Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey Initial Findings: Introduction and Methods

This report describes the Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey (Youth19), how we ran the survey, who took part in it and how to use the findings. It is designed to be read with the Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey, Initial Findings reports. Youth19 is the latest in the Youth2000 series of New Zealand adolescent health and wellbeing surveys. Since 1999, the Youth2000 series has included over 36,000 young people in Aotearoa, with findings used widely to inform policy, practice and research in New Zealand and globally. Youth2000 surveys were conducted by the Adolescent Health Research Group (AHRG) in 2001, 2007 and 2012 (Clark et al., 2013; Denny et al., 2011). Youth19 was conducted in 2019 in the Auckland, Northland and Waikato regions by researchers from The University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology. Youth19 combines core Youth2000 questions with an added focus on rangatahi wellbeing and, for the first time, direct access to digital help options for participants. We also included new questions about vaping, social media, future hopes and young people’s views on opportunities to enhance life at home, school and in communities. In Youth19, we surveyed 7721 year 9–13 students in 49 secondary schools including four kura kaupapa Māori. In addition we surveyed 92 Alternative Education students and 78 young people who were not in education, training or employment – these findings will be reported separately. Youth19 is a scientifically and ethically rigorous survey, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and approved by The University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee. Data from Youth19 will be used for multiple research outputs to support young people, families and communities. Youth19 reports and papers on key aspects of youth health and wellbeing will be accessible via our website www.youth19.ac.nz.