Gerhard Sundborn

Parenting Practices Among Fathers of a Cohort of Pacific Infants in New Zealand

This study examined the nurturing and harsh disciplinary parenting practices of fathers of a cohort of Pacific children born in New Zealand. At the 12-month measurement point, 823 fathers completed a modified version of the Parent Behavior Checklist comprising 15 items, 10 forming a Nurturing subscale and 5 forming a Harsh Discipline subscale. Findings revealed that a majority of Pacific fathers never or rarely used harsh discipline with their 12-month-old child, and hitting with an object was extremely rare. Levels of nurturance were more mixed, with playing and praise being common, but provision and reading of books being relatively uncommon. Multivariate logistic regression showed that relatively low Nurturance scores were associated with cultural separation, lower formal education, and nonpartnered marital status. Relatively high Harsh Discipline scores were associated with partnered marital status, gambling, and harmful alcohol consumption. Relatively low Harsh Discipline scores were associated with Tongan ethnicity and cultural maintenance.

Maternal self-report of oral health in six-year-old Pacific children from South Auckland, New Zealand

OBJECTIVE To examine maternal and socio-demographic factors associated with oral health practices and experiences in six-year-old Pacific children. METHODS The longitudinal Pacific Islands Families (PIF) study is following a cohort of Pacific children born in Auckland, New Zealand in 2000. At approximately six years postpartum maternal reports (n = 1001) on child oral health practices and experiences of fillings and extractions were gathered. RESULTS Forty-five per cent of mothers reported that their child had experienced fillings or extractions. After adjusting for confounding factors, we found that Tongan children were almost twice as likely to have their teeth filled or extracted than Samoan children (OR, 1.93; 95%, 1.34-2.77). Differences between Samoan children and children of other ethnic groups were not significant. Children of mothers who had secondary qualifications were significantly less likely to have their teeth filled or extracted compared to children of mothers who had postsecondary qualifications (OR, 0.634; 95%, 0.44-0.90). Prolonged duration of breastfeeding was associated with an increased likelihood of filling or extraction experience. In terms of maternal oral hygiene, maternal tooth brushing frequency of less that once a day was significantly associated with increased odds of fillings and/or extractions in their children (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.02-1.79). Children who were sometimes supervised for tooth brushing were significantly more likely to have fillings or extractions than children who were not provided supervision. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the role of cultural factors and maternal hygiene in child oral health outcomes and suggest that health promotion efforts should encompass the whole family and embrace a culturally appropriate approach.