In a collaborative research study with a Samoan community leader and a high school student, the authors explored the academic and cultural identities of 10 Samoan high school students. In-depth qualitative interviews revealed the students' struggles with negotiating cultural and academic identities in the ecological contexts of home, peer, teacher, school, and commxmity. Using grounded theory, the authors described the reciprocal, contradicting, and ahenating nature of Samoan and academic identities in the face of negative stereotypes, competing relational obhgations, and low expectations. Findings and implications also focused on cultural strengths and values such as unity, giving back to the community, and respect.

Samoan American youth face several social and educational challenges, yet there is limited psychological research on this growing cultural group. A culturally responsive intervention program, Wear Your Pride, was developed, implemented, and evaluated with 58 low-income Samoan American middle and high school students living in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the intervention was to promote social support, leadership skills, community involvement, and resilience. Surveys administered before and after the program indicate participants’ levels of social support, leadership, community engagement, and resilience all significantly increased after the 8-session program. Implications for research and practice in intervention programs are discussed.

This study investigated family intergenerational conflict and collective selfesteem as predictors of depression in a sample of 128 Samoan middle and high school students. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed that each independent variable significantly contributed to an overall model that accounted for 13% of the variance in depression. Implications for counseling research and practice are discussed in terms of how schools may consider ways to promote these youth's cultural worth and positive family dynamics.Keywords: Samoan, high school, depression, family conflict Este estudio investigó el conflicto familiar intergeneracional y la autoestima colectiva como predictores de depresión en una muestra de 128 estudiantes samoanos de enseñanza media y secundaria. Los análisis simultáneos de regresión revelaron que cada variable independiente contribuyó de forma significativa a un modelo general que explicó un 13% de la varianza en depresión. Se discuten las implicaciones para la investigación y práctica de la consejería, en términos de cómo las escuelas pueden considerar formas de promover el valor cultural de estos jóvenes y una dinámica familiar positiva.

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