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How are young people doing?

There are about 800,000 young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our young people, as the next generation, shape the future of Aotearoa. Young people deserve to be supported and empowered to reach their full potential and enhance their mana. Having healthy young people ensures a healthier society for Aotearoa, both now and in the future.

Many young people, across all population groups, have good wellbeing and family relationships. Youth health has improved significantly in recent decades. The rates of substance abuse, early unprotected sex and risky driving have declined. Children and young people with complex health conditions are living longer and healthier lives, and fewer young people die of preventable conditions. Families, whānau, health services and communities have been important for these successes.

At the same time, major challenges remain for young people.

  • Rates of mental distress appear to be rapidly increasing. This is consistent with patterns in other developed nations.
  • Major inequities remain, with poorer health care access and higher unmet health needs among Māori, Pacific and lower income groups.
  • Access to health care remains a barrier for secondary school students.

The findings from the Youth 19 study shows that we can do better in supporting all young people and especially those facing multiple challenges. 

Young people shared what could be changed to support them better:

  • Save our future
  • Listen to us
  • Connection and Fun
  • Support us

For more information, see the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and the findings of the Youth 19 study and the What About Me survey.

The support we provide to youth

Health NZ is committed to supporting young people to overcome the challenges they face in order to thrive and live healthy lives. Some of the key areas where we provide support are:

Sexual and reproductive health

Sexual and reproductive health

Sexuality is a normal part of life. Young people should be supported and empowered to ensure that they make healthy decisions for their sexual and reproductive wellbeing.

Emotional and mental health

Emotional and mental health

Young people should be supported to develop good emotional and mental health. Young people should be empowered to enhance their mana. It is important that our young people feel cared about and feel part of their whānau, schools and communities.

Access to health care services

Access to health care services

Young people should be supported by their whānau, school and wider community and the health system in their journey towards improved health and wellbeing. This means ensuring that young people have access to quality health care services.

Substance use

Substance use

Young people should have guidance and support from their wider whānau and community in order to help them make healthy decisions about the consumption of alcohol and other substances.

Resources

Useful tools

Here is a range of online resources for rangatahi youth including apps that we have come across in our work and hope you will find helpful. 

Mental Health

Mental Health
  • Village is an app that has been codesigned with rangatahi and whānau to help young people going through hard times (low mood, self-harm, suicidal ideation) reach out for help from a network of 1-5 peers/whanau (buddies) to get timely support. It is designed to work alongside clinical care (as an extra layer of support) but would also be useful for those waiting to access face-to-face services. The app was tested in an open trial and found acceptable, safe, and helps to improve users’ mood.
  • Whitu 7 days in 7 ways is an app aimed at providing young New Zealanders with tools to help them tackle anxiety and depression and to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Once you click on the link please scroll to the bottom of the article for links to download the app free on both android and ios. Participants in the pilot study demonstrated within-group improvements over time in wellbeing, depression, stress and anxiety at the 6-week follow-up. Whitu (meaning 7 in Te Reo) has also recently been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with the manuscript submitted to a medical journal.
  • Aunty Dee is a free online tool that can be accessed on smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. The tool aims to help people work through a problem or problems. By encouraging users to think about, reflect and explore their problems in a structured way, users can proactively find solutions to their problems and then act. Although anyone can use the tool, it is aimed at Pacific and Maori young people aged 14-25 years. The website also has a library of tips and tricks for some common problems such as trouble sleeping or problems with relationships, friends, health and school.
  • The Smiling Mind App This app has a selection of mindfulness and meditation programs for use in different circumstances (sport, workplace etc.) and for different age groups. Each programme has a number of modules or sessions designed to be worked through over a period of time. Each session has a podcast that gives the user details of the lesson, activity or meditation to undertake.
  • Aroha Chatbot is a new chatbot designed by the University of Auckland to help young New Zealanders to cope with the stress and anxiety particularly in relation to COVID-19.
  • 10 in 5 Game From 10 to 25 is a storytelling card game that builds understanding of what adolescence is and what young people need to thrive.
  • SPARX take control is an app and online game designed in Aotearoa to help young people cope with negative thoughts or feelings. In each level, the Guide will teach you new skills to feel better, solve problems and enjoy life outside of SPARX. Each level takes about half an hour, and we recommend you do one or two levels a week.

Eating disorders

Eating disorders
  • edanz Eating Disorders Aotearoa NZ provide a range of resources to support carers and health professionals learning about these complex disorders.
  • Mental Health Foundation – Eating Disorders, what are they? signs to look for and where to get help. 
  • Starship Management of Eating Disorders intended to assist in the appropriate assessment and management of children and adolescents admitted to Starship with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. Please use as a guide only.

Self-harming

Self-harming

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), also referred to as self-injury or self-harm, is the deliberate and direct destruction of one’s body tissue without suicidal intent and not for body modification purposes.

This type of self-injury is different than “self-injurious behaviors” (SIB) which are commonly seen among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Youth focused research

Youth focused research
  • Two very important longitudinal developmental studies are the Christchurch Health & Development Study and the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.
  • For the yet-to-be adolescent, Growing Up in New Zealand is a new longitudinal cohort of children currently underway at the University of Auckland.
  • Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey and its subsequent studies are well worth reading. The Adolescent Health Research Group (AHRG) carried out the following Youth2000 surveys in 2001, 2007, and 2012 with a total of over 27,000 young people from New Zealand high schools, kura kaupapa Māori, alternative education and teen parent units. Youth19 builds on this work, retaining core Youth2000 questions and methods, that will allow the
  • group to track stability and change over time. They are also examine emerging topics (such as social media and vaping).

Further research published by the Adolescent Health Research Group (AHRG):