Less than half of teens living with two biological parents

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-08-02 03:00

New Zealand

Almaje, iStock

Surveying of 600 fifteen-year-old children of participants in the Dunedin Study, offers a view of what modern kiwi teens' family homes look like. 47 per cent of the kids were living with both of their biological parents at age fifteen, and a proportion of those kids hadn't always had that care arrangement. 94 per cent of kids had moved house at least once, and over half had moved more than five times. The authors say that this data shows that many young New Zealanders’ living arrangements are complex and changeable, and conventional ideas about family structure should be re-examined.

Media release

From:

Journal/
conference: Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Otago

Funder: The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study and the Next Generation Study are funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand [grant number HRC 08/342]. The Next Generation Study was developed with funding from a Dunedin School of Medicine Distinguished Research Award to Professor Richie Poulton and a grant from the James Hume Bequest Fund. The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development has also received funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.

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