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Trauma and Poor Mental Health in Relation to Economic Status: The Case of Cambodia 35 Years Later

Author

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  • Johan Jarl
  • Elizabeth Cantor-Graae
  • Thida Chak
  • Ka Sunbaunat
  • Charlotte A Larsson

Abstract

Background: Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in south-east Asia and is still emerging from the events of the Khmer Rouge reign. It has been suggested that the atrocities experienced by the Cambodian population can explain why Cambodia continues to lag behind its neighbours in economic outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is an association between exposure to past trauma and/or current poor mental health and current economic status in Cambodia. Method: A newly conducted survey performed in two regions (north-west and south-east Cambodia) collected information on trauma exposure, psychiatric symptoms, self-rated health outcomes and socio-economic information for 3200 persons aged 18–60. Economic outcomes were measured as household debt and poverty status and whether the respondent was economically inactive. All models were analysed using logistic regression. Results: No association was found between high exposure to conflict-related or civilian trauma and any economic outcomes save for a negative association between civilian trauma and poverty in the south-east. Current post-traumatic stress was related solely to poverty status. All other measures of current mental health status, however, were found to be strongly negatively associated with all measures of economic status. Thus, mental health interventions could potentially be utilised in poverty reduction strategies, but greater efficacy is likely to be achieved by targeting current mental health status rather than previous trauma exposure.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Jarl & Elizabeth Cantor-Graae & Thida Chak & Ka Sunbaunat & Charlotte A Larsson, 2015. "Trauma and Poor Mental Health in Relation to Economic Status: The Case of Cambodia 35 Years Later," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-13, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0136410
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136410
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hal Hill & Jayant Menon, 2013. "Cambodia: Rapid Growth with Weak Institutions," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 8(1), pages 46-65, June.
    2. Cantor-Graae, Elizabeth & Chak, Thida & Sunbaunat, Ka & Jarl, Johan & Larsson, Charlotte A., 2014. "Long-term psychiatric consequences of exposure to trauma in Cambodia: A regional household survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 133-140.
    3. Das, Jishnu & Do, Quy-Toan & Friedman, Jed & McKenzie, David & Scott, Kinnon, 2007. "Mental health and poverty in developing countries: Revisiting the relationship," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 467-480, August.
    4. J. Scott Long & Jeremy Freese, 2006. "Regression Models for Categorical Dependent Variables using Stata, 2nd Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, edition 2, number long2, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad S. Tahir & Abdullahi D. Ahmed, 2021. "Australians’ Financial Wellbeing and Household Debt: A Panel Analysis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-14, October.

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