David M Fergusson

University of Otago · Department of Psychological Medicine (Christchurch)

Aims: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity has become a key challenge for New Zealand. The purpose of the present study was to examine childhood risk factors for adult adiposity in a longitudinal birth cohort. Methods: Data were gathered from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS), a birth cohort of 1,265 children bo...

While the association between heavy alcohol consumption and aggression has been well documented, the causal direction of this association, particularly at a population level, is disputed. A number of causal sequences have been proposed. First, that aggression leads to heavy alcohol use. Second, that heavy alcohol use leads to aggression. Third, tha...

At the present time there are continuing debates on the legal status of cannabis in New Zealand. Many of these debates have not given sufficient consideration to evidence concerning cannabis-related harm, much of which has been gathered here in New Zealand by the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS) and the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Hea...

Purpose: To examine associations between offending trajectory in adolescence/young adulthood and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Methods: Data were used from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal birth cohort studied to age 35. Latent trajectory models were fitted to conduct problems and offending data from ages 8 to 21...

Rates of seclusion vary across New Zealand's publicly funded district health board (DHB) adult mental health inpatient services as indicated by national data. Anecdotally, this variation has been attributed to a range of factors directly relating to the people admitted to acute inpatient services. This study examined the extent to which variation i...

This paper examines the associations between attendance at early childhood education (ECE) and longer-term academic attainment and socioeconomic wellbeing in a New Zealand birth cohort studied to age 30. Nearly 95% of the cohort had attended ECE by age 5. After adjustment for family background and child characteristics, results showed statistically...

Background and Aims Studies have linked adolescent alcohol use with adverse consequences in adulthood; yet it is unclear how strong the associations are and to what extent they may be due to confounding. Our aim was to estimate the strength of association between different patterns of adolescent drinking and longer‐term psychosocial harms taking in...

Aims: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity has become a key challenge for New Zealand. The purpose of the present study was to examine childhood risk factors for adult adiposity in a longitudinal birth cohort. Methods: Data were gathered from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS), a birth cohort of 1,265 children bo...

Introduction: In New Zealand, as in other OECD countries, there is a high and growing prevalence of mental health problems, particularly anxiety and depression. These conditions are associated with a range of physical illnesses, and as a result this population have high and often complex needs for healthcare services, particularly through primary c...

Using life-course longitudinal data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS), we examined ethnic differences in rates of psychiatric disorder among New Zealand adolescents, comparing New Zealand Māori to their European peers. The CHDS includes a large birth cohort of New Zealand children who have been regularly assessed throughout...

The hypothesis that the S allele of the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter promoter region is associated with increased risk of depression, but only in individuals exposed to stressful situations, has generated much interest, research and controversy since first proposed in 2003. Multiple meta-analyses combining results from heterogeneous analyses have...

Background The genetic and environmental influences on human personality and behaviour are a complex matter of ongoing debate. Accumulating evidence indicates that short tandem repeats (STRs) in regulatory regions are good candidates to explain heritability not accessed by genome-wide association studies. Methods We tested for associations between...

Conduct problems affect between five and ten percent of children in New Zealand and are associated with a wide-range of adverse outcomes in later life. There is a clear need for the verification of evidence-based interventions for the New Zealand population including Māori. A pilot study of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) found significant (p < 0.0...

Purpose Previous literature has shown gender differences in reactivity to stressful life events. However, it is unclear whether gender differences in stress reactivity are consistent across a series of life event domains among longitudinal adult sample populations. Methods Data were gathered from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS)...

Background: Previous research has documented that exposure to parental separation/divorce during childhood can be associated with long-term consequences into adulthood. This study sought to extend this literature by examining associations between childhood exposure to parental separation/divorce and later parenting behavior as an adult in a New Ze...

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs frequently during child and early adulthood, and is associated with negative outcomes including increased risk of drug abuse, mental health disorders and criminal offending. Identification of previous TBI for at-risk populations in clinical settings often relies on self-report, despite little informati...

Objectives: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs frequently during childhood and early adulthood and has been associated with a number of negative outcomes including increased drug abuse, disorders of mental health and criminal offending. Identification of previous TBI in at risk populations is important for effective rehabilitation, but frequently...

Objectives: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs frequently during childhood and early adulthood and has been associated with a number of negative outcomes including increased drug abuse, disorders of mental health and criminal offending. Identification of previous TBI in at risk populations is important for effective rehabilitation, but frequently...

Background: There is limited information on long-term outcomes of adolescent depression. This study examines the associations between severity of depression in adolescence and a broad array of adult functional outcomes. Method: Data were gathered as part of the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 35-year longitudinal study of a birth co...

Background: There has been considerable recent interest in possible causal linkages between exposure to bullying victimization and later psychotic symptomatology. Prior research in this area has had several limitations which make it difficult to ascertain causality, and to determine the extent to which these effects extend beyond adolescence. Met...

The Christchurch Health and Development Study is a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children who were born in Christchurch New Zealand in 1977. This cohort has now been studied from birth to the age of 35. This article examines a series of findings from the Christchurch Health and Development Study that address a range of issues relatin...

Background Few studies have examined the contribution of specific disaster-related experiences to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Aims To examine the roles of peri-traumatic stress and distress due to lingering disaster-related disruption in explaining linkages between disaster exposure and PTSD symptoms among a cohort exposed to t...

To examine associations between adiposity and adult psychosocial outcomes (depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, self-esteem, household income, personal income, savings/investments) in a New Zealand birth cohort, by gender. Adiposity was assessed using Body Mass Index scores classified on a 3-point scale of BMI: <25.0, overweight (25.0-29.9) or o...

To investigate, using a Mendelian randomisation approach, whether heavier smoking is associated with a range of regional adiposity phenotypes, in particular those related to abdominal adiposity. Mendelian randomisation meta-analyses using a genetic variant (rs16969968/rs1051730 in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene region) as a proxy for smoking heavine...

The public health burden of alcohol is unevenly distributed across the life course, with levels of use, abuse, and dependence increasing across adolescence and peaking in early adulthood. Here, we leverage this temporal patterning to search for common genetic variants predicting developmental trajectories of alcohol consumption. Comparable psychiat...

The Christchurch Health and Development Study is a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children who were born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1977. This cohort has now been studied from birth to the age of 35. This article examines a series of findings from the CHDS that address a range of issues relating to the use of cannabis amongst th...

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown inconsistent associations between overweight/obesity and psychosocial adversity. In particular, some studies have shown that gender modifies associations; with females experiencing greater psychosocial adversity than males. AIMS: To examine associations between Body Mass Index classified on a 3-point scale: h...

Previous research has found that mental health is strongly associated with life satisfaction. In this study we examine associations between mental health problems and life satisfaction in a birth cohort studied from 18 to 35 years. Data were gathered during the Christchurch Health and Development Study, which is a longitudinal study of a birth coho...

Peter Butterworth is supported by ARC Future Fellowship (FT130101444). Louisa Degenhardt is supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (APP1041742). Delyse Hutchinson is supported by a ViceChancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship from the University of New South Wales. Richard P Mattick is supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (A...

Acne is a highly prevalent condition during adolescence and young adulthood worldwide, with rates between 12% and 99%.[1-4] Rates in adulthood range up to 50%.[5] The effects of acne, regardless of severity, can be debilitating, affecting many life domains.[6-10]. Cross-sectional studies report associations between acne and anxiety, depression symp...

There is evidence of associations between tobacco and cannabis use that are consistent with both a classical stepping-stone scenario that posits the transition from tobacco use to cannabis use ('gateway' effect of tobacco) and with the reverse process leading from cannabis use to tobacco abuse ('reverse gateway' effect of cannabis). The evidence of...

Objective. To assess the acceptability of adding Home Parent Support (HPS) for parents of children aged 3-7 years with high-risk factors for conduct disorder, while they attend the Incredible Years® Parent programme (IYP). Methods. Data from 48 high-risk parents attending IYP and receiving additional HPS were analysed. Data included pre-test and po...

Population level shifts in the timing of parenting onset and family composition have been well documented. However, the impacts of these changes on the life course experiences of high risk, teen and younger mothers remain poorly understood To address this issue, this paper examined intergenerational changes in the family formation and parenting exp...

We previously used a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CHRNA5-A3-B4 gene cluster associated with heaviness of smoking within smokers to confirm the causal effect of smoking in reducing body mass index (BMI) in a Mendelian randomisation analysis. While seeking to extend these findings in a larger sample we found that this SNP is associated...

Research on the impact of natural disasters on health and well-being faces several methodological challenges, including: sampling issues; exposure assessment; and outcome measurement. The present study used a comprehensive measure of disaster exposure to assess relationships between exposure to the Canterbury (New Zealand) Earthquakes of 2010-2011...

Purpose: To examine the associations between leaving school without qualifications and subsequent mental health to age 30, using data gathered over the course of a 30-year longitudinal study. Methods: Data were gathered over the course of a 30-year study (Christchurch Health and Development Study) of a birth cohort of 1265 children, born in Chri...

DUF1220 protein domains exhibit the greatest human lineage-specific copy number expansion of any protein-coding sequence in the genome, and variation in DUF1220 copy number has been linked to both brain size in humans and brain evolution among primates. Given these findings, we examined associations between DUF1220 subtypes CON1 and CON2 and cognit...

Background This study examined the associations between duration of breast feeding, early infant growth, and body mass index (BMI) at 30 and 35 years, in a birth cohort studied to age 35.Methods Data were gathered on duration of exclusive and non-exclusive breast feeding (months), early growth (kg; 0–9 months), and BMI at ages 30 and 35 from the Ch...

Background Debate continues about the consequences of adolescent cannabis use. Existing data are limited in statistical power to examine rarer outcomes and less common, heavier patterns of cannabis use than those already investigated; furthermore, evidence has a piecemeal approach to reporting of young adult sequelae. We aimed to provide a broad pi...

Importance There has been growing research into the mental health consequences of major disasters. Few studies have controlled for prospectively assessed mental health. This article describes a natural experiment in which 57% of a well-studied birth cohort was exposed to a major natural disaster (the Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes in 2010-20...

This chapter summarizes the findings on alcohol use, particularly the effects of excessive or problematic alcohol use, on psychosocial outcomes among adolescents. This is done through a review of the literature and by examining the data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS). Data from the CHDS is of particular interest not only...

This study examined the associations between a measure of unplanned pregnancy and outcomes related to family socioeconomic conditions, family functioning, parent-child relationships, and child educational and behavior outcomes in a New Zealand birth cohort studied to 18 years. Associations were modelled between a measure of pregnancy planning (plan...

Telomeres are specialised structures that cap the ends of chromosomes. They shorten with each cell division and have been proposed as a marker of cellular aging. Previous studies suggest that early life stressors increase the rate of telomere shortening with potential impact on disease states and mortality later in life. This study examined the ass...

Childhood physical abuse is known to be associated with impaired outcomes in adulthood (e.g., particularly for mental and physical health). However, relatively little is known about adult partnership outcomes for those exposed to childhood physical punishment or maltreatment. This study aims to examine the associations between childhood physical pu...

Objective: The present study examined the extent to which childhood socio-economic status (SES) could account for differences in adult psychosocial outcomes between Māori and non-Māori individuals in a birth cohort of more than 1000 individuals studied to age 30. Methods: Data were gathered on three measures of childhood SES (family SES, family...

Objective: We aimed to examine the associations between exposure to unemployment and psychosocial outcomes over the period from 16 to 30 years, using data from a well-studied birth cohort. Methods: Data were collected over the course of the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children, born i...

This paper examined the effects of parenthood on workforce participation for men and women in the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 30-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1,265 individuals born in New Zealand in 1977. The findings suggested that the effects of parenthood on workforce participation were different for men and wome...

This study examined linkages between early motherhood (before age 20) and long-term economic disadvantage, using data from a birth cohort of 509 New Zealand-born women followed to age 30. Associations between early motherhood and economic outcomes were examined using linear and logistic regression models and were adjusted for a range of prepregnanc...

Background: Antisocial behaviour and adult criminality often have their origins in childhood and are best addressed early in the child's life using evidence-based treatments such as the 'Incredible Years Parent Programme'. However, families with additional risk factors who are at highest risk for poor outcomes do not always make sufficient change...

This study examined the developmental processes linking childhood bullying to criminal offending in adulthood, using data from a 30-year longitudinal study. The linkages between bullying in childhood and three criminal offending outcomes in adulthood were estimated both before and after control for a range of confounding factors. A series of protec...

b>Background: Debate is ongoing about what role, if any, variation in the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) plays in depression. Some studies report an interaction between 5-HTTLPR variation and stressful life events affecting the risk for depression, others report a main effect of 5-HTTLPR variation on depression, while ot...

Use a longitudinal birth cohort to evaluate the association of traumatic brain injury at ages 0 to 5, 6 to 15, and 16 to 21 years with drug and alcohol abuse and engagement in criminal activities. Follow-up over 21 to 25 years using self-report of drug and alcohol use, arrests, and violent and property offenses. Outcomes were assessed for 2 levels...

Previous research has found that children exposed to separation/divorce may also experience relationship problems in adulthood. The aim of this investigation was to examine this issue in a birth cohort of over 900 New Zealand children studied to age 30. Data were gathered over the course of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS). The...

This study examined the associations between measures of alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms and a range of psychosocial outcomes from ages 21 to 30 in a New Zealand birth cohort. Outcome measures included measures of: criminal offending, family violence and relationship instability, sexual risk-taking and consequences, mental health, and other adver...

Data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 30‐year prospective longitudinal study, were used to examine the associations between the quality of parent–child relations in adolescence and adult parenting behaviour 15 years later. At ages 14 and 15 years, cohort members were interviewed about the quality of their relationship with thei...

One of the most prominent changes in the labour market over the last five decades has been the increase in women’s participation in paid employment. In New Zealand and overseas, increasing numbers of women have entered the labour market and have been working increasingly longer hours in paid employment. For example, while only 28.4% of New Zealand...

Importance: Several studies report an association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring conduct disorder. However, past research evidences difficulty in disaggregating prenatal environmental influences from genetic and postnatal environmental influences. Objective: To examine the relationship between maternal smoking during pre...

A study by Moffitt et al. reported pervasive associations between childhood self-control and adult outcomes. The current study attempts to replicate the findings reported by Moffitt et al., adjusting these results for the confounding influence of childhood conduct problems. Data were gathered from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a lo...

Background: This study examined the associations between measures of alcohol abuse/dependence (AAD) and relationship dissolution from ages 19 to 30 in a New Zealand birth cohort. Methods: The outcome measure was self-reported breakdown of a marital/cohabiting relationship during each year from age 20-21 to age 29-30. The study also used contempo...

Objectives: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been associated with many adverse medical, psychological, behavioral and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. This study aims to examine the linkages between CSA and a wide range of developmental outcomes over a protracted time period to age 30. Methods: Data from over 900 members of the New Zealand b...

Objective: There have been debates about the linkages between abortion and mental health. Few reviews have considered the extent to which abortion has therapeutic benefits that mitigate the mental health risks of abortion. The aim of this review was to conduct a re-appraisal of the evidence to examine the research hypothesis that abortion reduces...

Objective: This study aims to determine whether symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) form a latent dimension reflecting responsivity to life events and whether PTSD symptoms are specific to traumatic life events. Method: A 30-year longitudinal study of a general population sample of 987 individuals were assessed for PTSD symptoms, e...

Background Quantifying diagnostic transitions across development is needed to estimate the long-term burden of mental illness. This study estimated patterns of diagnostic transitions from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to early adulthood.Methods Patterns of diagnostic transitions were estimated using data from three prospective, long...