Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008

Safety

Unintentional injury mortality
Assault mortality
Bullying at school
Criminal victimisation
Fear of crime
Road casualties

ISBN 978-0-478-33506-4 (Print) 
ISBN 978-0-478-33507-1 (Online)

The other sections and the appendices of the Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008 can be found at www.msd.govt.nz
Safety
Desired outcomes
All children and young people enjoy personal safety, and are free from abuse, victimisation, violence, and avoidable injury and death.
Introduction
Safety is fundamental to the wellbeing of children and young people. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the right of children to a safe environment and protection from all forms of physical or emotional harm (Articles 3, 6 and 19).

Physical injuries, at their most extreme, threaten survival itself. For every avoidable death, there are many more non-fatal injuries, traumas, and disabilities, some of which may have long-term consequences.

The psychological effects of physical harm are also important. Victims of violence and injury often retain emotional scars long after their physical wounds have healed. They may suffer from anxiety or depression and experience the social isolation associated with psychological distress.

The safety of children and young people is an issue for the whole of society. Avoidable injuries and deaths affect not only inflict pain, suffering and loss on individuals and their families but also impact on the wider community, whose resources may be called upon for emergency help and rehabilitation. Children who grow up in an environment where violence is the norm may become violent adults, perpetuating a negative cycle.

Most injuries in childhood are to some extent preventable through public health measures, environmental safety and safe parenting practices. Like other developed countries, New Zealand recognises the importance of safety to wellbeing in an array of legislation designed to protect people from many types of avoidable harm, such as the road code and occupational safety regulations. The degree to which these measures are understood and accepted can make a difference to their implementation. For example, surveys have shown that almost all New Zealanders now agree that safety belts are effective in reducing the road toll, and the proportion of children aged under 5 years who are appropriately restrained in cars has grown from 75 percent in 1999 to 91 percent in 2007.

Indicators
There are six indicators in the Safety domain.

Unintentional injury mortality is the rate of child deaths resulting from a range of causes, including road traffic accidents, drowning, suffocation, burns, falls, and poisoning. After the first year of life, unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for children and young people. 

Assault mortality is an indicator of family and community violence. It measures deaths resulting from violence, the tip of the pyramid of child abuse and interpersonal violence. Young children and youth are particularly vulnerable to the risk of death from assault. 

Bullying at school is an indicator of the safety of the school environment, from the perspective of secondary school students. Peer aggression and victimisation have been recognised as an obstacle to the healthy educational, social and emotional adjustment of young people. Frequent bullying is associated with an increased risk of violence towards others.

Criminal victimisation is an indicator of the prevalence of criminal offending, as experienced and reported by 15–24 year olds. Criminal victimisation surveys provide a more comprehensive picture of victimisation than police statistics on crime, as not all offending is reported to the police or recorded by them.

Fear of crime is a measure of the extent to which 15–24 year olds feel their quality of life is affected by their concerns about crime. Anxiety about victimisation not only detracts from wellbeing directly, it may restrict young people’s choices about how to live their lives.

The final indicator, road casualties, is an indicator of avoidable death and injury that is particularly pertinent to young people aged 15–24 years, who are most at risk.

Unintentional injury mortality
Definition
The number of children under 15 years of age who have died as a result of an unintentional injury, per 100,000 children under 15 years. 
Relevance
Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for children aged 1–14 years. Children are developmentally more vulnerable to injury than adults. Additionally, children are dependent on adults for their safety and often their environment has been designed to meet the needs of adults rather than those of children. Most injuries in childhood are to some extent preventable through public health measures, environmental safety and safe parenting practices.
Current level and trends
In 2005, 80 children under 15 years of age died as a result of an unintentional injury, according to provisional mortality data for that year. On a population basis, this represented a rate of 9 children per 100,000 aged 0–14 years. This was similar to the rates in 2003 and 2004 but lower than the rate of just over 10 per 100,000 for the years 1999–2002.

The rate of child deaths from unintentional injury has fallen fairly steadily over the past 25 years, more than halving since 1981, when it stood at 19 per 100,000.
Road traffic injuries are the most common cause of childhood injury death, followed by suffocation and drowning/submersion.

Figure S1.1 Unintentional injury mortality rate, children aged 0–14 years, 1981–2005

Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Information Service
Age and sex differences
Children under five years of age are more likely than older children to die from accidental injuries. In 2005, 15 per 100,000 children under five years were fatally injured, compared with 6 per 100,000 5–14 year olds. For young children, suffocation and drowning/submersion are more common causes of injury death than traffic injuries.

Unintentional injury mortality rates are consistently higher for males than for females. In 2005, the rate for male children was 10 deaths per 100,000 males under 15 years of age, while the rate for female children was 8 deaths per 100,000 females of that age.

Table S1.1 Unintentional injury mortality rate per 100,000 children aged 0–14 years, by age group and sex, 1991–2005
Year	0–4 years	5–9 years	10–14 years	
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	
1991 	23.1	12.8	18.1	12.8	9.5	11.2	20.4	6.3	13.5	
1992 	19.3	17.5	18.4	10.4	14.1	12.2	15.1	8.7	12.0	
1993 	29.0	20.9	25.0	8.0	2.3	5.2	9.7	6.3	8.1	
1994 	26.2	16.0	21.2	12.0	7.4	9.8	6.7	2.4	4.6	
1995 	22.9	15.3	19.2	9.6	6.5	8.1	11.0	5.4	8.3	
1996 	23.6	13.3	18.7	6.6	5.5	6.1	12.3	10.7	11.5	
1997 	31.3	17.0	24.3	7.7	6.8	7.2	8.5	3.8	6.2	
1998 	20.1	12.8	16.6	10.8	4.7	7.8	15.3	4.4	10.0	
1999 	16.3	13.7	15.0	7.0	4.7	5.9	13.0	8.6	10.8	
2000 	19.2	13.8	16.6	5.1	8.2	6.6	12.7	4.9	8.9	
2001	18.7	13.1	16.0	6.5	5.6	6.1	13.0	6.1	9.6	
2002	22.9	14.6	18.8	6.6	5.6	6.1	12.0	4.7	8.4	
2003	11.1	16.0	13.5	7.9	3.5	5.8	8.7	4.6	6.7	
2004	15.1	14.4	14.8	6.0	4.2	5.1	6.8	3.3	5.1	
2005	15.1	14.4	14.8	6.7	6.3	6.5	8.7	3.3	6.1	
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Information Service; Statistics New Zealand.

Ethnic differences
Māori children are more likely than non-Māori children to die as a result of an unintentional injury. In 2005, the rate per 100,000 children aged 0–14 years was 16 for Māori and 7 for non-Māori.

Table S1.2 Rate of unintentional injury mortality at 0–14 years per 100,000 children by ethnicity, 1996–2005
Year 	Māori	Non- Māori	Total	
1996 	20.8	9.5	12.1	
1997 	31.3	7.0	12.6	
1998 	20.4	8.7	11.4	
1999 	18.6	7.9	10.5	
2000 	17.4	8.4	10.6	
2001	15.3	8.9	10.5	
2002	14.3	9.9	11.0	
2003	16.6	6.0	8.5	
2004	18.9	4.7	8.2	
2005	15.7	6.8	9.0	
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Information Service; Statistics New Zealand

Assault mortality 
Definition
The number of children aged under 15 years and the number of young people aged 15–24 years who have died as a result of assault, per 100,000 people in each age group. 
Relevance
Reducing interpersonal violence in families and communities is critical to social and personal wellbeing. This indicator measures deaths resulting from violence, the tip of the violence pyramid. Young children and youth are particularly vulnerable.
Current level and trends
In the five years to 2005, 36 children aged under 15 years died as a result of assault. On a population basis, this represented an average of less than one child (0.8) per 100,000 each year. The five-year average annual rate has fallen since the late 1980s, with the largest fall occurring in the latest five-year period.

Between 2001 and 2005, 62 young people aged 15–24 died as a result of assault, representing a rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people in that age group. The five-year average annual rate for 15–24 year olds fell between 1986–90 and 1996–2000 but rose slightly in the latest five-year period.

It should be noted that rates based on small numbers are volatile and trends can be difficult to discern over the short term, even when averaged over a number of years. The data for 2005 is provisional.

Figure S2 Five-year average annual assault mortality rate, ages 0–14 years and 15–24 years, 1986–1990 to 2001–2005

Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Information Service (ICD-9 codes E960–E969 to 1999; ICD–10 codes X85–Y09 from 2000).
Notes: (1) 2005 data is provisional (2) Rates are based on small numbers and trends can be difficult to discern over the short term (3) Change in cause of death coding may affect comparison over time.
Age and sex differences
Among children under 15, assault mortality rates are higher for those aged under five years than for older children. In the five years to 2005, the average annual rate of death from assault was 1.6 per 100,000 for children aged under five years, compared with 0.5 per 100,000 for those aged 5–14 years. Assault mortality rates are higher in young adulthood, with 1.8 deaths per 100,000 15–19 year olds and 2.6 deaths per 100,000 20–24 year olds in the five years to 2005.  

Among children aged under 15, there is no clear pattern of differences by sex in assault mortality rates. However, in the 15–24 age group, rates are consistently higher among males than females. 

Table S2.1 Five-year average annual assault mortality rates per 100,000 children and young people, by age and sex, 1996–2000 and 2001–2005 
	0–4 years	5–14 years	15–19 years	20–24 years	
Male					
  1986–1990	2.8	0.5	1.9	7.3	
  1991–1995	1.9	1.1	1.7	4.5	
  1996–2000 	2.8	0.3	1.7	2.6	
  2001–2005 	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.7	
Female					
  1986–1990	1.9	0.9	0.8	2.5	
  1991–1995	2.4	0.4	1.1	2.6	
  1996–2000 	2.0	0.6	1.4	2.1	
  2001–2005 	1.6	0.6	0.8	2.5	
Total					
  1986–1990	2.4	0.7	1.4	4.9	
  1991–1995	2.2	0.7	1.4	3.6	
  1996–2000 	2.4	0.5	1.6	2.3	
  2001–2005 	1.6	0.5	1.8	2.6	
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Information Service

Ethnic differences
In the five years from 2001 to 2005, 17 Māori children under 15 years died from assault. This represents a five-year average annual rate of 1.5 per 100,000 children, down from 1.9 per 100,000 in 1996–2000. Non-Māori children died at an average annual rate of 0.6 per 100,000 children between 2001 and 2005, down from 0.9 per 100,000 in the previous five-year period. 

In the 15–24 age group, the death rate from assault among Māori averaged 4.4 per 100,000 for the years 2001–2005, compared with 4.9 per 100,000 between 1996 and 2000. Among non-Māori in this age group the death rate increased from an average of 1.2 per 100,000 between 1996 and 2000, to 1.7 per 100,000 between 2001 and 2005.     

Bullying at school
Definition 
The proportion of secondary school students aged 12–18 years who reported that they had been bullied at school, as measured by the Youth2000 Survey. According to the definition in the survey, bullying occurs when a student or group of students say nasty and unpleasant things to another student, or the student is kicked, threatened, pushed or shoved around, or when a group of students completely ignore somebody and leave them out on purpose.
Relevance
Peer aggression and victimisation are becoming recognised as a significant obstacle to the healthy educational, social and emotional adjustment of young people, with significant costs to society as well as loss of potential for the young people involved.  Frequent bullying is associated with a number of problems, including increased rates of mental health issues and relationship difficulties, and an elevated risk of violence towards others.
Current level
Almost one-third (30 percent) of secondary school students surveyed in 2001 reported having been bullied at school in the last 12 months. Twenty-three percent said that bullying had occurred only once or twice in the last year, while 7 percent said they had been bullied once a week or more often. 

Of the students who had been bullied, 31 percent (10 percent of all students surveyed) thought it was “pretty bad”, “really bad” or “terrible” and 9 percent of students (3% of all students surveyed) had not gone to school once or more in the last month because they were afraid someone might hurt, bully or tease them.
About half of bullied students told an adult about being bullied, with 26 percent telling a parent and 11 percent telling a teacher.

Figure S3.1 Proportion of secondary school students who reported being bullied at school, by frequency of bullying and age, 2001

Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2003)
Age differences
Bullying was most commonly reported by younger secondary school students and decreased steadily by age. In 2001, 38 percent of those aged 13 or less reported having been bullied, compared with 32 percent of 15 year olds and 16 percent of students aged 17 or more. Younger students were also bullied most frequently. Ten percent of those aged 13 or less reported being bullied at least once a week in 2001, compared with 7 percent of 15 year olds and 4 percent of students aged 17 or more. These differences were significant after adjustment for sex, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

Table S3.1 Proportion (%) of secondary school students report being bullied in the last 12 months, by frequency and by age of student, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below 
Age in years	Never	Once or twice per year	Weekly or more often	
12–13	61.9	28.5	9.6	
	(58.5, 65.3)	(25.7, 31.3)	(8.1, 11.1)	
14	65.0	26.6	8.4	
	(61.9, 68.0)	(24.0, 29.2)	(7.1, 9.8)	
15	68.0	25.2	6.8	
	(65.5, 70.5)	(23.1, 27.4)	(5.5, 8.1)	
16	76.5	18.8	4.7	
	(73.6, 79.4)	(16.4, 21.2)	(3.4, 5.9)	
17–18	84.2	11.5	4.3	
	(82.2, 86.3)	(9.7, 13.3)	(3.1, 5.5)	
TOTAL	69.7	23.2	7.1	
	(67.7, 71.7)	(21.7, 24.8)	(6.3, 7.8)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data
Note: If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.
Sex differences
Overall, after adjustment for age, ethnicity and socio-economic status, male students were more likely than female students to report they were bullied at school at least once in the previous year.  However, the sex difference appears most significant in respect of frequent bullying (at least once a week), with 9 percent of male students and 5 percent of female students experiencing frequent bullying in 2001. 

Table S3.2 Proportion (%) of secondary school students being bullied in the last 12 months, by frequency and by gender of student, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below
Sex of student	Never	Once or twice per year	Weekly or more often	
Male	67.1	23.7	9.2	
	(64.7, 69.5)	(21.8, 25.6)	(8.2, 10.3)	
Female	71.9	22.8	5.2	
	(69.9, 74.0)	(21.1, 24.6)	(4.5, 6.0)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data
Note: If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.

Male and female students reported similar views on the severity of bullying they had experienced, with 31 percent of both sexes regarding it as “pretty bad”, “really bad”, or “terrible”. 

Of those who had been bullied, males were less likely than females to have told an adult about the bullying (43 percent and 61 percent, respectively).

There were also sex differences in the type of bullying experienced, with males more likely to report physical types of aggression and females more likely to report forms of relational aggression.

Figure S3.2 Types of bullying experienced by secondary school students who reported being bullied at school, by sex, 2001
Source: Fleming, et al (2007), p 33
Note: Percentages add to more than 100 as students were able to select as many ways as applied to them
Ethnic differences
There were significant differences between ethnic groups, after adjustment for age, sex and socio-economic status, in the proportions of students who report bullying in the last year. Māori, Pacific and Asian students were less likely than New Zealand European students to report being bullied at school, either once or twice a year or more frequently. 

Table S3.3 Proportion (%) of secondary school students who reported being bullied at school, by ethnicity, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below
Ethnic group	Never	Once or twice per year	Weekly or more often	
Māori 	72.0	21.4	6.5	
	(69.8, 74.3)	(19.3, 23.5)	(5.4, 7.7)	
Pacific peoples	82.4	13.1	4.6	
	(79.0, 85.7)	(10.6, 15.5)	(2.5, 6.7)	
Asian 	75.5	19.7	4.8	
	(71.3, 79.7)	(16.3, 23.0)	(2.8, 6.8)	
Other 	68.3	24.0	7.7	
	(63.4, 73.1)	(20.0, 28.1)	(4.7, 10.7)	
NZ European 	66.2	25.9	7.9	
	(64.0, 68.3)	(24.2, 27.6)	(6.9, 8.9)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data 
Note: If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.

However, Māori, Pacific and Asian students who reported being bullied were more likely than New Zealand European students to report the bullying as severe (“pretty bad”, “really bad”, or “terrible”). Māori students who had been bullied were more likely than New Zealand European students to have not gone to school at least once in the last month because they were afraid they would be hurt, bullied or teased.

Table S3.4 Proportion (%) of secondary school students who reported negative experience of being bullied at school, by ethnicity, 2001, with 95% confidence intervals below
Ethnic group	Bullying is pretty bed, really bad or terrible	Missed school at least once in last month	
Māori 	38.2	15.0	
	(34.3, 42.1)	(12.3, 17.6)	
Pacific peoples	37.4	9.5	
	(29.1, 45.8)	(5.3, 13.7)	
Asian 	42.9	6.2	
	(31.8, 54.0)	(1.2, 11.2)	
Other 	35.4	12.8	
	(27.9, 42.9)	(7.1, 18.4)	
NZ European 	26.8	7.6	
	(24.9, 28.8)	(6.2, 9.0)	
Source: Youth2000 Survey, unpublished data 
Note: If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.
International comparison
An international comparison of young people’s experience of bullying is available from the Health Behaviour of School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, conducted in 35 (mainly European) countries in 2001/2002. The survey respondents were aged 11, 13 and 15 years. About a third (34 percent) of all students across the 35 countries in the survey reported being bullied at least once in the previous couple of months, while 11 percent said they had been bullied two or three times during that period. While the recall period was different in the two surveys, these results are similar to those found for New Zealand secondary school students aged 12–18 (30 percent reporting being bullied in the past 12 months; 7 percent reporting being bullied at least weekly). As in the Youth2000 survey, the HBSC survey found relatively small differences by sex in the risk of being a victim of bullying, but a significant difference by age, with the youngest students most at risk.

Criminal victimisation
Definition
The proportion of the population aged 15–24 who have been the victim of one or more incidents of criminal offending in 2005 as measured by the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006 (NZCASS).
Relevance
Being safe and feeling safe are fundamental to wellbeing. The criminal victimisation rate of young people provides a broad measure of personal safety and wellbeing.
Current level and trends
The survey data shows that 55 percent of 15–24 year olds experienced some form of criminal victimisation in 2005. It is not possible to compare this figure with data from earlier surveys owing to changes in the survey design.

Figure S4.1 Criminal victimisation prevalence rate for 15–24 year olds, by type of offence and sex, 2005

Source: Mayhew and Reilly (2007b) Tables C3 – C8
Note: Data for confrontational offences by partners (both sexes) and confrontational offences by people well known (males) should be treated with caution because of sampling error.

Confrontational offences (assaults, threats to the person or personal property, and robbery) can be broken down into three categories based on the victim’s relationship to the offender. During the survey period, 13 percent of 15–24 year olds had been the victims of confrontational offences committed by their partners, 10 percent had been victims of such offences committed by other people well known to them, and 16 percent had been victims of such offences committed by other offenders. In other categories of offence, 19 percent of 15–24 year olds had been the victims of burglaries and 23 percent of vehicle owners in that age group had been victims of vehicle offences (thefts of and from vehicles and vehicle interference).
Sex differences
There was no statistical difference in the likelihood of females aged 15–24 and males of the same age to be victims of crime. Fifty-six percent of young females and 53 percent of young males in this age group had experienced some form of criminal victimisation in 2005. Females were more likely than males to be victims of confrontational offences committed by partners (15 percent compared with 11 percent), while males were more likely than females to be victims of confrontational offences committed by offenders who were not well known to them (20 percent compared with 11 percent).

Young women aged 15–24 had a relatively high rate of victimisation in relation to sexual offences compared with other women. Twelve percent of women aged 15–24 experienced at least one sexual offence in 2005, compared with 4 percent of women overall.
Ethnic differences
For young people aged 15–24, there was no statistical difference in the likelihood of experiencing victimisation by ethnicity. Of people aged 15–24, European and Pacific peoples had the same proportion of victimisation (55 percent). Sixty percent of Māori aged 15–24 were victims of any type of crime as were 52 percent of young people from ethnic groups other than Māori, European and Pacific peoples.

The rates of confrontational victimisation (assaults, threats and robbery) are from three categories of perpetrators: by partners; people well known; and by strangers. Māori youth had relatively high rates for victimisation of confrontational offences. Forty percent of Māori aged 15–24 had been a victim of confrontational crime, compared with 28 percent of European, 27 percent of Pacific peoples, and 21 percent of those from other ethnic groups. 

Fear of crime
Definition
The proportion of young people aged 15–24 who said that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life (scoring its effect at 4 or higher on a scale from 0–10, where 0 is no effect and 10 is total effect on quality of life), as measured by the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey, 2006.  
Relevance
Anxiety and worries about victimisation detract from wellbeing, and may cause young people to alter their behaviour to avoid being victimised. This limits young people’s options and can reduce their freedom. Young people may have more reason to be fearful of crime than others as they are often in public places where they are exposed to risk. 
Current level
In 2005, 41 percent of young New Zealanders aged 15–24 said that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life, scoring its effect at 4 or higher on a ten point scale.  Just over a third (35 percent) scored its effect at 4–7, while 6 percent scored it at 8–10). People aged 15–24 were more likely to report that fear of crime affected their quality of life than those aged 40–59 (38 percent) or 60 and over (33 percent), but less likely to do so than 25–39 year-olds (47 percent).
Sex differences
Women in general were more likely than men to report fear of crime having an impact on their life. Young women, in particular, were more likely than young men to report that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life, with 47 percent of females aged 15–24 and 36 percent of males of the same age scoring its effect at 4 or above on the impact scale.  Thirty-nine percent of females and 32 percent of males reported a moderate impact (scoring it at 4–7), while 8 percent of females and 4 percent of males reported a high impact on their quality of life (scoring it at 8–10).
Table S5.1 Proportion of people aged 15–24 who reported that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life, by sex, 2005
Sex	High impact
(score of 8–10)	Moderate impact
(score of 4–7)	Moderate or high impact (score of 4–10)	
Males	4	32	36	
Females	8	39	47	
Total 15–24 year olds	6	35	41	
Source: Mayhew and Reilly (2007a)  

Ethnic differences 
Among young people, those from ethnic groups other than European and Māori (referred to as ‘Other’ and in this case including Pacific and Asian ethnic groups) were the most likely to report that fear of crime affected their quality of life, either moderately or a great deal, with 52 percent doing so compared with 45 percent of Māori and 36 percent of Europeans. Those in the Other ethnic group category were also the most likely to rate the impact of fear of crime on their quality of life as high, with 12 percent scoring its effect at 8–10, compared with 6 percent of Māori and 3 percent of Europeans.
Table S5.2 Proportion of people aged 15–24 who reported that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life, by ethnic group, 2005
Ethnic group	High impact
(score of 8–10)	Moderate impact
(score of 4–7)	Moderate or high impact
(score of 4–10)	
European	3	33	36	
Māori	6	39	45	
Other	12	40	52	
Source: Mayhew and Reilly (2007a)

Road casualties
Definition
Number of deaths caused by motor vehicles per 100,000 population under 25 years. Number of persons injured as a result of motor vehicle crashes as reported to the police, per 100,000 population under 25 years. Pedestrians or cyclists killed or injured by motor vehicles are included.
Relevance
Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of premature death, especially among young adults. Deaths, injuries and disability resulting from motor vehicle crashes inflict considerable pain and suffering on individuals, families and communities, as well as on other road users, emergency service providers, health workers and others.
Current level and trends
In 2007, 157 children and young people under 25 years of age died as a result of motor vehicle crashes, a rate of 10 deaths per 100,000 population. Provisional reported injury data for 2007 shows that a further 6,254 children and young people were injured, a rate of 417 injuries per 100,000.

Deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes have declined substantially since the late 1980s. In 1986, the death rate for the population under 25 years was nearly three times higher (27 per 100,000) than it was in 2007, and the injury rate was almost twice as high (775 injuries per 100,000).

Figure S6.1 Road traffic injury and death rate per 100,000 population aged 0–14 and 15–24 years, 1985–2007

Source: Ministry of Transport, rates derived by the Ministry of Social Development
Age and sex differences
In 2007, young people aged 15–24 years were seven times as likely to be killed in a motor vehicle crash as those under 15 years (21 per 100,000 compared with 3 per 100,000 children under 15 years). They were also nearly eight times as likely as children under 15 years to be injured (858 per 100,000 and 112 per 100,000 respectively).

Males are much more likely than females to be killed or injured as a result of motor vehicle crashes. In 2007, the death rate was 14 per 100,000 for males under 25 years and 7 per 100,000 for females, while the injury rate was 486 per 100,000 for males and 343 per 100,000 for females.

Table S6.1 Road traffic death and injury rate, by age and sex, 2007
Age group (years)	Rate per 100,000 population in each group	
	Death rate	Reported injury rate	
	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total	
0–4 	3.3	2.1	2.7	53.4	37.2	46.2	
5–9 	2.0	2.1	2.1	123.5	107.3	116.9	
10–14 	3.2	5.4	4.2	201.9	137.5	171.2	
15–19 	27.7	12.8	20.3	1111.1	783.2	950.8	
20–24 	34.6	9.6	22.2	904.5	606.7	756.6	
Total under 25 	14.2	6.5	10.5	486.2	342.8	416.6	
Source: Ministry of Transport, rates derived by the Ministry of Social Development
Ethnic differences
Among children and young people under 25 years, Māori were much more likely than those in other ethnic groups to die in motor vehicle accidents in 2005, with a death rate of 19 per 100,000 compared with 9 per 100,000 for Pacific peoples and 11 per 100,000 for European and other ethnic groups. The Māori death rate was higher in 2005 than in 2004 and considerably higher than in 2001 and 2002 when there were between 11 and 12 deaths per 100,000 Māori aged under 25 years.

Table S6.2 Motor vehicle death rate per 100,000 for children and young people under 25 years, by ethnic group, 2001–2005
Year 	Māori	Pacific peoples	European and other	Total	
2001 	11.4	11.4	12.1	11.9	
2002 	11.7	11.8	10.2	10.7	
2003 	17.7	9.2	10.3	11.9	
2004 	17.4	11.5	10.4	12.1	
2005	19.2	8.9	10.7	12.5	
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Information Service
Note: 2005 data is provisional; 2004 data for European and other and Total has been revised

International comparison
In 2006, New Zealand’s road death rate for youth aged 15–24 years (16.9 per 100,000) was just above the OECD median of 15.8 per 100,000 for that year. New Zealand ranked 18th out of 27 OECD countries, a considerable improvement compared to 2005, when New Zealand ranked 25th with a rate of 22.4 per 100,000. New Zealand’s 2006 rate was similar to that of Canada (16.4 per 100,000 in 2005) and Australia (15.8 per 100,000 in 2006), well above that of the United Kingdom (11.2 per 100,000 in 2006), but well below that of the United States (25.5 per 100,000 in 2005).