The association between socioeconomic deprivation and secondary school students’ health: findings from a latent class analysis of a national adolescent health survey

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to examine indicators of socioeconomic deprivation among secondary school students and to determine associations between household poverty, neighbourhood deprivation and health indicators. METHODS: Data were from a nationally representative sample of 8500 secondary school students in New Zealand who participated in a health survey in 2012. Latent class analyses were used to group students by household poverty based on nine indicators of household socioeconomic deprivation: no car; no phone; no computer; their parent/s worry about not having enough money for food; more than two people sharing a bedroom; no holidays with their families; moving home more than twice that year; garages or living rooms used as bedrooms; and, no parent at home with employment. Multilevel generalized linear models were used to estimate the cross-level interaction between household poverty and neighbourhood deprivation with depressive symptoms, cigarette smoking and overweight/ obesity. RESULTS: Three groups of students were identified: 80 % of students had low levels of household poverty across all indicators; 15 % experienced moderate poverty; and 5 % experienced high levels of poverty. Depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking were 2–3 times higher in the poverty groups compared to student’s not experiencing poverty. There were also higher rates of overweight/ obesity among students in the poverty groups compared to students not experiencing poverty, but once covariates were accounted for the relationship was less clear. Of note, students experiencing poverty and living in affluent neighbourhoods reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and higher rates of cigarette smoking than students experiencing poverty and living in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods. This cross-level interaction was not seen for overweight/ obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Measures of household socioeconomic deprivation among young people should not be combined with neighbourhood measures of socioeconomic deprivation due to non-linear relationships with health and behaviour indicators. Policies are needed that address household poverty alongside efforts to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in neighbourhoods

Pacific parents' rationale for purchased school lunches and implications for obesity prevention

Pacific children and adolescents are burdened with higher prevalences of obesity compared to other groups in New Zealand. Previous research shows Pacific young people purchase their lunch food items significantly more than other groups. The aim of this study is to describe school lunch food consumption patterns and the influences on these among low-income Pacific adolescents and their parents. Using mixed-methodology design; a selfcompletion questionnaire was administered to 4216 students who participated in the New Zealand arm of the Obesity Prevention In Communities (OPIC) project. Thirty Pacific households (33 adolescents and 35 parents) were interviewed in the qualitative phase of the study. Results found a greater proportion of Pacific students purchased school food items compared to other ethnic groups. Purchasing school food was related to having higher amounts of daily food money (≥NZD 6-15) and this was associated with increased quantities of soft drink consumption and after-school food purchasing of high-fat, high-sugar snack foods. There were no differences in school food purchasing behaviour by Pacific weight status (n=2485), with both Healthy weight (67.6%) and Obese students (66.9%) sourcing lunch from school canteens or shops outside of school rather than from home. Time-constrained parents confirmed convenience, poverty compensation and valuing students' independence as three reasons for choosing to make money available for students to purchase lunch food items. The social effects of poverty affect the health-promoting behaviours of Pacific communities in New Zealand. Social policies that decrease social inequities should be the intervention priority

Youth Gambling: The health and wellbeing of New Zealand secondary school students in 2012

Gambling has become a widely available activity in today’s society (Hardoon & Derevensky, 2002; Turchi & Derevensky, 2006). In fact, many researchers “have noted that an entire generation has now grown up in an era when lottery and casino gambling is widely available and heavily advertised” (Volberg, Gupta, Griffiths, Ólason, & Delfabbro, 2010, p. 3). Evidence suggests that it has become a popular past-time not only for adults, but also for children and young people (Derevensky & Gupta, 2000; Gupta & Derevensky, 1998a; Hardoon & Derevensky, 2002; Jacobs, 2000; Splevins, Mireskandari, Clayton, & Blaszczynski, 2010; Turchi & Derevensky, 2006). Moreover, research indicates that gambling is one of the first risky activities that adolescents become involved with (i.e. they begin gambling prior to experimentation with alcohol, drugs, sexual behaviour) (Volberg, et al., 2010). Whilst for many youth involvement in gambling does not result in problematic behaviour, others go on to experience serious problems (Dickson, Derevensky, & Gupta, 2003). A vast range of adolescent gambling prevalence studies that have been undertaken over the past 25 years, across different countries, and incorporating general populations as well as youth specifically. Rates of youth problem gambling have often been found to be higher than the rates identified for adults (Huang & Boyer, 2007; Shaffer & Hall, 1996; Welte, Barnes, Tidwell, & Hoffman, 2008; Williams, Page, Parke, & Rigbye, 2008), with some estimating them to be more than double those of adults (Gupta & Derevensky, 1998a; Jackson, Dowling, Thomas, Bond, & Patton, 2008; Lesieur, et al., 1991), or up to three times as high (Rigbye, 2010). However, it has also been recognised that there is far less research in this field compared to that which has explored other youth risk behaviours such as substance use (Blinn-Pike, Worthy, & Jonkman, 2010). The gap in New Zealand-based information regarding prevalence of youth gambling has been identified previously (Bellringer, et al., 2003; Rossen, Tse, & Vaidya, 2009) and in 2003 it was recommended that research be undertaken to measure the involvement of New Zealand youth in gambling as well as associated factors and gambling-related problems (Bellringer, et al., 2003). A limited body of research has since employed various sources of data to consider youth gambling in New Zealand (e.g. Gray, 2010; Ministry of Health, 2008, 2009; Rossen, 2008; Rossen, Butler, & Denny, 2011). An extremely valuable source of information on New Zealand youth is the University of Auckland’s (UoA) National youth health and wellbeing surveys. To date, the UoA’s Adolescent Health Research Group (AHRG) has completed three National youth health and wellbeing surveys. The Youth2000 Survey Series aim to provide nationally representative information on the health and wellbeing of young people attending New Zealand secondary schools. The Survey Series includes a wide range of questions about issues that contribute to the health and wellbeing of young people (such as substance use, injuries and violence, home and family) and allow researchers to take an ecological approach to identifying overall risk and protective factors in young people’s lives. Youth’12, a survey of 8,500 secondary school students throughout New Zealand, is the most recent survey to be undertaken by the AHRG. The inclusion of gambling items in the Youth’12 survey provides a unique opportunity to examine the impacts of gambling and problem gambling on secondary school students throughout New Zealand within an ecological framework. This report was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and begins with a comprehensive review of the local and international youth gambling literature, followed by an overview of the Youth2000 Survey Series and methodology for Youth’12. A thorough analysis of Youth’12 gambling items was undertaken with results being reported under the following eight categories (detailed results for each set of analyses are also provided in the appendices): - Students and their own gambling (Section Five); - Unhealthy gambling amongst students (Section Six); - Attitudes and motivating factors towards gambling (Section Seven); - The impacts of others’ gambling on students (Section Eight); and, - Risk and protective factors for student gambling (Section Nine); - Gambling and Māori taitamariki in Aotearoa (Section 10); - Gambling and Pacific young people in New Zealand (Section 11); and, - Gambling and Asian young people in New Zealand (Section 12). Finally, a discussion chapter provides an overview of the findings and implications

Consumo de drogas ilícitas como fator de risco para traumatismo dentário em adolescentes

Resumo Traumatismo dentário e consumo de drogas ilícitas podem comprometer gravemente a saúde dos adolescentes e são considerados sérios problemas de saúde pública. Objetivo Investigar a associação do traumatismo dentário com o uso de drogas ilícitas e condição socioeconômica entre adolescentes de 12 anos de idade. Métodos Estudo transversal envolvendo 633 adolescentes de escolas públicas e privadas da cidade de Diamantina, no Estado de Minas Gerais. Os dados foram coletados por meio de exame clínico e questionários. Traumatismo dentário foi avaliado pela classificação de Andreasen, e consumo de drogas ilícitas, pelo instrumento ASSIST (Teste para Triagem do Envolvimento com Álcool, Cigarro e Outras Substâncias). As associações foram testadas pelo teste do qui-quadrado e teste Exato de Fisher (p<0,05). Resultados A presença do traumatismo dentário foi observada em 176 adolescentes (29,9%). A prevalência reportada do uso de maconha foi de 1,5% (9/588), de cocaína, 0,3% (2/588), e de inalantes, 1,7% (10/588). Traumatismo dentário foi mais prevalente entre adolescentes do sexo masculino (p=0,010) que tinham usado maconha (p=0,024) na vida. Conclusão A associação observada entre o uso de drogas ilícitas e o sexo masculino com o traumatismo dentário sugere a necessidade de adoção de políticas voltadas para o controle efetivo dessas condições, principalmente em idade precoce

Pacific women's netball participation in Aotearoa/New Zealand : factors influencing participation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Business Studies in Sports Management at Massey University

The purpose of this study was to explore the netball experiences of Pacific women in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Specific objectives were to identify reasons for participation, socialisation agents and the link between ethnicity and sport. A mixed-method approach was utilised to gather data. 157 netballers (age range 17-56+) completed a modified version of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire (Gill, Gross & Huddleston, 1983). Treatment of the scores by principal components analysis yielded seven factors: Aspects of Netball/Health & Fitness, Challenge, Social Status, Affiliation, Energy Release, Skills Development, and Family Affiliation. Focus group data (3 groups) confirmed the family as the most significant socialisation agent during initial involvement, and the salience of self-motivation for current participation. In addition, netballers articulated the existence of a "Pacific" style of play, which the author hypothesised, reflects the affects of a unique cultural background and sporting environment. The key implication of this research is the need for sport managers to deliver sport opportunities that meet the diverse needs of its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural participants in order to ensure continued participation. Areas for future research are identified

Using appreciative inquiry methodology to develop a weight management program for obese children in New Zealand

Abstract Objectives: Paediatric obesity predicts adult obesity, and alarming new data in New Zealand reveals that obesity among the young continues to rise. In this study, we used a novel solution‐focused paradigm, or appreciative inquiry perspective, to explore the factors that influence not just obese but non‐obese states (that is, healthy weight as well as obesity), in Pacific adolescents (aged 13–17) living in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods. Methods: Sixty‐eight parents and adolescents from 30 families were recruited and interviewed, resulting in 15 obese and 15 healthy weight adolescents participating in the study. Results: Our findings showed that, despite living in low socioeconomic circumstances, parents were able to alter their micro‐environments to prevent obesity in their children. Parents with healthy weight adolescents had food rules in the home and monitored their children's eating and television viewing time. Conclusions: An appreciative inquiry approach to obesity research can uncover resiliency factors within families that can be applied to obesity prevention and treatment programs. Implications for public health: Appreciative inquiry methodology is a promising alternative qualitative research strategy for developing health interventions for low‐income ethnic minority communities