The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has updated its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including with new information specifically addressed to individuals in the European Economic Area. As described in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences.

Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.

×
No Access

Posttraumatic stress disorder among survivors of Cambodian concentration camps

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.141.5.645

Thirteen Cambodian refugees who had survived 2-4 years of concentration camp experience met the DSM-III criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. Their predominant symptoms were avoidance, hyperactive startle reactions, emotional numbness, intrusive thoughts, and nightmares, which had lasted at least 3 years after the imprisonment. The patients' avoidance of thoughts or discussion of the past and the shame they felt about Cambodia's history made diagnosis and treatment difficult. These findings give cross-cultural validation to the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and should alert clinicians to its existence in a population not previously studied.

Access content

To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.