During the 1980s, an influx of Cambodian Americans resettled in the United States due to the Cambodian genocide. Those Cambodian refugees who came to the United States as either infants, children or adolescents due to warfare, are members of the 1.5 generation. This thesis examines the educational trajectory of 1.5 generation Cambodian Americans…

Cultural Mismatch Theory (CMT) has emerged as a paradigm to account for the disparate experiences and outcomes of first-generation students (FGSs). Past research on CMT demonstrate how social class disposition can shape cultural mismatch among FGSs; however, the sole focus on social class sacrifices attention to other social markers of…

The present study used qualitative methods in order to compare perspectives of young survivors of sex trafficking at a non-government organization (NGO) rehabilitation facility in a large city in Cambodia with those of U.S. staff. Both groups were asked about their perceptions regarding problems and healing that occur within the Cambodian…

This qualitative study seeks to investigate an interesting and understudied case of the persistence and retention of immigrant students in postsecondary education. Specifically, the study examines the way family dynamics of second-generation Cambodian college students influence their success in postsecondary education. Currently, much of the…

While Asian Americans are frequently thought to form a singular group, Cambodian Americans are associated with unique sociohistorical and political characteristics, and are often associated with academic underachievement. This article reviews and synthesizes the major existing Cambodian American-related works in the fields of anthropology,…

Educational policy usually overlooks Cambodian American students as a unique ethnic group, attending instead to the positive statistics that aggregate Asian American students into a single group of successful students. Through ethnographic interviews, this article examines how successful Cambodian American students interpreted values from their…

This study aims to explore mental health literacy, specifically focusing on depression, among Southeast Asian (SEA) elderly refugees residing in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three focus groups were held with nine mental health professionals who work with SEA elders. Jorm's mental health literacy framework guided the…

This brief article tells the story of one young man's complicated history and background that was turned around for the better through his involvement with the YMCA Youth Institute and a camp providing team-building exercises, and in-depth instruction in digital arts skills, such as how to edit photos with Adobe Photoshop and create 3D animations…

This study addresses ways Khmer refugee elders utilize traditional herbal medicine with Western biomedicine in the treatment and prevention of illnesses. Methods include semi-structured and informal interviews with elders and family members, semi-structured interviews with local health care providers and Khmer physicians, and participant…

Asian Americans encounter barriers to mental health care, some of which are structural, whereas others may be cultural. Using data from a probability sample (N = 490) drawn from the largest Cambodian refugee community in the United States, the authors assessed the extent to which structural and cultural barriers were experienced. Surprisingly, a…

Educational policy usually overlooks Cambodian American students as a unique ethnic group, attending instead to the positive statistics that aggregate Asian American students into a single group of successful students. Reflecting the reality of underachievement in this population, much of the existing research on Cambodian Americans has focused on…

Although the study of delinquency has previously focused on identifying individual, family, peer, and social risk and protective factors, little empirical research has studied cultural factors and their relations to delinquency. In a large community sample of 329 Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian/Mien, and Vietnamese youths, individualism was positively…

The authors examined the relationship of demographic, clinical, and service program factors with preintake attrition rates, or the nonattendance of intake appointments, among 5 Asian American groups at an ethnic-specific program. The results show that younger age, earlier appointment, Asian language match with the prescreening interviewer, and…

The article discusses the cultural differences of Americans and Southeast Asians in their child-rearing practices. Guidelines are provided for teachers working with Southeast Asian parents, who may feel shame that their child is identified as handicapped. A chart compares American cultural values with Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian values.…

This book describes the immigration of tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees to the United States from their war-torn country in the early 1980s, highlighting the efforts of Khmer Americans to recreate the fabric of culture and identity in the aftermath of the Khmer holocaust. Based on long-term research among Cambodians residing in metropolitan…