Browsing by Author "Stevenson, Brendan"
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- ItemMeasuring Māori identity and health : the cultural cohort approach : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2023) Stevenson, BrendanCurrent statistical methods of disaggregating populations by ethnic or cultural identity wrongly assume cultural invariance within an ethnic population over time and place. Calculating risk factors between ethno-cultural populations also wrongly assumes homogeneity of risk, obscuring what may be distinct sub-populations with very different demographics, risk profiles, and health outcomes. The Cultural Cohort Approach (CCA) proposes a novel method for understanding within-ethnic population difference, whereby cultural identity is framed as the enduring membership of multiple related cultural cohorts, rather than the contextual and unstable measure of ethnic group affiliation currently used. It predicts that multiple cultural cohorts exist inside an ethno-cultural population, that these cultural cohorts are resilient and culturally distinct, exist over generations, and can divide at pre-existing social or economic stratifications in response to powerful external forces. The cultural cohort approach unites history, extant identity theories and research to identify and describe these within-ethnic cultural cohorts. The measurement of a Māori cultural cohort joins existing Māori identity research, historical documents, and personal accounts to enumerate distinct Māori cultural cohorts, describe relationships between cultural cohorts, and exclude unrelated cultural cohorts. Across three distinct components of this thesis the Cultural Cohort Approach (CCA) is first described and a worked example of its use in identifying Māori cultural cohorts given. Second, these hypothesised cultural cohorts were mapped to a cross-sectional data collection wave of Māori participants (n=3287, born between 1941 and 1955) from Massey University’s longitudinal Health, Work and Retirement (HWR) study in a test of the CCA’s predictive accuracy using latent class analysis. Third, longitudinal HWR study data for Māori participants (n=1252, born between 1941 and 1955) was used in a second worked example to test the stability of the predicted cultural cohorts using latent transition analyses and further refine the CCA. The Māori cultural cohorts identified using the CCA had clear narratives, shared cultural characteristics, and identifiable cultural differences that persisted across time as predicted. The CCA will allow researchers to better represent the diverse lived realities of ethno-cultural populations and support more nuanced analytical insights into how health and well-being is patterned between distinct cultural cohorts.
- ItemThe relationship between Māori cultural identity and health : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Massey University(Massey University, 2001) Stevenson, BrendanWhile the differences in health between cultures co-existing in the same country have been well researched, there has been insufficient attention paid to the definition of culture used in these studies. Typically the ethnicity of an individual has been determined along biological lines or by the country of origin. However, the culture with which an individual identifies may not be so clear: an individual may identify with a number of cultures, from the social group with whom they socialise, to the religion they follow. Measuring the degree to which an individual identifies with a particular culture (their cultural identity), would allow an assessment of how membership in that culture influences health outcomes. The present study investigated the relationship between the cultural identity (CI) of Māori and their health. The main hypothesis was that a higher CI would be positively correlated with better health. The relationships between demographic factors (e.g. age, gender, & socio-economic status (SES)), CI, and a number of health indicators (self rated health, smoking behaviour, alcohol consumption, & exercise/sporting behaviours) were also examined. The sample used in the present study (767 adult Māori) was a subset of the data collected the Te Hoe Nuku Roa Māori profiles project. The development of a CI measure incorporated seven cultural indicators: Whakapapa (ancestry), Marae Participation, Whanaū associations (extended family), Whenua Tipu (ancestral land), contact with Māori people, Use of te Reo (Māori language), and kai (food preferences). A series of hierarchical linear regressions found that CI was not directly related to health indicators in the present study. There were weak interactions between CI, age, and smoking behaviour; CI, home ownership, and involvement in sport; and age, Crowding and involvement in sport. Additional findings were that more Sporting Involvement/exercise was moderately correlated with improved health, and there was a weak relationship between CI and SES. It was speculated that the lack of significant findings may be due to a difference in the quality of participants’ CI: The CI measure did not distinguish between those who learn their culture and those who live their culture (each group tending to be in differing social and economic positions). Recommendations from the study were: Further validation of the CI measure, and assessment of the distribution of CI over urban/rural areas, SES and age; additional research into the relationship between young Māori smokers and their CI; assessing how the level of Sporting Involvement varies across the social and economic realities of Māori; and the development of appropriate measures utilising the whanaū/household as the unit of analysis.