About the project

Within the last decades, increased research attention has been given to racism as an important health determinant, with compelling international evidence of its multitude effects on the health of individuals, communities and nations across time and place (Krieger, 2014; Williams & Mohammed, 2013). Within the Aotearoa NZ context, a body of research shows a consistent link between experience of racism and a range of negative health measures including mental health that may impact on racial/ethnic health inequities (Harris et al., 2012; Harris et al., 2018; Harris et al., 2024; Talamaivao et al., 2020). Rangatahi Māori, in particular, face compounded challenges due to the intersection of their cultural identity with wider societal issues, such as historical marginalisation, the impacts of colonisation, and ongoing structural inequities. These factors are further amplified by experiences of discrimination across multiple domains, including racial, gender, disability and identity based biases, which significantly impact their mental health outcomes. Moreover, the persistent normalization of health inequities within the system undermines urgent efforts to address these disparities, despite the clear obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to ensure equitable outcomes for Māori.

This project therefor aims to investigate:

1. Patterns of different forms of self-reported discrimination (e.g. racial/ethnic background, gender, disability) for young people at age 12 years by ethnic subgroups for several sociodemographic characteristics

2. To what extend different forms and exposure of discrimination are associated with young peoples’ mental health and wellbeing at age 12 years and whether there is a dose-response-relationship between the experience of multiple forms of discrimination and mental health outcomes at 12 years

3. If protective factors can mitigate the negative impacts of multiple forms of discrimination on young people’s mental health at 12 years

4. If experiences of different forms and exposure of discrimination impacts on access and use of health services for young people.

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Start date: 1/02/2025

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