The Khmer Adolescent Project. II: Functional capacities in two generations of Cambodian refugees

A sample of 206 adolescent Cambodian youth and 159 of their parents were interviewed to determine the extent of their past war trauma during the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia (1975-1979), their resettlement stress, their current diagnostic status, and their functional ability as refugees in the United States. This report focuses on the last of these aims. Overall, these youth were found to be functioning quite well. Their diagnostic status did not relate strongly to their functional status. Parents showed a stronger relationship between diagnostic status and measures of functioning than did adolescents. The implications of these findings for future studies are discussed.