Objectives: To determine the prevalence of mental illness and factors associated with poor mental health of underserved Guatemalan refugee communities located in Chiapas, Mexico since 1981. Methods: Cross-sectional, household survey in five refugee camps in Chiapas with an estimated 12,500 residents, five were surveyed, representing an estimated population (adults and children) of 1,546. All adults (ages 16 >) in all households were asked to participate; on average one adult per household completed the questionnaires. An estimated 95% of all households were surveyed. Respondents (N = 179) received the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and answered demographic questions. Results: Ninety-five percent of respondents were born in Guatemala. The prevalence rate for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder was 11.2%, the prevalence rate of scores indicating anxiety and depression were 54.4% and 39.1%, respectively. Participants with PTSD were five times more likely to have experienced a disappearance. Other factors associated with PTSD, anxiety and depression are discussed. Conclusions: Psychiatric morbidity related to trauma events and refugee status was common among survey respondents. Guatemalan refugees surveyed may benefit from culturally appropriate and sustainable mental health assistance twenty years after the Guatemalan civil conflict.
