Tamasailau Suaalii-Saunui

Tamasailau Suaalii-Saunui plans to use her HRC Postgraduate Scholarship to explore mental health and other issues for young Samoan offenders. The 29-year-old Samoan born, New Zealand raised woman is currently working full-time as an assistant research fellow at the Pacific Health Research Centre (PHRC) in the Department of Maori and Pacific Health at the University of Auckland.
From August 1999, with the supervision of senior sociology lecturer Dr George Pavlich, Sailau will interview up to 50 Samoan offenders in the Auckland region between 13-16 years of age. Participants will be asked to share the story of their journey from offending to judicial processes and community intervention programmes in individual and focus group interviews. The narratives will help clarify what elements impact on their mental health and are primary contributors to self esteem. Sailau will also conduct key informant interviews with people from intervention programmes, schools, youth justice and the Youth Court. This will help to establish the social, political and economic contexts of the young people's stories. She believes that the mental health of young people today depends on them achieving a stable identity. Melani Anae's research indicates that ethnic identity conflicts pose a major socio-psychological issue for first and second generation Samoan youth whose families have migrated to New Zealand. Sailau hopes findings from her work will help create strategies for enhancing the mental, physical, social and cultural well-being of young Samoans.
Sailau has completed an MA with Honours in sociology and a law degree, and wants to use her research skills to assist Samoan and other Pacific people to access research which will address their holistic health needs and concerns, as well as contribute to the wider New Zealand community.