Vivienne Adair

Teacher stress in intermediate schools

Summary Intermediate school teachers from the same eight New Zealand schools were surveyed five times over four years using the self‐report Stress in Teaching Questionnaire. Sources of teacher stress were found to be similar to those identified in previous research. Higher levels of stress were related to lower job satisfaction and a reduced commitment to remain in the job long term. Absence due to sickness was not found to be correlated with stress. No marked increase in stress among teachers was found over the five survey episodes.

Adolescents' perceptions of a health survey using multimedia computer-assisted self-administered interview

Objective: To ascertain young peoples perceptions of an adolescent health survey when administered by multimedia computer assisted self‐administered Interview (M‐CASI) through analysis of (1) questionnaire item responses and (2) focus group interviews.

Partnership in midwifery care in New Zealand

OBJECTIVE to examine whether equal power is essential to the perceptions of partnership in midwifery practice and to propose an alternative model of how power might best be shared. DESIGN a cross-sectional design was employed using the predominant methods of interview, questionnaires and thinking aloud tape recordings as triangulation of data. SETTING two large metropolitan hospitals in Auckland, New Zealand and home birth settings. SAMPLE Forty one independent and hospital-based midwives and 37 nulliparous women at low obstetric risk for whom labour care was provided. FINDINGS the majority of the midwives and the women in the two studies presented believed they had achieved a midwifery partnership with little emphasis placed on the need for equality in decision making. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE the model proposed provides a framework that identifies how power can be shared without the need for equality. The integration of this model into practice may assist midwives and women to recognise and utilise differences in their experience and knowledge to achieve their aims of achieving a partnership and a successful birth.

Exploring Paternal Influences on the Dieting Behaviors of Adolescent Girls

In this article we investigate fathers influence on the dieting behavior of their adolescent daughters. Fifty father-daughter dyads (N = 100) participated. The girls completed a questionnaire concerning their beliefs and behaviors with respect to dieting, their body satisfaction, and their perception of the advantages of being thinner. Fathers were surveyed in order to ascertain their perceptions of the advantages of slimness for adolescent girls and their beliefs regarding the importance of physical appearance and weight control in females of all ages. Associations were found between fathers attitudes to physical attractiveness in females, their perceptions of the impact of being slimmer for adolescent girls, and their daughters dieting behavior. Fathers who believed strongly in the importance of attractiveness and careful control of food intake by females were significantly more likely to have daughters who induced vomiting to lose weight. Fathers play an influential role in determining the dieting behavior of their adolescent daughters.

Effects of a School‐based Education Programme on Safety Helmet Usage by 11‐ to 13‐year‐old Cyclists

Abstract A school‐based programme designed and run by the New Zealand Ministry of Transport Education Division and school personnel to increase the use of safety helmets by pupils at an inner city intermediate school was evaluated. The three phase intervention consisted of: information on the benefits of safety equipment, instruction modules focused on road safety and helmet use in several curriculum areas, and random prizes for wearing safety helmets. Direct observation at the target school and the notreatment control school served as the primary dependent measure. Across time a statistically significant difference in helmet usage was evident in the experimental but not the control school. Implications of this study for cyclist safety are discussed.

Career Indecision and Self-Efficacy among Adolescents

Three hundred and forty-one high school students completed measures of how confident they were in their ability to perform a variety of specific occupational tasks (task career self-efficacy), how decided they were on a career (career decidedness) and how easy it was for them to make independent decisions (indecisiveness). There were no significant differences between the gender groups on the measure of career decidedness, although females reported more difficulty in making decisions. There were significant correlations between some of the task career self-efficacy subscales and both career decidedness and indecisiveness. In particular females and males who were confident in their verbal interpersonal skills tended to be relatively decisive and relatively career-decided. A series of regression analyses indicated that the relationship between task career self-efficacy, indecisiveness and career decidedness was similar for females and males.

Key informant representations of Maori and other patient fears of accessing general practitioner care for child asthma in Auckland, New Zealand

Fear is seldom reported in the research literature on barriers to accessing general practitioner (GP) care. One reason may be that some patients are unwilling to admit to fear of this care. This is especially so for patients who, for social, cultural and historical reasons, have a poor sense of self, or do not wish to challenge professionals, or both. In New Zealand, the Maori and Pacific peoples are disproportionately characteristic of these patients and have poor access to GP care, including asthma in children. This paper contributes to the literature on using key informants to interpret another group’s needs, and integrates and adds to known patient attitudes that can hinder access to GP services.