Post-traumatic stress disorder, violence and war: A documental exploratory research

• Published in: European psychiatry Vol. 41; no. S1; pp. S722 - S723
• Main Authors: Dos Santos, M.A., Soares Junior, R.D.C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Masson SAS 01.04.2017
• ISSN: 0924-9338; 1778-3585
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1309

In a globalized world, violence, present in all forms and everywhere, it is a serious public health problem. Violence and war lead to death and leave marks on the bodies and minds, and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that may develop following exposure to a potential event traumatic. In the 3-month period (January 2016 to April 2016), according to typological analysis of the journal cover, the following results were found: the type of prevailing violence was interpersonal, community, committed by a stranger (75%), followed by the violence of the economic type (16.7%), and finally interpersonal violence committed by partner (8.3%). Although not all cases have provided the number of people who perpetrated or suffered violence, most victims of violence were male (8), aged 3 months and 36 years, followed by 2 women, and as a perpetrator of violence the men were in excess (4 men) followed by one woman. Violence and war are traumatic stressors and risk factors for PTSD which, in turn, is also a risk factor to perpetrate violence, such as domestic violence. The costs of violence are high and its routinization as a way of life has important effects on the mental health of population. Scientific research, including qualitative studies, on PTSD, violence and war are necessary so that we have a better understanding of the phenomenon as well as to promote the mental health of all through early intervention or even in preventing the onset of this disorder.