Longitudinal data provides the opportunity to study the evolution of New Zealand families and to determine the impact of family background and circumstances on child development and family functioning.
It assesses five studies:
- The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, Dunedin School of Medicine
- The Christchurch Health and Development Study, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Services
- The Pacific Islands Families Study, Auckland University of Technology
- Best Outcomes for Māori, Te Hoe Nuku Roa, Massey University
- The Survey of Family, Income and Employment, Statistics New Zealand
- The Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand, Department of Labour.
It briefly examines four additional studies:
- The Competent Children Project, New Zealand Council for Educational Research
- Te Rerenga ā Te Pīrere, New Zealand Council for Educational Research
- The Youth Connectedness Project, Roy McKenzie Centre, the Health Services Research Centre and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research
- The Canterbury Suicide Project, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Services.
This report was completed for the Families Commission by Michelle Poland and Jaimie Legge
Purpose
This report examines existing longitudinal studies in New Zealand with the view to identifying relevant data on families and opportunities for research. Research is a key component of the Families Commission’s work and we need to be aware of what research has already been done, before embarking upon our own programme of research.
The objectives of this report, therefore, are to inform our input into the new longitudinal study of children and families, to analyse existing longitudinal research through a family "lens", and to explore opportunities to work collaboratively with other researchers as new data is collected.