Figge, Caleb J
2019

In Cambodia, expressing through physical symptoms is very common. (...) Instead of saying, “I am sad,” or “I hate someone,” this is not the feeling the community, or the environment accepts for the person to express. (...) Through the parenting of Cambodians, they learn that when they act distressed, they express physical. In children, I see it as an expression of mourning from an adult. (Counselor, female, age 38)

Children run around sometimes in some community or some rural area. If the kids run around or they try to see things, to experiment with the environment around them, the parents try to ban them by saying “don’t go over there, there are witches or there are ghosts.” It creates fearfulness inside them. (Counselor, female, age 32)

More than half of all children in Cambodia experience direct abuse and over 70% other traumatic events, which significantly increase risk for a range of physical and mental health problems. Additionally, Cambodian children face longstanding sociopolitical, intergenerational, and cultural factors that compound the impact of direct victimization. As a result, rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms among Cambodian youth are high

full. https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/view ... xt=csh_etd

Figge, Caleb J., "Key Expressions of Posttraumatic Distress in Cambodian Children: A Step Toward Culturally-Sensitive Trauma Assessment and Intervention" (2019). College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. 303.

Thanks Fu

a long night ahead, it has already turned up some very interesting aspects of cambodian psychology

Easy to slag off at a document like this for many reasons.
But no way i want to do that. Cambodia sure as hell needs modern mental heath approaches.
And TPI, the hosting organisation, does some very very good work.

I highlight the following acknowledged "Limitations" not to negate the study
- but to highlight some of the challenges of applying the western model, and Salt Lake City researchers to the Cambodian situation.
Imposing preconceived interpretations when studying a totally different group is always a factor.
Possibly here especially, when it comes to intricate, sophisticated understanding

>>>
Several limitations should be acknowledged.
Firstly, although the current sample of
children have all experienced a potentially traumatic event(s), there was no assessment, thus no
minimum required presentation of posttraumatic stress symptoms to participate in the study.
Consequently, results of the study should be considered in the context of a sample with a range
of posttraumatic stress symptomatology, likely ranging from subthreshold to meeting criteria for
DSM-5 PTSD.

Second, the current
sample was drawn from children receiving psychotherapeutic services via the collaborative
organization. Thus, the current sample may be particularly familiar with psychological
vernacular

Third, all
caregivers in the current sample were victims of intimate partner violence and had thus
experienced trauma themselves, which may impact caregiver reporting of child-level symptoms.

Fourth, although a strength of this study is all procedures
and aggregate analyses were conducted in the local language, any data and interpretation
requiring translation may forego meaningful language- and culture-specific intricacies.

NB but nevertheless - if you keep all this ^^^ in mind, there is still some revealing, relevant, info in this doc.
at first glance

You may want to ad this research paper to your reading, old sock. Or not.

Multiple Facets of Parenting in Cambodia: A Case of Siem Reap 2019
This research paper explored the various ways in which Cambodian parents seek to fulfil the development needs of their children. Adopting a theoretical framework which draws from the work of theorists and practitioners in the field of child development, the paper focused on three groups of child development needs: basic needs, cognitive development needs (inclusive of social development needs), and emotional development needs. In doing so, challenges associated with parenting were also discussed.

https://kh.boell.org/en/2019/06/25/mult ... -siem-reap

This is another excellent post. Thanks KF Hillbilly. I came to the KOW initially in 2008 to observe first hand the effects of unpunished mass murder on the surviving population. I always thought that nearly the entire population suffers from PTSD. My respect to Caleb J. Figge for conducting excellent research quantifying this and culminating in his Dissertation. Kudos to him!
This somehow makes me think of Blade Runner - Rutger Hauer giving his soliloquy....


"Quite an experience to live in fear isn't it?"

J21H21 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:58 pm This is another excellent post. Thanks KF Hillbilly. I came to the KOW initially in 2008 to observe first hand the effects of unpunished mass murder on the surviving population. I always thought that nearly the entire population suffers from PTSD. My respect to Caleb J. Figge for conducting excellent research quantifying this and culminating in his Dissertation. Kudos to him!



"Quite an experience to live in fear isn't it?"

I believe you are right there. I did a bit of searching 15 years ago when I found my g/friend at the time going through rough patches in her life . She was between the ages of 5 and 7 during the KR times looking after her younger siblings while her mother was away working on building water irrigation channels.

I always felt there was something locked up in the back of her mind that she had seen or experienced and when it surfaced she went a bit crazy trying to black it out.

One thing I remember reading is where they said that PTSD from war is often past on to the future children through the DNA of the mothers.

I remember reading research about the children of Cambodian refugees in America having high incidence of PTSD. It looks like it is passed on. Likely a lot to do also with their upbringing - But it was thought DNA was involved in the transfer of PTSD.

paparazzi wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:01 pm I remember reading research about the children of Cambodian refugees in America having high incidence of PTSD. It looks like it is passed on. Likely a lot to do also with their upbringing - But it was thought DNA was involved in the transfer of PTSD.

That's true - DNA is involved - but not due to any gene damage. Epigenetics studies how gene expression (phenotype - observable) varies according to environmental stresses. These are some typical stressors although there are many others - diet, obesity, physical activity, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, environmental pollutants, and psychological stress.
Remember that genetic material is selectively expressed, and the host DNA (genotype) is not changed. Stressors cause genes that are not typically expressed to become active resulting in observable physical and/or behavioral changes.
There is a lot more information available from the National Institute of Health, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and many research universities in the US and other countries. The research papers go into deep detail so brush up on your biochemistry, cell biology, and statistics....