Mirrors for Pacific Islander Children: Teaching Resilience Through Culturally Adapted Bibliotherapy

Isabel Medina Hull, Elizabeth A. Cutrer-Párraga (), Paul H. Ricks, G. E. Kawika Allen, Kendra M. Hall-Kenyon, Lorena Seu, Kristofer J. Urbina and Melia Fonoimoana Garrett
Additional contact information
Isabel Medina Hull: Alpine School District, American Fork, UT 84003, USA
Elizabeth A. Cutrer-Párraga: Counseling Psychology & Special Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Paul H. Ricks: Teacher Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
G. E. Kawika Allen: Counseling Psychology & Special Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Kendra M. Hall-Kenyon: Teacher Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Lorena Seu: Connections—The Learning Resource, Pago Pago, AS 96799, USA
Kristofer J. Urbina: Counseling Psychology & Special Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Melia Fonoimoana Garrett: Nebo School District, Spanish Fork, UT 84660, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 3, 1-35

Abstract: Pacific Islander youth face disproportionately high rates of suicide and mental health challenges, yet culturally appropriate interventions remain scarce. This study investigated whether culturally adapted bibliotherapy could effectively promote resilience in American Samoan children by incorporating culturally relevant stories and coping strategies. Through collaboration with on-island Samoan cultural brokers, we developed and implemented culturally adapted stories and lessons designed to resonate with the experiences of children in American Samoa. The study employed a mixed-methods approach with 34 American Samoan children aged 5–13 years, using observations, adapted card sorts, and forced-choice procedures to measure responses to the intervention. The results demonstrated that participants showed strong identification with the culturally adapted stories and characters, actively engaged with the embedded coping strategies, and reported increased confidence in applying resilience techniques. These findings suggest that culturally adapted bibliotherapy holds promise as an effective method for promoting resilience in Pacific Islander children while highlighting the importance of cultural authenticity in mental health interventions.

Keywords: bibliotherapy; culturally relevant education; resilience; mental health education of Pacific Islander children; American Samoa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/430/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/430/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:430-:d:1612452

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().