Drivers of Wellbeing in Māori and non-Māori populations in

New Zealand

Population Association of

New Zealand Conference

November 2011

Desi Small-Rodriguez, Te Puni KōkiriMartin Wall, SHORE

Introduction

• Measurement of ‘life satisfaction’, ‘wellbeing’ or ‘happiness’ is

now common in social surveys

• 2008 NZ General Social Survey asked one question on life

satisfaction that was used for this analysis

• Maximising wellbeing is a legitimate goal of public policy

• Maximising Māori wellbeing is a priority for Te Puni Kōkiri

Methods1. Used the New Zealand General Social Survey 2008

8,721 participants12.6% Māori

2. People were asked “how satisfied are you with your life overall?” Very dissatisfied=1 Dissatisfied=2 Neither Satisfied or dissatisfied=3 Satisfied =4 Very satisfied=5

3. Fitted a “happiness equation”Identify the factors that are correlated with either high or low

levels of satisfaction. Used standard Ordinary Least Squares Regression

Key ResultsSome examples of varying effects

  Māori Non-Māori Male -0.134* -0.080***  (0.074) (0.021)Unemployment -0.311* -0.193*  (0.169) (0.100)Lowest Mental health SF-12 (compared to highest) -0.613*** -0.465***  (0.109) (0.030)Self-reported health very good (compared to SR health=poor) 1.012*** 0.734***  (0.187) (0.086)Bottom third of household income (compared to top third) -0.165* -0.095***  (0.094) (0.031)Quintile of ELSI-Quintile neighbourhood 0.046** 0.049***

(0.023) (0.007)

Being male, unemployed, or in the bottom third of household income seems to have greater negative effect on Māori satisfaction than non-MāoriPoor mental health or good overall health also seems to affect Māori satisfaction more than non-MāoriRelative economic welfare has exactly the same impact on Māori and non-Māori

More key results  Māori Non-Māori Education ‘none’ -0.273*** -0.066**  (0.091) (0.031)Education secondary school -0.212** -0.048**  (0.083) (0.024)ELSI missing -0.265* -0.195***  (0.153) (0.067)Had social activity 0.135** 0.067***  (0.064) (0.023)Did voluntary work 0.197*** 0.063***  (0.069) (0.024)

Having below a diploma level education has a bigger negative effect on Māori than non-MāoriHaving a missing value for ELSI impacts negatively on both groupsSocial activity and volunteering has a bigger positive affect on Māori than non-Māori

Conclusions

•Māori sample much smaller than non-Māori so some effects not picked up

• In some cases similar effect sizes are not significant

•Only one question relating to wellbeing was asked in the GSS, signals need for further inquiry

•Findings will be updated when the CURF is released from the 2010 GSS (est. Dec 2011)

Policy Implications

•Existing research stresses universality of drivers of happiness and wellbeing; however findings suggest that there are differences between Māori/non-Māori

•Little understanding of how to improve wellbeing in indigenous populations – therefore policy aimed at improving overall wellbeing may entrench existing inequalities

•Need for Māori Social Survey and larger Māori samples in Official Statistics

•Whānau Ora as example of policy aimed at improving wellbeing for whānau/families—specifically targeting Māori and Pacific populations