Table 3.
Association between behavioural stability profiles, and sociodemographic and birth variables
| Normal n (%) or M (SD) | Improved n (%) or M (SD) | Concurrent n (%) or M (SD) | Persistent n (%) or M (SD) | Χ2 or F-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mother’s ethnicity | |||||
| European | 3055 (63.2) | 99 (31.3) | 148 (35.5) | 44 (19.1) | 586.5** |
| Maori | 540 (11.2) | 74 (23.4) | 78 (18.7) | 66 (28.7) | |
| Pacific | 426 (8.8) | 79 (25.0) | 117 (28.1) | 95 (41.3) | |
| Asian/Other | 810 (16.8) | 64 (20.3) | 74 (17.7) | 25 (10.9) | |
| Mother’s education | |||||
| No secondary school | 214 (4.4) | 36 (11.4) | 53 (12.8) | 44 (19.2) | 356.90** |
| Secondary school/diploma/trade certificate | 2399 (49.6) | 222 (70.5) | 282 (68.3) | 157 (68.6) | |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 2227 (46.0) | 57 (18.1) | 78 (18.9) | 28 (12.2) | |
| Mother’s age | |||||
| < 20 years | 139 (2.9) | 28 (8.8) | 35 (8.4) | 31 (13.4) | 291.21** |
| 20 to 29 years | 1652 (34.1) | 167 (52.7) | 220 (52.5) | 134 (58.0) | |
| 30 years and over | 3053 (63.0) | 122 (38.5) | 164 (39.1) | 66 (28.6) | |
| Child’s gender | |||||
| Male | 2481 (50.6) | 176 (54.5) | 249 (58.2) | 136 (57.9) | 13.97 |
| Female | 2418 (49.4) | 147 (45.5) | 179 (41.8) | 99 (42.1) | |
| Parity | |||||
| First born | 2056 (42.5) | 133 (42.1) | 183 (43.9) | 87 (37.8) | 2.37 |
| Subsequent birth | 2785 (57.5) | 183 (57.9) | 234 (56.1) | 143 (62.2) | |
| Planned pregnancy | |||||
| Yes | 3207 (66.5) | 140 (44.4) | 191 (46.0) | 80 (34.9) | 198.37** |
| No | 1619 (33.5) | 175 (55.6) | 224 (54.0) | 149 (65.1) | |
| Area-level deprivation | |||||
| Low | 1603 (34.4) | 56 (18.5) | 63 (15.3) | 16 (7.2) | 389.48** |
| Medium | 1778 (38.2) | 91 (30.1) | 108 (26.2) | 49 (22.2) | |
| High | 1277 (27.4) | 155 (51.3) | 241 (58.5) | 156 (70.6) | |
| Rurality | |||||
| Urban | 4181 (89.8) | 284 (94.0) | 380 (92.2) | 215 (97.3) | 20.58* |
| Rural | 477 (10.2) | 18 (6.0) | 32 (7.8) | 6 (2.7) | |
| Gestational age in weeks | 39.20 (1.71) | 39.15 (1.67) | 39.06 (1.67) | 39.27 (1.42) | 1.11 |
| Birthweight in grams | 3526.35 (553.65) | 3497.95 (553.78) | 3459.73 (540.71) | 3510.15 (545.86) | 2.07 |
Behavioural stability profiles were based on SDQ total difficulties categorisations at 2 and 4.5 years
Note: **p < .001, *p < .05