This report was prepared by the Prime Ministers chief science adviser, Sir Peter Glukman, to address public concern that young New Zealanders have high morbidity relative to other developed countries.
The following is an extract from the executive summary:
"The evidence shows that the risk of impulsive and antisocial behaviour is greatly increased by experiences earlier in life. It is now clear that early childhood is the critical period in which executive functions such as the fundamentals of self-control are established. Children who do not adequately develop these executive functions in early life are more likely to make poor decisions during adolescence, given the inevitable exposures to risk in the teenage years. It is very clear from our review of the literature that more can be done to improve socialisation and executive function development by reorientation of early childhood programmes. Further, while all children will benefit from these programmes, the evidence is compelling that targeting intensive but costly interventions towards the higher-risk sections of the community has a high rate of social and economic return. Hence the critical importance of adopting a life-course approach to prevention."
Read the full report here Improving the Transition - Reducing Social
and Psychological Morbidity During Adolescence
The following is an extract from the executive summary:
"The evidence shows that the risk of impulsive and antisocial behaviour is greatly increased by experiences earlier in life. It is now clear that early childhood is the critical period in which executive functions such as the fundamentals of self-control are established. Children who do not adequately develop these executive functions in early life are more likely to make poor decisions during adolescence, given the inevitable exposures to risk in the teenage years. It is very clear from our review of the literature that more can be done to improve socialisation and executive function development by reorientation of early childhood programmes. Further, while all children will benefit from these programmes, the evidence is compelling that targeting intensive but costly interventions towards the higher-risk sections of the community has a high rate of social and economic return. Hence the critical importance of adopting a life-course approach to prevention."
Read the full report here Improving the Transition - Reducing Social
and Psychological Morbidity During Adolescence