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Social Disconnection as a Risk Factor for Health among Cambodian Refugees and Their Offspring in the United States

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Abstract

Studies of relatively recently resettled refugees have noted social disconnection, linked to various physical and mental health outcomes, as a concern. Limited studies have examined whether social disconnection and its effects persists within refugee populations resettled more than 3 decades prior. The relationship between social disconnection and self-reported health was explored in a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional needs assessment survey with a snowball sample of 100 Cambodian refugees residing in Connecticut. Social disconnectedness and comorbid health conditions were prevalent. Lack of religious and community engagement were associated with poor health outcomes, while individuals with a lack of ethnic engagement reported better overall health. This study underscores the importance of understanding the specific risks that social disconnection poses to refugees who have resettled many years before and their offspring that may assist in better serving currently settling refugees within the United States.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (APAAC).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut School of Social Work, 38 Prospect St., Hartford, CT, 06103, USA

    S. Megan Berthold & Alysse Melville Loomis

  2. Khmer Health Advocates, West Hartford, CT, USA

    Theanvy Kuoch & Mary Scully

  3. Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA

    Mui Mui Hin-McCormick

  4. Mount Holyoke College Department of Economics, South Hadley, MA, USA

    Bryce Casavant

  5. University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, Storrs, CT, USA

    Thomas Buckley

Authors
  1. S. Megan Berthold
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  2. Alysse Melville Loomis
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  3. Theanvy Kuoch
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  4. Mary Scully
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  5. Mui Mui Hin-McCormick
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  6. Bryce Casavant
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  7. Thomas Buckley
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Correspondence to S. Megan Berthold.

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Berthold, S.M., Loomis, A.M., Kuoch, T. et al. Social Disconnection as a Risk Factor for Health among Cambodian Refugees and Their Offspring in the United States. J Immigrant Minority Health 21, 290–298 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0760-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0760-3

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