Indicators framework
The Government’s vision for young people is articulated in the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa:
A country where young people are vibrant and optimistic through being supported and encouraged to take up challenges.
This vision can be expressed as a desire for young people to be:
Click on the link to view the indicators that relate to each domain of wellbeing
- Happy and confident, feeling positive and comfortable with their own identity and facing the future with a sense of self-efficacy.
- Engaged in supportive and caring relationships with families, whänau and friends and constructive relationships with others in the community, as well as being well-prepared for healthy adult relationships and to provide positive parenting for their own children.
- Healthy, enjoying good physical and mental health, a healthy lifestyle and access to quality health services.
- Achieving in education and training gaining the skills, qualifications and attitudes that will enable them to meet their potential and become full participants in society.
- Moving towards meaningful employment and long-term economic independence, with access to paid work that gives them a sense of purpose and provides opportunities for further development.
- Economically secure and able to thrive within households that provide an adequate standard of living.
- Enjoying recreation and leisure with opportunities to participate in fun, safe local activities.
- Safe on the roads and in their homes, schools and communities, with freedom from bullying, victimisation, violence and avoidable injury.
- Active citizens who make a positive contribution to society as informed, responsible and engaged members of their communities.
This online resource gives an overview of data on young people’s wellbeing in each of these nine areas nationally and, where possible, by Region or Territorial Authority. It is informed by the key principles of the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa, in particular that “youth development needs good information”.
How we selected indicators
In identifying indicators for presentation, we went through a process of research and consultation with people in the youth development sector, youth health experts, and most importantly young people themselves to find out what wellbeing looks like for young people.
We then selected indicators from available data to measure these outcomes with reference to the following criteria, developed by the Ministry of Social Development for its annual The Social Report publication:
- relevant to the social outcome of interest – the indicator should be the most accurate statistic for measuring both the level and extent of change in the social outcome of interest, and it should adequately reflect what it is intended to measure
- based on broad support – ideally there should be wide support for the indicators chosen so they will not be changed regularly
- grounded in research – there should be sound evidence on key influences and factors affecting outcomes
- able to be disaggregated – it should be possible to break the data down by age, sex, socio-economic status, ethnicity, region and, where possible, to the individual (or smallest group possible), so we can compare outcomes for different groups
- consistent over time – the usefulness of indicators is related directly to the ability to track trends over time, so indicators should be consistent over time
- statistically sound – the measurement of indicators needs to be methodologically rigorous
- timely – data needs to be collected and reported regularly and frequently to ensure indicators are providing up-to-date information
- enable international comparisons – as well as reflecting the social goals of New Zealanders, indicators need to be consistent with those used in international programmes so we can make comparisons.
Few of the indicators meet all these criteria, but all represent the best information available to us.
We have included indicators that capture wellbeing now, such as self-reported general health or household income, as well as those that measure or predict future wellbeing, such as rates of smoking or education participation. We have also mixed subjective and objective measures, to reflect the fact that external measures of young people’s wellbeing do not always match their internal evaluation of how they are doing.
A caveat about cultural relevance
It is important to remember that different cultural groups may place different emphasis on various indicators, as concepts of wellbeing vary according to cultural expectations. The indicators in this resource are designed to reflect a variety of facets of wellbeing, but there will be a great deal of variation between individuals and groups in which are the most fundamental to overall wellbeing.
| Domain | Outcome statement | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| Happy and confident | Young people are happy and confident, feeling positive and comfortable with their own identity and facing the future with a sense of self-efficacy. | Life satisfaction |
| Self-confidence | ||
| Body image | ||
| Sense of belonging | ||
| Te reo Māori language speakers | ||
| First language retention | ||
| Engaged in supportive and caring relationships | Young people are engaged in supportive and caring relationships with families, whänau and friends and constructive relationships with others in the community. Young people are well-prepared for healthy adult relationships and to provide positive parenting for their own children. | Positive relationships with parents |
| Communication with parents | ||
| Sharing family meals | ||
| Caring friendship relationships | ||
| Loneliness | ||
| Trust in others | ||
| Healthy | Young people are healthy, enjoying good physical and mental health, a healthy lifestyle and access to quality health services. | Mortality |
| Suicide | ||
| Self-rated general health | ||
| Mental health disorder | ||
| Physical Activity | ||
| Obesity | ||
| Cigarette smoking | ||
| Contraceptive and condom use | ||
| Hazardous and problem drinking | ||
| Riding in a car with a potentially drunk driver | ||
| Unmet need for General Practitioner services | ||
| Achieving in education and training | Young people are achieving in education and training gaining the skills, qualifications and attitudes that will enable them to meet their potential and become full participants in society. | Educational resources in the home |
| School engagement | ||
| Participation in education | ||
| On-the-job learning: Apprenticeships and industry training | ||
| Science, maths and reading literacy at age 15 | ||
| School leavers with higher qualifications | ||
| Tertiary attainment | ||
| Moving towards meaningful employment | Young people are moving towards meaningful employment and long-term economic independence. Young people have access to paid work that gives them a sense of purpose and provides opportunities for further development. | Employment |
| Unemployment | ||
| Inactivity | ||
| Benefit receipt | ||
| Hourly earnings from wage and salaries | ||
| Economically secure | Young people are economically secure and able to thrive within households that provide an adequate standard of living. | Low income households |
| Housing affordability | ||
| Household crowding | ||
| Internet access | ||
| Enjoying recreation and leisure | Young people are enjoying recreation and leisure with opportunities to participate in fun, safe local activities. | Satisfaction with leisure time |
| After-school and community activities | ||
| Sense of community | ||
| Safe | Young people are safe on the roads and in their homes, schools and communities, with freedom from bullying, victimisation, violence and avoidable injury. | Road deaths |
| Assault mortality | ||
| Criminal victimisation | ||
| Fear of crime | ||
| Bullying at school | ||
| Witnessing violence in the home | ||
| Active citizens | Young people are active citizens who make a positive contribution to society as informed, responsible and engaged members of their communities. | Attitude to and belief about government responsiveness |
| Youth offending: apprehensions | ||
| Youth offending: cases proved in court and convictions | ||
| Volunteering | ||
| Enrolment to vote |
