Regular contact with family/friends
Definition
The proportion of the population who had family or friends over for a meal at least once a month, as measured by the New Zealand Living Standards Surveys.
Relevance
The extent to which people are in regular contact with family and friends is an important reflection of social connectedness.
Current level and trends
Seventy percent of adults aged 18 years and over had friends or family over for a meal at least once a month in 2004. This was about the same level as in 2000 when 69 percent had family or friends over for a meal.
Table SC2.1 Proportion (%) of the population having family/friends over for a meal, by population characteristics, 2000 and 2004
| |
Have family/friends over
for a meal |
| 2000 |
2004 |
| Population estimates |
| Total population aged 18 and over |
68.6 |
70.0 |
| Age groupings |
| Adults aged 18–64 years |
70.0 |
71.1 |
| Adults 65 years and over |
60.2 |
63.7 |
| Economic family ethnicity |
| Māori economic family |
70.2 |
73.3 |
| Pacific economic family |
79.5 |
69.9 |
| European economic family |
65.8 |
65.8 |
| Other economic family |
68.2 |
78.0 |
| Families with dependent children |
| One-parent with dependent children |
64.8 |
64.8 |
| Two parents with dependent children |
70.8 |
73.4 |
| All families with dependent children |
69.1 |
70.8 |
| Family employment/income status |
| 18–64 year olds, main income earner in full-time employment |
69.4 |
72.4 |
| 18–64 year olds, main income earner not in full-time employment |
67.7 |
62.9 |
65 year olds and over, with employment or other income
(above New Zealand Superannuation) |
75.3 |
79.7 |
65 year olds and over, with little or no other income
(above New Zealand Superannuation) |
56.5 |
61.8 |
Sources: Ministry of Social Development (2003b); Ministry of Social Development (2006)
Age and socio-economic differences
People aged 65 years and over who had employment income or other income in addition to New Zealand Superannuation were the group most likely to have friends or family over for a meal (80 percent). In contrast, those in the same age group with little income above New Zealand Superannuation were the least likely to have people over for a meal (62 percent). Similarly, among adults under 65 years, families where the main earner in the family was not in full-time employment were less likely than those with the main earner in full-time employment to have people over for dinner (63 percent compared with 72 percent).
Ethnic differences
According to the 2004 New Zealand Living Standards Survey, people living in Other economic families were the most likely to have friends or family over for a meal at least once a month (78 percent). Māori were also slightly more likely than average to do this (73 percent). Those living in European families had below-average levels of having people over for a meal (66 percent), while Pacific families had average levels (70 percent). Between 2000 and 2004, the biggest increase in the proportion of families having friends or family over for a meal was among Other families (up 10 percentage points) and the biggest decrease was among Pacific families (down 10 percentage points).
Differences by family type
Sole-parent families were less likely than two-parent families to have friends or family over for a meal (65 percent compared to 73 percent). Two-parent families were slightly more likely to have friends or family over for a meal in 2004 than in 2000, but there was no change for sole-parent families.
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