Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Cuban Children and Adolescents After Release From a Refugee Camp

This article summarizes the result of a study focused on Cuban and Adolescent refugees in the U.S. The authors interviewed 87 Cuban children and youth who left Cuba by sea in the summer of 1994 and who had lived in refugee camps for at least eight months before leaving for the United States. The study found that most of the children suffered from moderate to severe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The authors also found that PTSD symptoms among refugee children and adolescents may continue if the stressors are not removed, and these symptoms may be unnoticed by adults.