Now We Are 12 – Extended Factsheet: Families and Whānau

This Families and Whānau Factsheet presents a snapshot of the parents, families, whānau, and household composition of young people in Aotearoa, New Zealand, at 12 years of age. Supportive and caring family and whānau, including parents or primary caregivers, other family members, and other non-familial adults, are instrumental in supporting the health, wellbeing and development of young people.

At the 12-year data collection wave, Growing Up in New Zealand measured four key constructs related to young people’s families and whānau. The cohort families were asked about: who lives in their household; whether the young person lived in two or more households; about the relationship status of the parent/s; and if there are any co-parents the young person might have. With this data, the complexities of young people’s living arrangements and family structures can be explored, providing the potential to link this information to our longitudinal data sets, as well as to other measures of a young person’s health and wellbeing.