Lay summary
A mixed methods approach is used to maximise the information available on Pacific teenage (<20 years) pregnancy in NZ using the NZ Birth Registration Dataset and the NZ Abortions Supervisory Committee dataset for the period 1980-2012. Outcomes explored include Pacific teenage birth and terminations with explanatory variables including maternal ethnicity, older maternal age group, socioeconomic deprivation (the NZ Deprivation Index), paternal ethnicity and paternal age group. Qualitative analysis was undertaken during 2009 involving 18 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with Tongan teenage mothers in NZ (n=12) and Tonga (n=6). Tongan literature including poetry by three eminent Tongan poets was used to shed light on variations in the experiences of participants, triggered by the influence of societal norms (religious, cultural and political beliefs) in shaping the way women perceive themselves and the situations that they find themselves in. This application is for financial assistance to enable publications of key findings from my thesis.