The proposed household survey of Cambodian refugees residing in the United States will constitute the first-ever community-based, epidemiologic study assessing the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in this population .The research would also assess the co morbidity between alcohol disorders and other psychological disorders and their relation to pre-migration torture/trauma. The proposed survey is to be conducted in conjunction with an ongoing NIMH-funded study of this population. The broad purpose of the ongoing study is to determine the mental health needs of this highly traumatized population, focusing on PTSD, anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. In addition to this assessment, the ongoing study aims to relate these disorders to the respondents' experience of trauma, as well as a number of economic, social, cultural, and physical health status measures. Using a two-stage random sampling strategy, 500 adult male and female refugees, ages 35-70, will be recruited for participation from Cambodian residents in Long Beach, California. Study participants will complete a 120-minute, face-to- face interview in the Khmer language conducted by lay interviewers. As part of this interview, respondents will be given three measure to assess their alcohol use: a version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI, World Health Organization, 1997) will be used to measure alcohol disorders, the quantity-frequency-variability(QFV) scale (Cahatan, Cisin, & Crossley, 1969) will be used to assess consumption patterns, and a scale constructed from the Cambodian terms for alcohol use will be used assess respondents relative to their culturally defined typology of drinking. The bread aims of the proposed NIAAA research are: 1. to describe the alcohol consumption patterns and to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use disorders and problem drinking in a community-based sample of Cambodian refugees residing in the United States. 2. To identify the sociodemographic factors and environmental stressors associated with higher drinking. Factors of particular interest include those relatively unique to this Southeast Asian group's life experience (refugee standing, exposure to trauma/torture), those common to many new immigrants (e.g., acculturation status, and changes in family structure), as well as factors known to predict alcohol use and abuse more broadly (e.g., gender, and SES). 3. To examine the co morbidity between alcohol abuse and the psychological disorders associated with severe trauma exposure. More specifically, the study will investigate if alcohol use partially mediates the relationship between traumatic experiences and PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders.
