Pathways of Resilience and Recovery from Trauma for Cambodian Young People

Abstract

The majority of trauma and resilience research in Cambodia has focussed on survivors of the Khmer Rouge. This qualitative study set out to discover what protective factors promote resilience in young trauma survivors who are at least one generation removed. A Grounded Theory approach offered a guiding resilience framework that shaped 40 interviews: 26 participants comprised of Cambodian young people (ages 18-30) who had experienced significant early childhood trauma and 14 key informants from the Cambodian Child Protection non-governmental organization sector. Data from the young people was collected through the use of three instruments: semi-structured interviews, a narrative timeline of events and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. These instruments were used to explore factors relating to recovery, resilience and wellbeing among the Cambodian young people. Key informant interviews were conducted to help understand how the Child Protection sector assists recovery from trauma in Cambodia. Analysis of the participants’ oral narratives sought to uncover, understand and explain the phenomena of resilience and factors contributing to their recovery, in a post-Khmer Rouge contemporary Cambodian context. According to the young people, key factors contributing to their recovery included emotional regulation, faith and spirituality, opportunities for education and employment, social connectedness and meaning making.

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“…As part of this assumption, I believed from the beginning that my resilient participants would be well-connected and that their connections in life would have buffered the effects of trauma. This is consistent with international literature which explores resilience in the absence of PTSD (Wyatt & Welton, 2022;2021;Agger, 2015;Dushimirimana, 2014;Mollica, 2006;Overland, 2013). Evidence mounts that we can foster resilience in children and youth in many ways through social connection and support (Masten, 2018).…”

“…Kolar et al (2015) argue that by asking open-ended questions, the emphasis is placed on participant narratives and reflexivity becomes a central practice in the construction and analysis of the interviews. Throughout the research, I critically engaged with the production of knowledge by providing a safe space for participants to share their experiences (Wyatt, 2021). Additionally, the Kh-CD-RISC-10 resilience scale was selected in conjunction with a timeline to be utilized within the 1-hour timeframe allocated for each participant interview (Wyatt, 2021).…”

“…Throughout the research, I critically engaged with the production of knowledge by providing a safe space for participants to share their experiences (Wyatt, 2021). Additionally, the Kh-CD-RISC-10 resilience scale was selected in conjunction with a timeline to be utilized within the 1-hour timeframe allocated for each participant interview (Wyatt, 2021). This enabled further insight into participant stories to emerge, as many researchers have found that the use of timelines can enhance contextualisation of narratives, particularly when researching sensitive topics with marginalised groups (Berends, 2011;Harper, 2002;Liebenberg, 2009).…”

“…Recruitment began once ethics approval had been sought and granted through Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee and the Cambodian Ministry of Health (Wyatt, 2021). Three primary NGOs were chosen to participate in this study due to their work in the child protection and human rights space.…”

“…This research sought to explore the individual narratives of the young people who were interviewed. As the findings presented below form part of a much larger body of Doctoral research, only the data that specifically relates to the topic of this article is presented (Wyatt, 2021). Through the stories captured below, factors such as poverty, violence, being orphaned, trust and community stigma are explored, as well as examples of opportunities post-NGO intervention are given.…”