» Articles » PMID: 32127005

Study Protocol of Personal Characteristics and Socio-cultural Factors Associated with Mental Health and Quality of Life of Residents Living in Violent Territories

Overview
Journal BMC Psychiatry
Publisher Biomed Central
Specialty Psychiatry
Date 2020 Mar 5
PMID 32127005
Citations 1
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Background: Throughout the world, millions of people living in deprived urban environments with frequent experiences of violence are mentally distressed. There is little evidence about which characteristics of people living in such environments are associated with lower or higher levels of mental distress and how they may cope with experiences of violence.

Methods/design: This study is part of the research project 'Building the Barricades' (ES/S000720/1 ESRC-AHRC GCRF Mental Health 2017), which uses a mixed-method approach. Quantitative and qualitative studies will be conducted in 16 favelas in the area of Maré in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The quantitative study consists of a survey of 1200 randomly selected adults living in Maré and of 200 individuals who frequent the open-use drug sites. The survey will assess sociodemographic characteristics, experiences of different forms of violence, physical and mental health status (including drug use) and active participation in cultural consumption and production. In the qualitative study we will conduct 60 in-depth interviews and 8 focus groups of participants selected from respondents to the survey to assess in more detail their experiences of violence and coping strategies. In order to analyze the quantitative data we will use descriptive statistics and explore associations in uni- and multi-variable analyses. Qualitative data will be subjected to thematic analysis.

Discussion: This is an exploratory study to identify characteristics and coping strategies that appear to help people to overcome experiences of violence in deprived areas without developing mental distress. The findings could inform policies to reduce mental distress and improve the quality of life of people living in urban areas affected by violence.

Citing Articles

Experience of neighbourhood violence and mental distress in Brazilian favelas: a cross-sectional household survey.

Cruz M, Silva E, Jakaite Z, Krenzinger M, Valiati L, Goncalves D Lancet Reg Health Am. 2023; 4:100067.

PMID: 36776712 PMC: 9903930. DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2021.100067.

References
1.
Robinson P, Boscardin W, George S, Teklehaimanot S, Heslin K, Bluthenthal R . The effect of urban street gang densities on small area homicide incidence in a large metropolitan county, 1994-2002. J Urban Health. 2009; 86(4):511-23. PMC: 2704266. DOI: 10.1007/s11524-009-9343-x. View

2.
Luz M, Coutinho E, Berger W, Mendlowicz M, Vilete L, Mello M . Conditional risk for posttraumatic stress disorder in an epidemiological study of a Brazilian urban population. J Psychiatr Res. 2015; 72:51-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.10.011. View

3.
Teche S, Barros A, Rosa R, Guimaraes L, Cordini K, Goi J . Association between resilience and posttraumatic stress disorder among Brazilian victims of urban violence: a cross-sectional case-control study. Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 2017; 39(2):116-123. DOI: 10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0070. View

4.
DeCou C, Lynch S . Assessing Adult Exposure to Community Violence: A Review of Definitions and Measures. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2015; 18(1):51-61. DOI: 10.1177/1524838015590590. View

5.
Ribeiro W, B Andreoli S, Ferri C, Prince M, Mari J . [Exposure to violence and mental health problems in low and middle-income countries: a literature review]. Braz J Psychiatry. 2009; 31 Suppl 2:S49-57. DOI: 10.1590/s1516-44462009000600003. View