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

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 neigh-bours 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 out-comes 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. Result