Prevalence of mental disorders in relation to violence, resilience and coping strategies in Yoro, Choluteca and Cortés, June, 2016

Abstract

The prevalence of mental disorders and the relationship with traumatic experiences to violence, resilience and coping strategies in adult in the departments of Yoro, Choluteca and Cortes was studied respectively. Four instruments were used: SRQ that allowed a screening of possible mental disorders, the Traumatic Experiences Inventory of the Harvard Questionnaire that evaluates 16 types of trauma, Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) that assesses the level of resilience and stress coping questionnaire (cae), which measures coping strategies. The population sample was 300 adults for each department: 150 urban areas and 150 rural areas, for Yoro and Choluteca; and 300 of the urban area of the municipality of San Pedro Sula, department of Cortés. The results indicated that the prevalence of mental disorders symptoms was 63% in Yoro, 62% in Choluteca and 74% in Cortés.

In relation to the sociodemographic variables, the woman, population between 18 to 30 years of age and the urban area are the most vulnerable to be affected, determined by a series of psychosocial factors, as a reality of the country.

Traumatic experiences of violence have a significant impact on the mental health of the population, the greater the number of violent events experienced, the greater the probability of suffering from mental disorders; also to greater resilience, less appearance of symptoms of mental disorders and greater symptomatology of mental disorders, greater use of emotional coping strategies.