Purpose
The objective of the study was firstly to examine the use and relevance of the Material Wellbeing Scale to describe the living standards of older Māori, secondly to provide comprehensive information on the living standards of older Māori and the factors impacting on their material wellbeing and thirdly to relate these findings to the findings from the study of the general population of older people.
Methodology
The sample was of individuals who were aged 65 to 69 years and were of Mäori ethnicity. Of the 542 Māori participating, almost half were single (living alone or with others) and just over half (53%) were couples (living alone or with others). Over two-thirds of the single participants were women (69%). About three-quarters of the sample (77%) lived in urban centres and about a quarter lived in rural areas. Most (89%) of the respondents lived in the North Island. Just over half (57%) had no formal qualifications.
Across the sample there was great diversity in the levels of identification with, and participation in, te ao Māori (the Māori world).
A relatively large minority of the participants reported serious health problems (hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and arthritis). Single older Māori tended to be at greater risk than couples. Examination of the economic circumstances of older Mäori suggested that in comparison to nonMäori, Māori had lower income levels, lower levels of savings and assets, and were less likely to own their own home. These differences were particularly evident for single older Mäori.
The living standards of older Mäori were measured using the Material Well-being Scale; this scale was first developed for the survey of the Living Standards of Older New Zealanders (Fergusson et al, 2001a) and was constructed by combining information from five areas or sub-scales:
- ownership restrictions
- social participation restrictions
- economising
- severe financial problems
- self-assessments (standard of living and adequacy of income).
Before applying this scale to the measurement of older Māori, a series of validation exercises were undertaken, all of which concluded that the Material Well-being Scale could validly be applied to older Māori.
Key Results
Most importantly, the results clearly highlighted the marked material hardship many older Māori experienced, with about one in seven (15%) facing some financial difficulty, and a further one in five (20%) facing severe difficulties. In comparison, of the older population generally, 10% faced some financial difficulty and only a further 6% faced severe difficulties.
Also of importance was the fact that older single Mäori tended to be in a worse financial situation than older Māori couples. This was primarily due to a history of reduced asset accumulation, high accommodation costs, and for the majority of single older Mäori (of whom most were women) - the death of their spouse.
Factors found to predict variation in the living standards of older Māori were:
- net annual income
- savings and investments
- accommodation costs
- economic life events and stresses
- the number of children raised or supported.
The research shows that older Māori most at risk of poor living standards were characterised by a mix of relying solely on New Zealand Superannuation (NZS) for income, having no savings or assets, paying rent or mortgage, experiencing any financial stresses in the last year, experiencing any economic adversities when aged 50-59 years, and having raised eight or more children. Around one in 12 (8%) had experienced five or more of these factors. The results showed a trend for a more secure Māori identity to be associated with reduced material well-being. However, when adjustments were made for the association between cultural identity and the above risk factors, this association between cultural identity and material well-being was explained.