Rate My Professor Helena McAnally

Dr Helena McAnally is a Research Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health (Dunedin) at the University of Otago, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Division. She holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD from the University of Otago. With over 20 years of experience in research projects focused on young people, she has interviewed participants about their lives and well-being, including serving as an interviewer for the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study's age 32 assessment phase. Currently, she manages the Next Generation Study, a sub-study investigating the offspring of original Dunedin Study members. McAnally works with the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (NZCYES), contributing to commissioned reports on child and youth health indicators for the Ministry of Health, Paediatric Society of New Zealand, and Te Whatu Ora districts. Her career has spanned departments including Psychology, Preventive and Social Medicine, and Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Otago.

McAnally's research specializations encompass the epidemiology of child and adolescent wellbeing and health, with expertise in socioeconomic status as a social determinant of health outcomes and adolescent development. She has co-authored key publications such as 'Childhood sexual abuse and maternal social and financial resources, mental health, and parenting outcomes in pregnancy and early parenthood: a multicohort observational study' (2026, The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health); 'Kanorau ā-roro: Neurodevelopmental conditions in children and young people in Aotearoa' (2025, NZCYES report); 'Childhood disadvantage and adolescent socioemotional wellbeing during the transition to secondary school' (2021); 'Intergenerational changes in adolescents' physical fitness: a 30-year cohort study from 1985 to 2015' (2018); 'The Longitudinal Association of Childhood and Adolescent Television Viewing with Substance Use Disorders and Disordered Gambling in Adulthood up to Age 45' (2022); 'Bond, James Bond: A Review of 46 Years of Violence in Films' (2013); and reports including 'Unintentional injuries among children and young people in the Northern region 2023' (2024) and 'Child Poverty Monitor 2022: Technical report'. Her publications have received over 1,450 citations. McAnally has presented findings at the Paediatric Society of New Zealand annual meetings, including posters on predictors of postnatal mental health and NZCYES health reporting (2025). Her work informs national child health monitoring and policy through NZCYES dashboards and reports.