Scholastic achievement of adolescent refugees from Cambodia and Central America

This study investigated the relationship of emotional disturbance and pre- and postmigration environment to the scholastic achievement of adolescent refugees of very different cultural backgrounds. One hundred fifty-two Central American and Cambodian students in six Canadian high schools, as well as their parents, were interviewed to assess the students' emotional problems (using the Youth Self-Report and Child Behavior Checklist) and to determine the pre- and postmigration family environment. The findings indicated that the relationship between the emotional problems and scholastic achievement of teenaged refugees was tenuous. It was concluded that a connection between young refugees' symptomatology and their functional capacity should not be assumed. Nonetheless, certain pre- and postmigration variables, particularly trauma experienced in the homeland, seem to be associated with the academic achievement of some refugees.