SURVIVORS OF THE KHMER ROUGE REGIME AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF PTSD

This research addresses views and perceptions Cambodian Americans have about the survivors of the Khmer Rouge Regime and the associated psychiatric disorder post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The methodology used in this study was an examination of six Cambodian Americans through the use of interviews and case studies. All of the participants in this study have either experienced the Pol Pot Regime or knew of someone else that did. Review of the literature indicates that Cambodians are at high risk for mental illness, especially from post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression. With this, through careful examination of the case studies, it was determined that four out of the six participants stated that they knew of someone that had a mental health disorder or had a family member that suffered from a mental illness. A common theme that appeared throughout the individual case studies was a lack of proficiency with the English language.