2008 Campus-Community Partnerships

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The Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in the Long Beach Cambodian Community

Abstract:

Cambodian Americans have faced tremendous challenges as survivors of the Khmer Rouge War and refugees transitioning to life in the United States. While a majority of the Cambodian community in the U.S. continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress and other psychiatric conditions, little is known about the transmission of trauma to their children. KGA has been working with children of Cambodian refugees for ten years by providing education, support, and resources to address issues related to teen pregnancy, community violence, and low educational attainment among Cambodian youth. Through leadership development, community organizing, community-based participatory research, and cultural arts production, KGA empowers young Southeast Asian women to become relevant social justice organizers who can respond to the immediate needs of their communities. KGA and UCLA are partnering to conduct a community-based participatory research to assess the needs, challenges, and supports of Cambodian female adolescents. This project s goals are to document the needs of the second-generation Cambodian American youth, increase public visibility and consciousness of these needs, and add the voice of the children of Cambodian refugees to public policy agendas.

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