Impact of severe weather on young people to be studied

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A new project, looking at how the severe weather that hit many parts of the North Island earlier this year has impacted the wellbeing of young people, starts today.

The Extreme Weather Survey is being led by the Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland’s Growing Up in New Zealand study, a longitudinal study that has been following the lives of more than 6000 children since 2009.

Around 1400 young people in the study and a caregiver from the hardest hit regions during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle are being invited to take part in the online survey.

Growing Up in New Zealand’s research director, Associate Professor Dr Sarah-Jane Paine, says the research will be used to inform future planning for extreme weather in Aotearoa New Zealand and is an important opportunity for young people and their families to have their voices and experiences heard.

“Research has shown that extreme events such as severe flooding and cyclones can take a greater toll on young people’s wellbeing, so this work is focused on understanding how young people managed through these events, and importantly how they are doing now,” said Dr Paine.

“This survey offers families in the Growing Up in New Zealand study the chance to let the Government and recovery agencies know how the flooding and cyclone that hit Aotearoa in January and February this year has affected them and what can be done to better prepare for these kinds of events in the future.”

The initiative is part of the Government’s urgent research and science response to assess the impacts of these weather events.

The Ministry of  Business, Innovation and Employment is funding several projects, including the Extreme Weather Survey, to collect evidence to inform both the recovery efforts and future planning.

Dr Paine says the survey will build on information the study has collected from families on wellbeing in previous years.

“Understanding what shapes and impacts wellbeing in young people is an area of focus for us at Growing Up in New Zealand. This project will allow us to compare wellbeing measures from before and after the extreme weather to find out how it has impacted them and identify ways in which the recovery efforts can provide the best support.

“We will be asking questions about both their physical and mental health, as well as relationships with family and friends and impacts on their school, neighbourhood and wider community.”

The 1400 young people taking part in the study are from Northland, Auckland, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. Dr Paine says the study will look at the impact the weather events have had on their education, with most of them starting Year 9 this year.

Dr  Paine says the Extreme Weather Survey will be open for the month of August, with findings expected to be published before the end of the year.

The Growing Up in New Zealand study has followed the lives of more than 6000 children across Aotearoa since 2009 and 2010 — before they were born — to create evidence that will help ensure that children and young people are able to live full and flourishing lives.

Growing Up in New Zealand is  managed by Auckland UniServices. The study plans to continue to connect with the study cohort until the children grow into adulthood and are at least 21 years old.