Introducing the new generation of kiwi kids

The early years of the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort

Associate Professor Susan Morton

Director

Centre for Longitudinal Research and

Growing Up in New Zealand

October 2016

www.growingup.co.nz

Overview of talk

Brief overview of the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study

Focus on key findings from the preschool years

Snapshot of fathers (co-parents) of the cohort children

Next steps and looking ahead

Overarching Aim of Growing Up in New Zealand

To provide contemporary population relevant

evidence about the determinants of developmental

trajectories for 21st century New Zealand children

in the context of their families.

The Ministry of Social Development and the Health

Research Council of New Zealand, in association

with the Families Commission, the Ministries of

Health and Education and the Treasury, wish to

establish a new longitudinal study of New Zealand

children and families, . to gain a better

understanding of the causal pathways that lead to

particular child outcomes (across the life course)

introduction to RFP in 2004.

Why a contemporary longitudinal study?

The Growing Up in New Zealand cohort

Recruited 6853 children before their birth -

via pregnant mothers (6823)

Partners recruited and interviewed

independently from pregnancy (4401)

Cohort has adequate explanatory power to

consider trajectories for Maori (1in 4),

Pacific (1 in 5) and Asian (1 in 6) children,

and to consider multiple ethnic identities

(approx. 40%)

Cohort broadly generalisable to current NZ

births (diversity of ethnicity and family SES)

Retention rates to 4.5 year DCW have been very

high (over 90% with minimal attrition bias)

Longitudinal Information available to date

Child age Ante-

natal

Peri-

natal

6 wk 35

wk

9

mth

12

mth

16

mth

23

mth

2

yr

31

mth

45

mth

54

mth

Mother

CAPI*

Father CAPI*

Mother

CATI

Child

Data

linkage**

* CAPI computer assisted personal interview

CATI computer assisted telephone interview

Child measurement

** Linkage to health and education records (eg National Minimum Dataset, National

Immunisation Register, ECE participation)

Moving beyond risk factorology

Seeking answers to why?

Mind the gap

Capturing the first 1000 days from pregnancy

Partnerships to facilitate translation

Study design

Data collection

Data analyses

Dissemination of results

Policy interaction

Policy interaction

Policy interaction

Policy interaction

First 1000 Day Reports for Policy Stakeholders

Bridge the gap?

The children at 2 years

Snapshot and longitudinal information

Now we are Two

Health and wellbeing (in first 1000 days)

Family and Household structure

Home environment

Screen time at 9 months

64

9 10 11 6

50

9 11

19

11 7 3 14

28

48

Seld

om

or

nev

er

On

ce a

wee

k

Seve

ral t

imes

a w

eek

On

ce a

day

Seve

ral t

imes

a d

ay

Seld

om

or

nev

er

On

ce a

wee

k

Seve

ral t

imes

a w

eek

On

ce a

day

Seve

ral t

imes

a d

ay

Seld

om

or

nev

er

On

ce a

wee

k

Seve

ral t

imes

a w

eek

On

ce a

day

Seve

ral t

imes

a d

ay

At nine months - baby watches videos or DVDs

At nine months - Baby watches children's TV programmes

At nine months - TV on in the same room as baby

Screen time at 9 months and SDQ at 2 years

Univariate odds of abnormal SDQ at 2 years (compared to normal SDQ)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

Seld

om

or

never

(ref)

Once a

week

Severa

l tim

es a

week

Once a

day

Severa

l tim

es a

da

y

Seld

om

or

never

(ref)

Once a

week

Severa

l tim

es a

week

Once a

day

Severa

l tim

es a

da

y

Seld

om

or

never

(ref)

Once a

week

Severa

l tim

es a

week

Once a

day

Se

ve

ral tim

es a

da

y

At nine months - baby watches videos or DVDs (p

Screen time rules at 2 years

75

18

7

58

35

7

61

32

7

Yes No n.a Yes No n.a Yes No n.a

At 2 years - there are rules about what TV programmes child can

watch

At 2 years - there are rules about how many hours of TV, videos,

and DVDs child can watch

At 2 years - there are rules about when your

child watches TV

Screen time rules at 2 years and SDQ at 2 years

Univariate odds of abnormal SDQ at 2 years (compared to normal SDQ)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0 Ye

s (r

ef)

No

Yes

(ref

)

No

Yes

(ref

)

No

At 2 years - there are rules about what TV programmes child can watch

(p

Place of birth of cohort parents

1 in 3 of all cohort children have at least one parent born outside NZ

Languages understood by children at 2 years

Policy Briefs & Fast-track requests

Policy Brief #5 - Why focus on Te Reo Mori?

Te Reo Mori was a flourishing and living language in the early post-colonization period in NZ, but it rapidly declined thereafter

Retention of Te Reo Mori is important for Aoteoroa/ NZ society:

to strengthen Mori culture and identity

as an integral component of Mori succeeding as Mori

as part of the nations identity (Mori language week this week)

Revitalisation of Te Reo is a national priority (2014 National Strategy released by Te Puni Kokiri)

Growing Up in NZ cohort is ideal to explore acquisition and use of Te Reo in the new generation of NZ children, and to

Intergenerational Te Reo Mori use

Intergenerational Te Reo Mori (Mori and non-Mori)

Mori identity and

understanding te reo Mori at two years of age

Neither Mori nor

understand te reo Mori

Identified as Mori but

do not understand te reo Mori

Identified as Mori and

understand te reo Mori

Understand te reo Mori

but not identified as Mori

NB: By 2 years 40% of children identified as Mori (by a parent) are reported to be able to speak te reo Mori well or very well

Te reo utilisation at 2 and Next steps

We are seeing an increasing utilization of Te Reo Mori in this new generation of NZ children

The children who identify as Maori are most likely to be using te reo in everyday activities

The future of te reo relies on the home environment as well as its use and fostering in other settings (e.g. education)

The Growing Up in New Zealand cohort provides an excellent opportunity to follow the transmission and retention of te Reo in the contemporary NZ context

Proficiency in te reo Mori was assessed at 54 months and will be formally measured at 8 years for the

The children at 4 years of age

Retention

Parental antenatalinterview

6 weeks

9 month interview

2 year interview

45 month ca ll

54 month interview

Pregnant mothers N = 6822 *

Partners N = 4401

Chi ld counts (N = 6853)

Completed = 6843 Skipped = 10

Chi ld counts (N = 6795)

Completed = 6476 (94%) Skipped = 310

Lost to follow up = 9

Opt out =54Deceased =4

Chi ld counts (N = 6706) Completed = 6327 (92%)

Skipped = 366Lost to follow up = 13

Chi ld counts (N = 6670)

Completed = 6207 (91%) Skipped = 442

Lost to follow up = 21

Chi ld counts (N = 6639)

Completed = 6156 (90%)

Skipped = 462Lost to follow up = 21

Opt out = 88

Deceased = 1

Opt out = 36

Opt out = 29Deceased = 2

Child Ethnicity (Maternal report at 54 months)

All ethnicity Frequency Percent

European 4106 66.74

Maori 1522 24.74

Pacific 1241 20.17

Asian 939 15.26

MELAA 136 2.21

Others 395 6.42

New Zealander 976 15.86

NB: 48% of children identified as having 2 or more ethnic identities.

Languages children use by 4 years (top 10)

Frequency Language(s) spoken

ALL Hello?

6098 English Hello

596 Mori Kia ora

299 Samoan Talofa

227 Tongan Ml e lelei

211 Mandarin

192 Hindi 83 Spanish Hola

63 Cantonese

55 Punjabi 53 Cook Island Mori Kia orana

Health and Wellbeing - changes over time

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]% [VALUE]%

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]% [VALUE]% 0.5%

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]%

[VALUE]% 2% [VALUE]%

Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor

9 month

2 year

4 1/2 year

Focus on Childhood Obesity in NZ

1 in 3 NZ children are now classified as overweight or obese Risk is not equally distributed, nor differences fully understood.

Anthropometry BMI (WHO cut-offs)

0.1 0.1 0.2 1.3 0.3

88.9

81.6

69.9

90.7 85.9

8.2 12.4

18.7

5.0 9.4

2.8 6.0

11.2

3.0 4.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

European Maori Pacific Asian Overall

Percent (%)

Underweight Normal Overweight Obese

Activity information at 4 years

7.6

4.3

0.5

10.4

3.4

7.8

58.6

69.1

36.4

65.5

36.0

67.8

33.8

26.7

63.1

24.1

60.7

24.4

Climbs on trees, climbing frame, wall bars etc

Plays with a ball

Plays chasing or running games

Rides a bike, tricycle, skateboard or scooter

Dances around the house

Takes part in physical exercise or activities that you all do together as a family

Never or less than a week At least once a week Everyday

Household structure at 54 months

Household

structure

(54 months)

Parent alone

Two parents

only

Parent(s)

with extended

family

Parent(s)

with non-kin

Frequency 500

4384

1079 233

Percent 8.1 70.8 17.4 3.7

2 year family structure

Media exposure at 45 months and 54 months

[VALUE]

(Mean = 98 min)

(Median =

90 min)

[VALUE]

(Mean = 89 min)

(Median =

60 min)

[VALUE]

(Mean = 163 min)

(Median = 120 min)

[VALUE]

(Mean = 129 min)

(Median = 120 min)

[VALUE]

(Mean = 42 min)

(Median =

30 min)

[VALUE]

(Mean = 37 min)

(Median =

30 min)

At 45m At 54m At 45m At 54m At 45m At 54m

Child watching television programming, including free-to-air, online, and pay TV,

or DVDs either on TV or other media

Child with the TV on in the same room, whether or not child was watching it

Child uing electronic media e.g. computer or laptop,

including childrens computer systems such as Leapfrog, ipads, tablets,

smart phones

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Antenatal interview Nine month interview Two year interview Fifty-four month interview

$150,001

Household income - changes over first 5 years

Early life residential mobility

Overall, between birth and two years of age, 45.3% (n = 2796) of the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort had moved at least once

Characteristics associated with residential mobility

Mobility between birth and nine months: Multivariate model

0

1

2

3

4

5

Euro

pean

Mori

Pa

cific

Pe

op

les

Asia

n

Pa

ren

t a

lon

e

Tw

o p

are

nts

alo

ne

Pa

ren

t(s)

with

exte

nd

ed

fa

mily

Pa

ren

t(s)

with

no

n-k

in

Fa

mily

ow

ne

rsh

ip

Priva

te r

en

tal

Pu

blic

/Oth

er

ren

tal

Lo

w

Me

diu

m

Hig

h

Maternal ethnicity Household Structure Household tenure Crowding

0

1

2

3

4

5

No change Newly Partnered Newly partner-less

Same income group

Increase Decrease

Change in partner status Change in household income group

Value of the longitudinal data: change variables

Birth to nine months

Residential Mobility (between 2 and 4.5 years)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4 5

Perc

ent

(%)

Number of Moves

No of times Frequency Percent

0 3046 49.5

1 1757 28.6

2 791 12.9

3 355 5.8

4 or more 197 3.2

Household tenure changing over time?

Tenure type Antenatal 9 months 2 years 54 months

Family Home 55.2 56.2 56.2 57.8

Private rental 38.3 37.8 38.1 35.8

Public rental 6.5 6.0 5.7 6.4

Partners/dads of children after 2 year DCW

Child age Ante-

natal

Peri-

natal

6 wk 35

wk

9

mth

12

mth

16

mth

23

mth

2

yr

31

mth

45

mth

54

mth

Mother

CAPI*

Father CAPI*

Mother

CATI

Child

Data

linkage**

* CAPI computer assisted personal interview

CATI computer assisted telephone interview

Child measurement

** Linkage to health and education records (eg National Minimum Dataset, National

Immunisation Register, ECE participation)

Add on study to follow dads when children started school

called Who are todays dads?

Key aims

- To explore the diversity of individuals who are father

figures to six-year old children growing up in New

Zealand today

- To determine how policy can support the role that modern

fathers can contribute to their childrens early

development

Focus on work, family, parenting and father involvement

Online data collection (August 2015 - March 2016)

4121 participants

Focus on the dads

Who are the dads?

97% report being the biological father

93% Lives with the child all the time

The Dads/Fathers/Co-parents

[CATEGORY NAME]

[PERCENTAGE]

[CATEGORY NAME]

[CATEGORY NAME]

[PERCENTAGE]

[CATEGORY NAME]

[PERCENTAGE]

[CATEGORY NAME]

[PERCENTAGE]

Education

Low 37%

Medium 38%

High 25%

Area level deprivation (NZdep2013)

0

10

20

30

40

5

5

%

Age

Socio-demographics

2

8 12 12 14

70

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

MELAA & other

New Zealander

Asian

Pacific

Maori

European

%

Ethnicity (all, not prioritised)

Migrant parents diverse backgrounds

Involvement with children at 6

Parenting confidence and involvement

Fathers work 94%

are in paid employment

6% have more than one paid job

47 work hours per week on average

32% work on weekends

47% are able to

work flexible hours

Work satisfaction

Work-life balance

Poorer work-life balance was associated with

- More work hours per week

- Less involvement with child

- Lower levels of being a confident parent

- Wanting more involvement in the childs live

Fathers not in paid employment

Fathers who dont live with their children

1 in 3 live less than 5 km from their child 1 in 4 live between 5 and 19 km from their child

14% live over 100 km from their child 5% live in a different country then their child 20% say child is always or often sad when leaving them 73% say child is relaxed and comfortable at start contact time

7% of participants do not live with the child all the

time

Of these:

64% said reaching a contact arrangement was difficult

24% had a formal (court ordered/legal) contact

arrangement

Fathers health and wellbeing

88% say their health is good to excellent

4.4% have a disability, of which 53% say their disability has

a somewhat negative or very negative effect on their

parenting

16% report symptoms of psychological distress

71% eat at least one serve of fruit or vegetables per day

12% smoke daily; on average 10 cigarettes per day

More to come on the dads.

More to come on the children and mothers

72 month electronic DCW completed school transition focus

Data linkage to routine health and education records continues

8 year DCW planned to go to field (Leading Light 2016)

UoA Centre for Longitudinal Research eResearch platform,

research collaborations, PhD opportunities, bespoke reports

(www.growingup.co.nz)

Acknowledgements

Participants and their families

Growing Up team

University of Auckland/UniServices

C4LongR Advisory Board

Superu and Families Commission

Ministry of Social Development

Multiple other government agencies

Collaborative partners

Policy Forum members

Advisory and Stakeholder groups

(DAC, ESAG, PF)

GUiNZ Executive Board