THE KHMER ADOLESCENT PROJECT .2. FUNCTIONAL CAPACITIES IN 2 GENERATIONS OF CAMBODIAN REFUGEES

A sample of 206 adolescent Cambodian youth and 159 of their parents we re 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 ref ugees in the United States. This report focuses on the last of these a ims. Overall, these youth were found to be functioning quite well. The ir diagnostic status did not relate strongly to their functional statu s. Parents showed a stronger relationship between diagnostic status an d measures of functioning than did adolescents. The implications of th ese findings for future studies are discussed.