Adversities of Childhood Experience and School Readiness - Focus on children born to teen and non-teen mothers in the Growing Up in New Zealand data

This research looked at the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among children of teen mothers within the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) cohort, and the extent to which the number of ACEs experienced relates to a child’s school readiness.

The researchers found ACES are more commonly experienced by children of teen mothers and observed a negative relationship between an increasing number of ACEs and a child’s school readiness. However, as researchers found poorer performance on school readiness tests at all levels of ACEs exposure, this suggests that children born to teen mothers might benefit from support to improve school readiness, even if observed ACE scores are low.

Citation:
Walsh, M.C., Maloney, T., Vaithianathan, R., & Pereda-Perez, P.  (2021). Adversities of Childhood Experience and School Readiness - Focus on children born to teen and non-teen mothers in the Growing Up in New Zealand data. [PDF] Wellington: Ministry of Social Development.