Lay summary
Preliminary analyses of the first national level mental health survey in the Cook Islands identified higher reports of the frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms for younger age groups, and a need for more Cook Island relevant mental health research methods. To follow up these findings, three studies will investigate (1) a qualitative exploration on the perceptions of mental health problems for Cook Islands youth; (2) a translation of mental health screening tools into a dialect of Cook Islands Māori; (3) a follow-up mental health survey to describe the prevalence and incidence of mental health problems in the Cook Islands. Together, these studies will provide nuanced information for Cook Islands youth mental health, provide meaningful translations to mental health screening tools that can be used in clinical settings and mental health research with Cook Island speaking communities, and national level data to identify changes in Cook Islands population-level mental health.