The Dunedin Study - Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit

Message from the Director

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit website. Here you will find information about the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study (the Dunedin Study for short) which has now been ongoing for almost half a century. At our most recent phase (age) 45 data collaction, 94% of living Study members participated - an unmitigated success.

We tell you how the Study began, details of the assessments we have conducted and the publications that have been generated. We describe the sub-studies of the Dunedin Study: the Parenting Study, the Next Generation Study and the Family Health History Study. Whether you are a Study member, researcher, or a member of the public, I hope you will find this information interesting and useful.

The wider Dunedin community has been critical in helping build the Dunedin study. We thank all those who have contributed, in many different ways, over the past 45 years.

Finally, we extend a special thanks to the 1037 Study members, their families and friends who have willingly given so much, for so long, in the hope of helping others. On behalf of all the researchers involved, we salute you.

Professor Richie Poulton, CNZM FRSNZ
Director

Latest updates

Seven reasons why Kiwis can cope with Covid Professor Richie Poulton, has co-authored a Social Wellbeing Agency report which looks at why anxiety and fear have been a natural response to Covid-19, and cites seven reasons why New Zealanders might in a better position than they think to get through » Evidence to inform voters in the 2020 cannabis referendum A leading international authority on cannabis use and abuse recently noted that New Zealand was blessed with two of the world’s richest sources of information about the natural history of cannabis use » PUBLIC LECTURE: Cannabis use and the NZ referendum 2020 A panel discussion on cannabis use and the NZ referendum 2020: Evidence from the Dunedin and Christchurch longitudinal studies » Salvation or stigma? Case made for targeted social intervention Radio New Zealands Kathryn Ryan spoke to professor Richie Poulton, the director of the Dunedin Longitudinal Study about New Zealands' 'hospital revolving-door problem', the concentration of crime, and long-term welfare dependence in a relatively small cluster of New Zealanders » Slice of Life Exhibition moves to Canterbury Museum 30 November 2019 – 7th June 2020 Slice of Life Exhibition @ Canterbury Museum Relive New Zealand’s past through the lives of the 1,000 most-studied people in the world » Director of The Dunedin Study recognised with Distinguished Research Medal The much-acclaimed Dunedin Study has received another accolade, its leader, Prof Richie Poulton, being awarded one of the University of Otago's most prestigious prizes, the Distinguished Research Medal »