earth science

Pacific Islands Families Study

Pacific Islands Families Study is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pacific Islands Families Study rather than just read about it. In short: The Pacific Islands Families Study is a long-running, cohort study of 1398 children (and their parents) of Pacific Islands origin born in Auckland, New Zealand during the year 2000. The cohort of participants was selected from babies born between 15 March 2000 and 17 December 2000 at Middlemore Hospital with at least one parent identifying as having Pacific Islands origin.

Key takeaways

Pacific Islands Families Study belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pacific Islands Families Study to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pacific Islands Families Study from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Pacific Islands Families Study is a long-running, cohort study of 1398 children (and their parents) of Pacific Islands origin born in Auckland, New Zealand during the year 2000. The cohort of participants was selected from babies born between 15 March 2000 and 17 December 2000 at Middlemore Hospital with at least one parent identifying as having Pacific Islands origin. The three overall objectives of the PIF Study are:

to provide information on Pacific peoples' health, and the cultural, economic, environmental and psychosocial factors that are associated with child health and development outcomes and family functioning, to determine how such factors individually and interactively influence positive and negative child, parent and family outcomes over time, to provide information that will help set quantifiable targets for Pacific peoples' health. The study has collected data from mothers, fathers, children and teachers. Data collection phases have occurred at 6 weeks after birth, 12 months, 24 months, 4 years, 6 years and 9 years. The study is administered within the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at Auckland University of Technology. Major funding has been provided by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

Data Collection Phases

First Two Years of Life At approximately 6 weeks after birth, data were collected from interviews of the primary caregiver (usually the birth mother) and the collateral caregiver (the partner of the primary, usually the father). Data were collected from 1376 families in relation to 1398 children (including 22 pairs of twins). The ethnic mix of the original cohort was 47% Samoan, 21% Tongan, 17% Cook Island Maori, 4% Niuean and 11% other Pacific or non-Pacific. At 12 months of age, 1224 primary caregivers and 825 collateral caregivers were interviewed in relation to 1241 children. At 24 months, 1144 primary caregivers and 854 collateral caregivers were interviewed in relation to 1162 children. Details of the first two years can be found in a technical report.

Transition to School At the age of 4 years, data were collected from primary caregiver interviews and separate child assessments. At the age of 6 years, data were collected from primary caregiver interviews, collateral caregiver interviews, child assessments and teacher evaluations.

Towards Adolescence As each child turned 9, data were collected from primary caregiver interviews, child assessments and teacher child evaluations. As of June 2011, data on 11-year-olds are being collected from primary and collateral caregiver interviews, child assessments and teacher evaluations.

Key achievements

Retention of Participants At 6 weeks of age, a total of 1,376 mothers (of 1398 children, including 22 pairs of twins) were interviewed. Of those, 1224 (89%) participated at 12-months and 1144 (83%) participated at 24-months. No important differential attrition was observed.

Publications of research results

Key findings for the first seven years are given in a summary of findings brochure. Research topics resulting from the study include post natal depression, chronic middle ear disease, intimate partner violence, obesity, gambling, child behaviour, mental health and smacking.

References

External links Overview of the study List of Publications Oral health differences between Pacific islands (NZ Herald) Three-quarters of parents smack - study (NZ Herald) Samoan mothers manage to avoid the blues (NZ Herald)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pacific Islands Families Study

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pacific Islands Families Study claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pacific Islands Families Study before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pacific Islands Families Study ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pacific Islands Families Study

In research: Pacific Islands Families Study appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pacific Islands Families Study in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pacific Islands Families Study is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000 establishments in New Zealand, Cohort studies, History of Auckland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pacific Islands Families Study outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pacific Islands Families Study in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pacific Islands Families Study means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pacific Islands Families Study out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pacific Islands Families Study in simple terms?

Why does Pacific Islands Families Study matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pacific Islands Families Study?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pacific Islands Families Study.