Family connectedness describes the quality of connections within a family and is important for wellbeing in adolescence. It is a protective factor against risky behaviour. Substance use is a key risky behaviour that emerges in adolescence, with tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption of particular concern for Pacific youth. Although smoking rates among Pacific youth have been declining over time, they are still twice as likely to be regular smokers as their non-Pacific, non-Māori peers. Pacific youth are also more likely to report drinking five or more alcoholic drinks in one session than non-Pacific, non-Māori youth. To deter Pacific youth from taking up smoking or engaging in excessive alcohol consumption and, therefore, reduce health inequalities arising from such substance use, it is important to understand the relationships with protective factors such as family connectedness.
The HPA’s Youth Insights Survey (YIS) is a key source of New Zealand data on adolescent substance use. The YIS monitors Year 10 students’ behaviours, attitudes and knowledge on health-related topics including tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and protective factors such
as family connectedness.
Methodology
The 2012 YIS contained three items relating to family connectedness: “I like to spend free time with my family/whānau”, “we can easily think of things to do together as a family/whānau” and “my family/whānau ask each other for help”. Respondents were asked the degree to which they agreed with each item statement on a fivepoint scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. Overall family connectedness was measured by combining the scores for each item into a single score (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.81) which ranged from 3 to 15. Family connectedness was compared against smoking status and risky drinking status. Risky drinking was defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in one session. To reduce the risk of injury from alcohol consumption, HPA’s advice is no more than five standard drinks in a single occasion for men and no more than four in a single occasion for women (Health Promotion Agency, 2014). Drinking five or more alcoholic drinks in one session is therefore a high-risk behaviour for Year 10 students. Analysis was restricted to those students who reported a Pacific ethnicity (n = 400). Ethnicity was coded in accordance with ethnicity data protocols (Ministry of Health, 2004) and multiple ethnicities were allowed.
Key Results
• One in eight (13%) Pacific Year 10 students were current smokers, while nearly one-quarter (22%) had engaged in risky drinking in the past month.
• Family connectedness was negatively related to both smoking and risky drinking behaviour among Pacific youth. Current smokers and past-month risky drinkers were likely to report lower levels of family connectedness.