Ethnic-specific characteristics associated with longitudinal response patterns from prebirth to 12 years: evidence from .

Background: Longitudinal studies can generate valuable scientific knowledge, but can be compromised by systematic attrition. Previous research shows that sociodemographic characteristics (eg, ethnicity, age, educational level, socioeconomic circumstances) are associated with attrition rates. However, little is known about whether these characteristics differ by ethnicity, and how this impacts cohort retention strategies.

Manifold child, family and social variables are associated with injury among New Zealand preschool children.

Aim: Approaches to understanding child injury tend to focus on short-term proximal influences. Previous analyses have found higher rates of injury among Māori and Pacific children in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). This study aimed to investigate how combinations of situations and multiple events act across the life-course to either protect preschool children from, or place them at risk of, repeated injuries requiring medical attention.

Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding for wāhine Māori.

Aim: Breastfeeding is a fundamental aspect of tikanga Māori (Māori cultural traditions/practices) requiring protection and promotion. This study identifies determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in wāhine Māori.

Methods: Wāhine Māori enrolled in the Growing Up in New Zealand child cohort study participated (n=1060).

Kaitiakitanga - principles for protecting and promoting tamariki and rangatahi wellbeing in Growing Up in New Zealand.

Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) is the largest contemporary longitudinal study of child development in Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of the study was to recruit a large, socioeconomically and ethnically diverse cohort of children, with successful recruitment of 1246 pregnant Māori women. This paper describes the development and operationalisation of the GUiNZ Kaitiaki principles which provide a framework for ensuring that Māori rights and aspirations for research and policy development are upheld as part of the study.

'Seeing' our tamariki in longitudinal studies: exploring the complexity of ethnic identification trajectories within Growing Up in New Zealand.

Longitudinal research provides unique opportunities for ethnic identification research and for understanding ethnic identity development. However, ethnic identification is subjective, fluid, multi-dimensional, and context-specific. This study draws on longitudinal data to explore: how children identify their ethnicity/culture; and how these descriptions compare with ethnic identification patterns described by their parent.

Mind the gap - unequal from the start: evidence from the early years of the longitudinal study.

is this country's largest contemporary longitudinal study of child development. The study has been designed to provide insight into the lives of children and young people growing up in the context of twenty-first century New Zealand. The cohort recruited 6853 children representative of the current ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of births in Aotearoa, New Zealand in 2009 and 2010.

Modifiable Early Childhood Risk Factors for Obesity at Age Four Years.

Childhood obesity is associated with an increased risk of adult obesity and related chronic disease. Our aim was to identify modifiable exposures that are independently associated with obesity in the preschool age group. A prospective cohort study of 5734 children in New Zealand with anthropometric measurements was completed at age 4.

Te Reo Māori: indigenous language acquisition in the context of New Zealand English.

This study assessed the status of te reo Māori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, in the context of New Zealand English. From a broadly representative sample of 6327 two-year-olds (Growing Up in New Zealand), 6090 mothers (96%) reported their children understood English, and 763 mothers (12%) reported their children understood Māori. Parents completed the new MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory short forms for te reo Māori (NZM: CDI sf) and New Zealand English (NZE: CDI sf).

Understanding Pasifika youth and the obesogenic environment, Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand.

Aim: In New Zealand, the burden of obesity is greatest among Pacific people, especially in children and adolescents. We investigated the factors of the obesogenic environment that were indigenous to Pasifika youths' social-cultural context, their food purchasing behaviours, and associated anthropometric measures.

Methods: An exploratory study of 30 Pasifika youth aged 16-24 years in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand.

Pre-Adolescent Cardio-Metabolic Associations and Correlates: PACMAC methodology and study protocol.

Introduction: Although cardiovascular disease is typically associated with middle or old age, the atherosclerotic process often initiates early in childhood. The process of atherosclerosis appears to be occurring at an increasing rate, even in pre-adolescents, and has been linked to the childhood obesity epidemic. This study will investigate the relationships between obesity, lifestyle behaviours and cardiometabolic health in pre-pubescent children aged 8-10 years, and investigates whether there are differences in the correlates of cardiometabolic health between Māori and Caucasian children.

Association between perceived racism and physiological stress indices in Native Hawaiians.

The association between racism and the physical health of native U.S. populations has yet to be examined despite their high risk for stress-related disorders and a history of discrimination toward them.

Prevalence of mental disorders among Māori in Te Rau Hinengaro: the New Zealand Mental Health Survey.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of mental disorders (period prevalence across aggregated disorders, 12 month and lifetime prevalence) among Māori in Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey.

Method: Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey, undertaken between 2003 and 2004, was a nationally representative face-to-face household survey of 12,992 New Zealand adults aged 16 years and over, including 2,595 Māori. Ethnicity was measured using the 2001 New Zealand census ethnicity question.