Laypersons make categorical distinctions between different types of disorders. Perceived dangerousness is more strongly associated with schizophrenia, than is warranted when considered against acts of violence and aggression committed by individuals with alcohol abuse and substance dependence problems.

T here has been a great deal of debate and speculation regarding the high levels of involvement of Māori New Zealanders in the criminal justice system. The present investigation examined the role of Māoricultural identity in predicting criminal offending in a New Zealand birth cohort studied from birth to the age of 21. There were statistically significant (p < .0001) bivariate associations between both sole Māori identification and Māori/other cultural identification, and both (a) official convictions for property/violent offending during ages 17-21 and (b) selfreported violent and property offending during ages 17-21. Control for a range of potentially confounding factors related to family socioeconomic status, family functioning and personal adjustment reduced the associations between sole Māori identity and criminal offending to statistical nonsignificance (both p values > .40). However, the association between Māori/other cultural identity and criminal offending remained statistically significant (both p values < .05) after control for confounding. The findings suggest that while sole Māori cultural identification is not associated with increased rates of criminal offending, persons of Māori/other cultural identification are at increased risk of violent and property offending.

The present study investigates the roles of Maori cultural identity and socio-economic status in educational outcomes in a New Zealand birth cohort studied from birth to the age of 25. There were statistically significant (all p values < .01) associations between cultural identity and educational outcomes, with those of Maori ethnic identification having generally lower levels of educational achievement outcomes when compared to non-Maori. In addition, those of Maori ethnic identification were exposed to significantly ( p < .05) greater levels of socio-economic disadvantage in childhood. Control for socio-economic factors largely reduced the associations between cultural identity and educational outcomes to statistical non-significance. The findings suggest that educational underachievement amongst Maori can be largely explained by disparities in socio-economic status during childhood.

No abstract

Since the advent of the Maori renaissance in New Zealand and the shift toward the sociopolitical ideology of biculturalism, the disproportionate representation of Maori in prisons has increased. Criminal justice sector policy asserts that this overrepresentation is best understood as the outcome of Maori experiencing impairments to cultural identity resulting from colonisation. Central to this claim is the notion that ethnicity is a reliable construct by which distinctions can be made between offenders regarding what factors precipitate their offending, as well as best practices for their rehabilitation. Despite the absence of empirical support, this claim has been transformed from a conjectural claim to a veridical fact resulting in what is termed here ‘the wishing well approach’. An alternative perspective is recommended to improve current efforts to address the issue of Maori being overrepresented in New Zealand's criminal justice sector.