Social Change and Psychosocial Adaptation in the Pacific Islands

The Pacific Island oceanic and rim nations include many traditional societies and emerging nations that have experienced abusive histories of colonization, exploitation, and social change and upheaval. Their peoples are struggling to restore traditional cultural heritages and identities in a world community dominated by Western values and lifestyles. The conflicts, uncertainties, and instability of this transitional time are reflected in these populations current social and psychological difficulties. This volume is one of the few devoted to these issues and covering a range of problems including substance abuse, hopelessness, violence, crime, abuse, juvenile delinquency, suicide, and AIDS.

This volume is the product of an international gathering of scholars and healthprofessionalsinHonolulu,Hawaii,forthespeci?cpurposeofdo- menting and understanding the wide-ranging psychosocial consequences of rapid social change among people of Paci?c Island nations. In the wide expanse of the Paci?c Ocean, there are scores of nations and an untold number of cultural traditions. This area has been the scene of rapid social change since the Paci?c Island people began contact with the Western and Eastern worlds through exploration, commerce, and religious mission- ies. These changes led to the collapse and decimation of many groups as challengestotraditionalwaysoflifesoonexceededtheircapacitytoendure and survive. Today, from Australia s Aboriginal peoples in the South to the Hawaii s Native Hawaiian (Kanaka Maoli) people in the North, there is a resurgence of cultural pride and efforts to renew ties with past. From Po- nesia (e. g. , Hawaii, Samoa) to Micronesia (e. g. , Chuuk, Pohnpei, Palau) to Melanesia (e. g. , Solomon Islands, New Guinea), the indigenous p- ple of the Paci?c are continuing their struggle to survive amidst a rapidly changingworldinwhichbasicandfundamentalvaluesandlifestyles?nd themselvesincon?ictwithwaysoflifethatemphasizealienvaluessuchas individuality, materialism, competition, and change. These words are not meant to idealize the traditional cultures of the Paci?c Island people for they have often been characterized by aggression, hostility, and destr- tion of one another in the course of their history. Yet, it is clear that never hastherebeensuchsomanyandsopotentexternalforceschallengingtheir existence. Westernization can now be found throughout the Paci?c Islands with the exception of a few isolated regions in Melanesia and Micronesia.

Social Change in the Pacific Problems Old, Problems New, Problems Borrowed.- The Dynamics of Cultural Trauma: Implications for the Pacific Nations.- Globalization of Human Services for Indigenous Youth in the Northern Territory, Australia.- Fiji's Move into the 21st Century.- Federated States of Micronesia: Islands in the Sun.- Guam: Caught Amidst Change and Tradition.- Understanding Substance Use and Violent Behavior in a Native Hawaiian Community.- The Republic of the Marshall Islands.- Alcohol and Drug Use in Honiara, Solomon Islands: A Cause for Concern.- Building Capacity for Epidemiologic Surveillance of Alcohol and other Drug Problems in the US-Related Pacific Islands.- The Pacific Islands in Transition: Contrasts and Similarities.