a ...brought to you by the Mazda CX-3. Tonight on Sunday, when it comes to our vulnerable children, the system is broken. How do we fix it? They are the thousand most studied people on the planet. The Dunedin researchers had finally discovered a mechanism underpinning violent behaviour. We've all seen the headlines: Nia and Moko, James Whakaruru, the Kahui twins. Just a few of NZ's abused children. So what, if anything, does work in the existing system? Hmm. Can the epic Dunedin study save our kids? What do you say to those people who think this is just another example of social engineering, nanny state? Get a bit of compassion. Also get to grips with the research. Abi was glorious and little and blonde. Very happy. A mother looking for answers to her family's grief. I have been really determined to look after myself and do everything I possible can to keep our family together. What can the loss of Abi teach us all? We've got two beautiful, incredible teenage boys, and I want to live. Captions by Anne Langford. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. If a child seems destined for a life of violence and crime, can we change that path? Can that child instead become a successful member of society? Well, Otago University professor Richie Poulton reckons not only can it be done, it must be done. The professor has used science to prove what we've done in the past for vulnerable kids hasn't worked, but says he knows what will. John Hudson reveals the fascinating results. These human beings have been treated like human detritus. And it angers me. It really pisses me off that it's been that way for so long. Professor Richie Poulton is on a mission to use science to help NZ's most vulnerable children. These are children who have been beaten black and blue from the time they were babies. It'll make your ears bleed, some of it. NZ's record on abuse and neglect of children isn't good. Each week more than 2000 complaints are received by government services resulting in 4000 children going into care each year. The average age of these children is 8, and they've already been in seven or eight homes. Not a good start, but the statistics get much worse. By 21, 90% of them are on the benefit. A quarter are on the benefit with a child, and a third have been before the courts. But imagine if you could invent a system that helped these children much earlier. The current system is not delivering effectively for vulnerable children and young people. Social development minister Anne Tolley says she's been talking to some of the children behind those statistics. Many is the time they had me in tears in my office. 'This is happening to us,' they said, 'but no one ever asks what we want or what is best for us.' They told me that above all else they want a loving, safe and stable home. So we're about to see the biggest shake-up in state social services in decades ` a new ministry to replace CYFS. Professor Poulton was on the expert advisory panel behind the overhaul. CYFS is the whipping boy of society, isn't it? It's a hell of a job being involved in... in dealing with these people who have come from very difficult circumstances. And right now all the system's concerned about is making sure it doesn't end up on the front page of the Dom Post with another awful case of child abuse. We've all seen the headlines: Nia and Moko, James Whakaruru, the Kahui twins, just a few of NZ's abused children. So what, if anything, does work in the existing system? Hmm. I think my struggle giving you a clear response tells you an enormous amount, doesn't it? Seeing a lot of frustrated people, seeing caregivers who are well motivated but not skilled or supported appropriately. And seeing all this dysfunction come down on the heads and the souls of these kids who have not done anything wrong, leaves me with a feeling of the system as it is, despite a lot of good people in it, being pretty much broken. The new ministry doesn't yet have a name, let alone a budget, but early intervention is part of its brief, and it will be entirely accountable for children in its care. The new system's gonna require a completely different culture. It's gonna require coalface people that are keen on doing things differently, and, of course, it's gonna require politicians to remain committed to it. And the return will be in what? Fewer people ending up before the justice system...? Fewer people in prison, more people in employment for longer periods, fewer people using mental health services. Fewer people dropping out of school. It goes on. What do you say to those people who think this is just another example of social engineering, nanny state? Get a bit of compassion. Also get to grips with the research that suggests that this is exactly what's required. Richie Poulton knows what the research says because he did much of it. He's the head of the Dunedin study, the longest running, most comprehensive investigation into human behaviour the world has ever seen. DOCUMENTARY: In 1972, a medical school from a small city in NZ embarked on the ultimate nature-nurture test. They decided to take every child born in Dunedin over a year and follow them for life. For 44 years now they've measured their development in every imaginable way ` their genes, their blood pressure their private lives, successes and failures. They've become the 1000 most studied people in the world, and they told scientists that human behaviour, including violence, is a product of how our genes interact with the environment we live in. DOCUMENTARY: Violent people cost society huge amounts of money in treating victims, police time and in the prison and justice systems. Scientists like Richie have known for 20 years that nature gives about 30% of people a gene that predisposes them to violent behaviour. However, most of these people aren't violent. But in 2002, the Dunedin study made an incredible breakthrough. It discovered it's the way some of these people are nurtured that makes them very violent. DOCUMENTARY: The Dunedin researchers had finally discovered a mechanism underpinning violent behaviour. It's as if nature loads a gun and nurture pulls the trigger. It was a classic case of no longer being nature versus nurture. It's nature via nurture. The Dunedin study proved child abuse often triggers a life of antisocial behaviour. The trigger is the abuse or the maltreatment or the neglect... And the solution? There's no rocket science about this. This is about getting some very basic things done well. For example, in this country you go to an antenatal class, you'll see a number of people standing outside the antenatal class at break-time smoking cigarettes. I mean, go figure. After the break,... Can you do up your zip? ...the simple secret of turning children into healthy, wealthy and successful adults. High five! So you're sure you can change a person's life course? Yes. 'Course you can. v There are three things Richie Poulton is passionate about: Ohhh! ANNOUNCER: This is breathtaking. ...his rugby,... Go! Go! ...especially when the Highlanders are winning,... Woohoo! Woohoo! ...his family, of course, fellow psychologist and wife, Sandhiya, their hip-hop dancing daughter Priyanka and his work. What do you think of the work that he does? It's amazing. It's incredible. Not necessarily the job itself, but the passion that he puts into it. A passion he shares with his PhD students. What do you think the challenges are when you confront someone with this type of disorder? Always wanting to know what really makes people who they are. Why do people react the way they do? Why do people do good things? Why do people do bad things? The Dunedin study Richie Poulton heads has been going so long and has been so successful, it's become a museum exhibition,... Is he saying anything sensible? ...displaying how the lives of the thousand who became study members as babies... We're back in the '70s. ...have changed with each passing decade. And you've still got 95% on board. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. That's, you know, testament to the goodwill that exists in this group of people, and they do it in the main because they believe it will help others, and I want to make sure the research gets into those situations where it can help others. So Richie Poulton now has another role ` to try and put what's been learned from the Dunedin study into practice. It's not about the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. He's science advisor to the Ministry of Social Development,... Band-Aids ` that's sad, sick and scandalous. It's about getting in as early as you can... ...helping turn science into government policy. My skill is in understanding the limits of the science, how to interpret it, how probably to convey it to people who are not scientists in a way that they can use it to best effect in their decision-making. The new CYFS organisation will be pushing for Rolls-Royce interventions, not crappy old beat-up bomb-type interventions, > which for so long these kids, who are the most vulnerable, have got. That means nothing if there's no good interventions out there, but there are now some good interventions. That do work? > That do work. What's your favourite one? This one. This bright green one? If you want to make the biggest difference for people's lives, you have to focus on what's going on between conception and getting to school. Psychologists know that by the time children are 3, those who are disruptive, bullies and unpopular with their classmates and teachers, are the ones who will struggle throughout life. And Richie Poulton says targeting those young children and their families will reap the greatest long-term benefits. You just don't deal with the kids once they... their lives have got completely out of control and they're in care. You try and nip that in the bud long before that ever becomes a remote possibility. Head on this side. That would mean revamping the role of traditional organisations like Plunket. Plunket get into 91% of NZ homes. High trust in the brand. Plunket, he says, is in the perfect position to spot the early signs of trouble. You have to get into the homes to see in the context of the family exactly what the risk profile looks like, to then know what sort of extra help or support, not being judgmental, being a parent's bloody hard, what extra support would make a difference for those children. Pre-school education provides another opportunity to intervene early. Children that have problems with emotion regulation, for example ` these are findings directly from the Dunedin study ` tend to have a whole bunch of negative outcomes down the track when they're adults. They end up in jail more often, they end up in poor physical health, they end up being poor financially. And they end up behaving in a less than ideal way when they're parenting. Have you all got your jackets on cos it's cold this morning? Can you do up your zip? The Dunedin study discovered the children who succeed most in life,... That's really good trying. ...those who grow up to have better health, wealth and relationships, all display one crucial attribute as pre-schoolers. They are the ones who show the most self-control. High five! Self-control's really made up of two parts that relate to each other. One's the ability to keep your emotions in check, be it anger or excitement,... Right. You try. ...and then once that's in check, then being able to focus on a task and complete it. And the good news is self-control can be taught. There are all sorts of programmes out there now, because people have cottoned on to the importance of self-control, that are geared towards improving or building or strengthening their skills. Staff at Grants Braes Kindergarten have cottoned on. They've been working hard to help children improve self-control. Do you need some help with yours as well? Yes. Can you say, 'Help me, please'? Please. Well done. That was nice asking. And it's paid off already. Something like children being pushed by another child, we empower the children to deal with it rather than us necessarily stepping in all the time. So we've taught them things like saying, 'Stop it. I don't like it when you push me.' And being able to express their feelings. And we just know that if children can learn at this level, then it's gonna carry them right through. We're not gonna get the problems later on. This is truly the coalface in the nicest possible way, and hearing this, it really does give me a bit of a thrill. Thank you for your inspiration. Yeah. Don't go over the top now, please. ALL LAUGH The ambiance in this kindergarten ` calm children, happy at play ` that's what Richie Poulton wants for every child in NZ. So you're sure you can change a person's life course? Yes, 'course you can. The Dunedin study has already saved lives overseas. In the 1980s it examined the development of teenage brains; research which led directly to the US Supreme Court changing from 17 to 18, the age at which people could be held accountable for murder and executed. As a result, 72 teenagers were not put to death. One might say that, OK, you've delayed the period of responsibility by only one year, and that may seem rather ho-hum, but in truth, a whole bunch of kids, or young people, I should say, came off death row. Richie Poulton spent his early years as a clinical psychologist working with criminals in prisons. He has seen first-hand what can happen in later life to children who are abused. I work with at-risk prisoners, those that were trying to kill themselves. So I heard some awful stories, and these kids are on par. Child welfare should be about care and protection, and sometimes that will still mean removing children from abusive parents. What has happened in the past is people have wondered and wondered and wondered, and stuff hasn't happened. Now you need a system that is sophisticated in its response in being able to discern the likelihood, and then make quick calls to remove a child before it gets too bad. Richie Poulton knows some people are sceptical. The panel's done a great job, but, of course, we'll wait and see. I would wait and see too. We've got a good blueprint. Now the real work starts, and if you work hard, there's a chance good stuff might happen. And we'd like to thank Razor Films, the makers of 'Why Am I', for their help with tonight's story. If you'd like to find out more about the Dunedin study, how it works and what they've discovered, check out the award-winning documentary series 'Why Am I?', which begins on TV One this Tuesday, or if you can't wait, the series is already available on TVNZ On Demand. Next, Lucy Hone is an expert in resilience and wellness, especially in difficult times. But what happened to her own family put her expertise to the ultimate test. So has Lucy found a better way to overcome grief? Another car coming from this direction sped straight through the stop sign and in an instant, two families were torn apart forever. I had this, sort of, screaming voice in my head saying, 'Choose life, not death.' Two almost identical fridge-freezers, so what's the difference? The Smiths chose a fridge-freezer that's Energy Star qualified. That means it uses up to 40% less energy. Next time you need a new appliance, look for one displaying the Energy Star. 4 Welcome back. Abi Hone was a vibrant 12-year-old girl. 'Glorious,' her mum says. But tragically, Abi was killed in a car accident. Yet, instead of simply giving up, Mum, Lucy Hone, asked herself a question. Can we triumph over grief? Honest, brave, resilient, Lucy is sharing the answers she's found to help others. Here's Ian Sinclair. Abi was glorious and little and blonde. Bubbly, gorgeous, very happy. A young daughter taken before her time. You know, it's everybody's worst fear, isn't it? Our life had changed forever in that split second. How will Abi's mum, Lucy, cope with tragedy? I knew it was such a colossal loss that I had to find strategies that would help us through it. I had to survive. If anybody should know about toughing it out, it's Lucy Hone. I have been really determined to do... to look after myself and do everything I possibly can to keep our family together. ...lots of this psychology is dealing with how do we help people through the tough times. Lucy Hone is an expert in a brand new field ` resilience psychology. It's about changing attitudes to life's problems, and it's put Lucy in growing demand from schools to workplaces. So we need to equip young people with the skills to build resilience and maintain healthy functioning. It's truly critical. Resilience is about bouncing back from adversity. So the various sort of techniques and processes and strategies that we can use that help us get through life's events. Lucy hails from England. When she and her family moved to Christchurch, Lucy was already pregnant with their third child, Abi. Sumner was the perfect place for a growing girl and her two brothers, Ed and Paddy. We're in a very close-knit community. I think partly that comes from the fact that we... we're at the end of a dead-end road. There was the beach, holidays in the outdoors. You know, she was lovely to look at and we-we, you know... I would say that as her father. Trevor doted on his daughter. But she was just... She was lovely. She was quite thick-skinned, she was her own, own little girl. In Sumner, they'd all found happiness, and that got Lucy thinking. As a journalist, I'd always been really interested in what the ingredients were of people who live fulfilled, happy, meaningful lives. So she spent years studying for a doctorate in resilience psychology and well-being. But she could never have known how useful her skills would turn out to be. BUILDINGS CRASH, SIRENS WAIL February 2011, and when it comes to resilience, Christchurch was put to the ultimate test. We really took a hammering in those quakes. Lucy was called upon to share her knowledge. Lucy Hone is studying applied positive psychology. She's doing a PhD, in fact, on the subject. So you should have all the answers. You've got daughter, Abi, with you. I have. How hard is it to stay positive? It is hard, definitely, to stay positive. If you're in the white zone or if you're in the red zone, then you've got so many practical issues to deal with. I do remember thinking if I can't bring myself to go and impart what I know about resilience, then I'm an idiot. What about, like, for Abi here? I mean, Abi are you worried by it all? Not really. Well, you're lucky. You've got Mum here looking after things, but your friends? What are your friends thinking about leading up to tomorrow? Um, not really sure. If Abi was here and you asked her her favourite night of her life, it was the earthquake night, because, you know, and this just sums up resilience, really, she loved it because we had three families in the house because we had two friends who had lost their homes. Sumner residents had no choice but to rally round. The community has been through a lot, anyway, so we had this great levelling experience. So everyone kind of knows everyone now. Charley and Kirsty are two of Lucy's best friends. One of my first memories after that day was Trevor in his truck. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Driving all around Sumner with his boys on the back. Just checking everyone was OK. Checking everyone. The earthquake, particular for builders, it was an interesting one because... we actually had something we could contribute. You know, it was a world that we knew about. You know, you just click into gear and do what you can. Are you all right? Are you all right? Have you checked your neighbours? Is everyone OK? So it's... It's that, you know... A lot of the response is the fact that Trevor and Lucy are really loved in this community. But no one in Sumner could know what lay just round the corner. Next up, the tragedy of Abi and Ella. And in an instant, two families were torn apart forever. At the crossroads, what Abi taught Lucy. Don't lose what you have to what you've lost. We've got two beautiful, incredible teenage boys, and I want to live. o Abi Hone and Ella Summerfield, inseparable as only 12-year-olds can be. She and Ella were bubbly, gorgeous, very happy 12-year-old girls. They had a charmed life. They were best friends. They loved their community. They loved growing up in Sumner. No one could have predicted that friendship would end in tragedy. So, we were going, three families, the Summerfields and us, going down to Ohau Lodge to mountain-bike for the weekend. And at the last minute Ella had called here to say, 'Can Abi hop in with us?' And that was the last we saw of her. Abi journeyed south in the back seat with Ella. Ella's mum and dad were in the front. Just as the car Abi was travelling in came down this road and through this intersection, another car, coming from this direction, sped straight through the stop sign and in an instant, two families were torn apart forever. I think I remember Trevor saying the policeman's coming and him saying to me, 'They don't come and bring you good news, do they?' Abi, Ella and Ella's mum, Sally, were killed instantly. SIREN WAILS Only Ella's dad, Shane, and the driver of the other car, visiting Dutch businessman, Johannes Jacobus Appelman, survived. I can't believe it happened. That how can you lose someone so complete, so part of your lives so suddenly? I do really distinctly remember having this kind of screaming voice in my head, just saying, 'Choose life, not death,' you know. 'Don't lose what you have to what you've lost,' and we've got two beautiful, incredible teenage boys, and I want to live and be there for them. And I don't want to cry on national television. So, yeah, and it's... I really wanted to put them first, and us first. I am... I wanted to survive this, and I was pretty determined to survive it. In Sumner, they'd already learned what to do in a crisis. Everyone pretty much wanted to pull... pull Trevor and Lucy into their own families. And the easiest way of doing that is making them a meal. Kirsty and Charley took charge of the cooking. We put people together in groups. We had so many people. I mean, we probably had` Oh, 60 people. 60. Yeah. And it gave everyone a chance to, I don't know to, to grieve, to talk, to remember Abi. What we know from resilience psychology is that nobody goes it alone. You know, the first lesson is that you have to reach out for people and ask for and accept their help. For about six months we had people cooking for us, I think, nearly every single night. And it's never lasagne. No. Lasagne ` the harbinger of disaster. Why not lasagne? > Because everyone cooks a lasagne. And it's lovely, but suddenly you go, 'Hm, I have 17 lasagnes in my fridge. 'I know something has gone awry in my life.' Another tip ` get active. I know from the science that, you know, it is irrefutable that exercise helps us, it helps our mental health. Once you're grieving, you just can't afford to not do everything you possibly can to try and stack the odds of recovery in your favour. A third rule ` embrace your loved one's memory in every way you can. In this, the boys have more than done their bit. Abi's brother Paddy helped write this song with his band Aftershock. This video was shot and edited by Abi's eldest brother, Ed. # But now it's changed and can't be fixed. # Two years on, mementos maintain Abi's presence round the home. One of the many strategies Lucy has ` we still include her and her life, because what we had, that was real. So you can't, you know... No need to stop loving that. Embracing the good things but knowing what and when to let go ` that's the secret, even if that means forgiving the driver responsible for their daughter's death. How could you bring yourself to do that? For me, forgiveness was a no-brainer, actually. We needed to muster all our energy on moving forward and coping somehow, and surviving from this tragedy. And that for us, blame wasn't gonna help. But he went through a compulsory stop? Yeah, and I don't have anything to say about that. He did. I don't condone what he did, obviously. That's very different. I just don't see any benefit to us, and our mission of surviving, in blaming him. So the conclusion of this study was, as expected, depression... Lucy Hone has had to quite literally put everything she preaches into practice. As an expert, you've actually put yourself in the laboratory, if you like, for the most tragic of reasons... Yeah. ...and run these theories on yourself. In your opinion, have you found these strategies worked? That's a really good point. So, that is kind of what I set out to do, because we were given such a hideous prognosis that this is gonna, you know... We were now prime candidates for divorce and mental illness and family estrangement. And so these strategies,... they're all about what... doing what it takes to keep on forging on despite whatever has happened. She's put her results in a book. The title ` 'What Abi Taught Us'. What did she teach you? She's made me less judgemental, I think, losing her. I'm not quite sure how that works, but I... I think I just feel kind... I don't sweat the small stuff as much any longer. You know, if someone does something that annoys me, I just think, 'Well, whatever.' It's just not that important. So I think I've learned` I've kind of had a shift, yeah, in that sense. Not that she's found a cure for grief. Maybe just rules to grieve by. And, you know, I make no bones about it. I cry frequently still. Trying to persuade yourself that it's OK to live this life is terrible. But I just don't really feel like... We had no choice in her death, and we... we can choose how to recover from it. # ...then there was your shadow smiling at me. # Well, there's more information on Lucy Hone's research about positive psychology on our Facebook page. Now, some developments in a couple of our stories. Late last year we aired distressing footage of the alleged mistreatment of bobby calves. We questioned the Ministry of Primary Industries over their investigation into some of that footage. This week, MPI laid four charges against a company and an individual under the Animal Products and the Animal Welfare Acts, that's in addition to another 10 charges laid against another person back in March. Now, we also investigated the death of a young mental health patient ` Nicky Stevens who drowned in the Waikato River. A damning report from the Independent Police Complaints Authority has found that policy and good practice was not followed. Police have now invited Nicky's parents to work with them to get a better understanding of mental health issues. Here are Nicky's parents, Dave and Jane, and their other son, Tony, in our story from last year. Much of it hurts, like that security footage of their son on the day he disappeared. (SIGHS) Gosh, there he is. They watch a son they wanted kept safely inside, wandering in and out of the centre seemingly at will. That's the fifth time. Yeah. I'm just looking at the time thing at the top there. Little pig! Little pig. Little pig. Little pig. Shall we go feed him? Finding time to grieve for a loved one is not easy when you're also fighting for him. There you go, pig. I mean, I'm a stubborn person. I will fight hard, but if I know my father, he is like a Rottweiler. He's got his jaws on this now and he will not let this go. Adding to their determination is one last shot of Nicky that probably hurts the most. Look. He's kneeling down. What's he doing? I don't know. Just before he walks barefoot out of the Henry Bennett Centre for the last time, Nick appears confused. No one's taken any notice. It's like he's in pain or something. He's all hunched over like that. Then their boy is gone forever. I just wanted people to listen to us, actually take it seriously. Not treat my son as if he's just some kind of second-class person because he's got a mental illness. He deserves respect and dignity, as well. And his life's worth just as much as anybody else's. Mastermind is here next. And that is our show for tonight. 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