19.4, 23.3)	(8.4, 11.6)	
Pacific peoples	28.1	11.1	
	(24.8, 31.5)	(8.4, 13.8)	
Asian 	13.4	6.6	
	(10.8, 15.9)	(5.0, 8.3)	
Other 	14.1	5.9	
	(9.1, 19.1)	(3.4, 8.4)	
NZ European 	12.5	2.7	
	(11.6, 13.5)	(2.3, 3.2)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data

Early childbearing
Definition
The number of live births to females under 20 years of age, per 1,000 females aged 15–19 years.
Relevance
Research evidence shows that adverse childhood and family background factors increase the risk of early childbearing, and that early childbearing puts young women at risk for educational underachievement and poorer economic circumstances. For the children of very young mothers, there is an increased risk of low birth weight, infant mortality, and (for female children) repeating the cycle of early motherhood. Delaying childbearing and supporting young mothers and their children can help improve the wellbeing of children and young people.
Current level and trends
In 2007, there were 4,955 births to females under 20 years of age, representing a rate of 31.6 per 1,000 females aged 15–19 years. This was an increase from 28.4 per 1,000 in 2006 and coincided with a general rise in fertility for all age groups under 40 years.

For non-Māori New Zealanders, early childbearing became more prevalent around the end of the Second World War and was associated with a shift towards early marriage. The teenage birth rate for the total population increased during the 1960s to reach a peak of 69.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15–19 in 1972. The rate underwent a long decline through the 1970s, stalling at just over 30 per 1,000 in the mid-1980s. It then increased in the late 1980s to reach 35.2 per 1,000 in 1990 before resuming a generally downward trend.  The teenage birth rate fell between 1997 and 2002 (from 33.2 to 25.8 per 1,000) but rose by almost as much between 2002 and 2007.

Figure CS3.1 Teenage birth rate (under 20 years), 1980–2007

Source: Statistics New Zealand

As a proportion of total births, births to females under 20 years fell from 12 percent in 1980 to just under 8 percent in 1992 and have remained at 7–8 percent over the past 15 years.
Age differences
Birth rates among young women under 20 years increase with each year of age.  In 2007, the birth rate at 19 years (60.6 per 1,000) was twice as high as the rate at 17 years (30.3 per 1,000), and four times higher than the rate at 16 years (15.4 per 1,000). The rise in the teenage birth rate between 2002 and 2007 was greater at the older ages than the younger ages.

Figure CS3.2 Teenage birth rate by single year of age, 1980–2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand

Of all children born to females under 20 in 2007, the majority (66 percent or 3,274) were born to older teenagers aged 18–19 years, while another third (33 percent or 1,629) were to born to young adolescents aged 15–17 years. The remaining 1 percent (52 children) were born to adolescents younger than 15 years.
Ethnic differences
Just over half of all young women who have children while in their teens are Māori (53 percent in 2007). Because they make up such a large proportion of early childbearers, changes for Māori are readily reflected in the overall teenage birth rate. The increase in the teenage birth rate between 2002 and 2007 was driven by a rise in the Māori rate (from 61.8 per 1,000 in 2002 to 78.7 per 1,000 in 2007, an increase of 27 percent). This was a reversal of the trend between 1997 and 2002, when the Māori rate fell by 26 percent, (from 84.0 per 1,000 in 1997 to 61.8 per 1,000). 

While the non-Māori teenage birth rate also fell and rose over the same period, the changes were less pronounced (a fall of 18 percent between 1997 and 2002, and a rise of 16 percent between 2002 and 2007). In 2007, the non-Māori rate was 18.9 per 1,000, up from 15.7 per 1,000 in 2003, the lowest rate recorded in the decade.

Figure CS3.3 Teenage birth rate (under 20 years), Māori, non-Māori, 1996–2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand

Teenage birth rates for all the main ethnic groups are available for the three-year period centred on the five-yearly population census. Because of a change in the ethnicity question in birth registration data in late 1995, comparisons can only be made for periods centred on the last two censuses, 2001 and 2006. These show that the birth rate for Māori females aged 15–19, at 71.0 per 1,000 females aged 15–19 in 2006, was just over three times that of European females of that age (22.5 per 1,000). The birth rate for Pacific teenagers (42.5 per 1,000 in 2006), although lower than that for Māori, was one-and-a-half times higher than the rate for Europeans. The rate for Asian teenagers was lowest: 6.9 per 1,000, one-quarter of the national level. Between 2001 and 2006, birth rates increased for European and Māori women aged 15–19, and declined for Pacific and Asian women of that age.

Table CS3.1 Births per 1,000 females aged 15–19 years, by ethnic group of mother, 2001, 2006

Year	Ethnic group of mother	
	European	Māori	Pacific	Asian	Total	
2001	19.9	68.6	47.4	7.4	27.2	
2006	22.5	71.0	42.5	6.9	28.8	
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Notes: (1) The rate is the average number of live births to females aged 15–19 years registered during the three-year period centred on a census year, per 1,000 female estimated resident population aged 15–19 at 30 June in the census year. (2) The ethnicity is that of the mother. As each birth has been included in every ethnic group specified, some births are counted more than once.

Since childbearing among Māori and Pacific women is concentrated at younger ages, being born to a mother in her teens is more common for children born to Māori and Pacific mothers than for those born to European and Asian mothers. In 2006, the proportion of newborns with a mother aged under 20 varied from 17 percent of those with a Māori mother, to 10 percent of those with a Pacific mother, 6 percent of those with a European mother, and 2 percent of those with an Asian mother. 
Socio-economic differences
There is a strong association between early childbearing and neighbourhood deprivation. In the period 2002–2006, the birth rate for women aged 15–19 years living in the most deprived areas was 6.5 times higher than the rate for those living in the least deprived areas.
Figure CS3.4 Teenage birth rate (15–19 years), by NZDep2001 quintile, 2002–2006 Source: Craig, et al (2007), Table 131
Regional differences
Early childbearing varies widely by region. While the teenage birth rate (under 20 years) was 29 per 1,000 for New Zealand as a whole in 2006, it ranged from a high of 58.2 per 1,000 in the Gisborne regional council area to 13.2 per 1,000 in Otago. The rate for the Auckland region was 25.4 per 1,000, below the national average. However, the largest number of births to women under 20 years occurs in the Auckland region (an average of 1,300 births per year in 2006, compared to 100 births in Gisborne). 

For most regions, the teenage birth rate declined between 1996 and 2006, with the largest falls (of 19 percent) recorded for Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay. The only region to record a noticeable rise in the rate over the period was Tasman, where the rate increased by 42 percent between 1996 and 2006.

International comparison
New Zealand was one of 14 OECD countries in which the teenage birth rate more than halved between 1970 and 1985. While there were further reductions in the rate for most OECD countries after the mid-1980s, this was not the case for New Zealand. As a result, New Zealand has a relatively high teenage birth rate and ranked fourth out of 30 OECD countries in 2004–2006, after Mexico, the United States and Turkey. At 28.4 per 1,000 in 2006, the under 20 birth rate in New Zealand was considerably higher than that of Canada (13.4 in 2005) and Australia (15.4 in 2006), somewhat higher than that of Scotland (25.8 in 2006) and England and Wales (26.6 in 2006), but considerably lower than the rate in the United States (41.9 per 1,000 in 2006).