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Now We Are Fifteen
Navigating life in mid-adolescence
Now We Are 15 shares new findings from Aotearoa
New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study as our young people move through middle adolescence. The information for this part of the study was collected in 2025 from more than 4,000 young people and their main caregivers, when they were around 15 years old and in Year 11 at school.
The 15-Year Checkpoint findings are presented across three snapshot reports exploring young people’s experiences of education, their mental health and wellbeing, and experiences of self-harm and thoughts of suicide. These snapshots offer valuable insights into life at age 15 and highlight the factors that shape learning, resilience, and connection during this important stage of development.
Data sets from the 15-Year Checkpoint will be available from April 2026.
Researchers and data users can apply for access to the data through the Growing Up in New Zealand data access process. A data access workshop will be held on the 31st of March 2026 to share more about the data available from the 15-Year Check-In and the data access application process. You can register to take part here.
Snapshots
Explore key findings
Additional data points from the 15-Year Checkpoint that are not included in the Now We Are 15 snapshots are also highlighted below.
Around 4 in 10 young people almost always like school
Young people who experience discrimination are less likely to report satisfaction with school
26% of disabled young people report high levels of school satisfaction, compared with 43% of those without a disability
Most young people plan to go to university or undertake other types of study or training when they finish school
Caregivers of young people at wharekura reported the highest school satisfaction
Cisgender boys report higher academic buoyancy than cisgender girls and trans/non-binary young people
Cisgender girls,
transgender and
non-binary young people
have more positive peer
relationships than
cigender boys
Young people with a disability report poorer mental wellbeing, higher anxiety and depression symptoms, and less positive peer relationships
84% of young people have good friends
39% of young people say their friends often encourage them to talk about difficulties
Discrimination has a strong and consistent link to poorer mental health outcomes
Supportive friendships protect mental health
39% of rangatahi Māori who reported self-harm had experienced some material hardship over time, compared with 17% of European/other
72% of young people did not report any experiences of self-harm, and 80% did not report any experiences of serious thoughts of suicide
Of those who reported self-harm or serious thoughts of suicide, cisgender girls made up the largest percentage across most ethnic groups, followed by transgender and non-binary young people
23% of 15-year-olds identify as belonging to two ethnic groups and nearly 5% as belonging to three or more
1/2of young people have come across sexual images/videos online
Nearly 70% of females with periods report using free period products at school
40% of young people report that their body weight affects the way they feel about themselves
70% of young people say they are good at telling whether information online or on social media is accurate and reliable.
Thank you to everyone who makes Growing Up in New Zealand possible
A huge thank you to all our Growing Up
in New Zealand participants, and to your families and whānau, for the time and energy you give to the study. Your trust and generosity are helping to create a treasured source of knowledge and insight that is unique to Aotearoa.
Your shared experiences are shaping understanding, informing policy, and strengthening services.
Together, we
are helping to make Aotearoa a better place to grow up, belong, and live, so
that all young people and future generations can thrive.
Our most sincere thanks go to our funder and to the Growing Up in New Zealand team (the research, biostatistics, cohort relationship, data management, operations, and administrative teams). A big thank you to our policy advisors and reviewers, whose ongoing support sustains this programme of research.
More information
You can find out more about the 15-Year Check Point in the Now We Are 15 Introduction and Methods Paper