IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2025i3p430-d1612452.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Isabel Medina Hull

    (Alpine School District, American Fork, UT 84003, USA
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Elizabeth A. Cutrer-Párraga

    (Counseling Psychology & Special Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • 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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Medina Hull & Elizabeth A. Cutrer-Párraga & Paul H. Ricks & G. E. Kawika Allen & Kendra M. Hall-Kenyon & Lorena Seu & Kristofer J. Urbina & Melia Fonoimoana Garrett, 2025. "Mirrors for Pacific Islander Children: Teaching Resilience Through Culturally Adapted Bibliotherapy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(3), pages 1-35, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:430-:d:1612452
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/430/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/430/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:430-:d:1612452. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.