Abstract
Families foster individuals psychologically, culturally, morally and provide an avenue to social acceptance. Strong relationships are central for advancing wellbeing. When individuals feel connected to their Pacific identity and cultural identity, they experience lower levels of depressive symptoms; that is, the more strongly a person perceives their cultural identity, the better their wellbeing.
Mental disorders occur at greater frequency (25%) in New Zealand (NZ) born Pacific individuals versus the overall NZ population (20.7%). Ultimately, the wellbeing of adolescents growing up in New Zealand reflects how well the environment in which they live provides opportunities for them to grow and flourish. However, there has been little to no research focusing on migrant Pacific peoples and their children’s wellbeing. Consequently, to better identify the reasons for these troubling statistics, pertinent research is needed.
The aim of this study was to address this research gap by investigating perceptions of migrant Pacific people’s wellbeing living in New Zealand and to find ways to apply these identified concepts, enablers and barriers of wellbeing. Eight Pacific Island parents from different ethnicities were recruited by their availability, spirit to contribute openly and related experiences. Out of the eight participants recruited (including two grandparents), four were male and four were female ranging from age 30-60 years old.
The study adopted a qualitative methodology, employing in-depth face to face interviews and used the Fonofale and Kakala frameworks. Qualitative analysis was used to gain an understanding of the responses given in the interview. Participants sat in during a one on one interview format focusing on open ended questions whereby their opinions, beliefs or attitudes were on the role of wellbeing in their family’s life were talked about. From their thoughts, themes were drawn and linked to the interview research and current discussions.
There were several themes which suggested that wellbeing is multidimensional, containing a sundry of varying influences that encompass positive effects, negative outcomes, quality of life and overall mental health along with the recognition that Pacific families, Pacific culture and Pacific identity help nurture wellbeing. This area of research contributes to the existing global theoretical body of knowledge and addresses the knowledge gap relating to wellbeing. This in turn has important implications and for the development of future strategies and considerations for the wellbeing of Pacific peoples.