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Abstract
An estimated 158,000 Cambodian refugees were admitted to the U.S. between 1975-1994 due to civil wars and genocide. Upon arrival, Cambodians were placed in states that had enough entry level jobs, social services, and cheap housing, mostly in high crime neighborhoods. Most Cambodian genocide survivors were preliterate farmers with limited employment skills. They also faced extreme language and transportation barriers, acculturation difficulties, disability, and untreated physical and mental health illnesses. For about 40-plus years of their resettlement, they have not been supported properly by local immigration infrastructures and their history of genocidal trauma was often forgotten. The purpose of this study was to conduct a formal mental health and relational needs assessment of Cambodian refugee families in key resettlement states across the U.S. This study is grounded in a Human Ecological Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1995) and incorporates a trauma informed lens (SAMHSA, 2014). This study employed principles of critical ethnography to guide the methodological conceptualization, design, analysis, and presentation of results. Participants were 18 key informants (i.e., clinicians, educators, community leaders, legal and human rights activists) who provide services to the population in major cities where most Cambodian refugee families resettled. In-depth interviews were conducted virtually among key informants. All interviews were analyzed using the Developmental Research Sequence (DRS; Spradley, 1979). Results show the need for addressing mental health and family relationship issues among Cambodian refugee families. Untreated mental health illnesses such as PTSD, depression, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, and other severe mental health conditions are present, especially among the grandparents’ generation. Substance abuse, particularly alcohol abuse, is under reported and used as an alternative for mental health treatment across generations. Tension in couple relationships, parent-child relationships, and intergenerational relationships (of at least three generations) is a pressing concern. There is the need to reconcile family relationships among the population. Systemic evidence-based treatments need to be culturally adapted to effectively address mental health and relational issues of this population. More clinicians and educators need to be trained in trauma treatment, trauma informed care, as well as in Cambodian history and cultural values when they work with the population.