Abstract

FLORES MORALES, ROGELIO; REYES PEREZ, VERÓNICA  and  REIDL MARTINEZ, LUCY MARÍA. The Psychological Impact of the War Against Drug-Trafficking on Mexican Journalists. Rev. colomb. psicol. [online]. 2014, vol.23, n.1, pp.177-193. ISSN 0121-5469.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v23n1.37640.

Mexican journalists (N=140) answered five psychometric instruments aimed at identifying symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress, as well as their levels of alcohol and tobacco consumption. Data collection was carried out in the national context of the war against drug-trafficking, in which acts of extreme violence are committed on a daily basis (murders, massacres, decapitations, etc.). The results indicate that journalists who cover drug-trafficking and organized crime news obtain significantly higher scores than those who work on other issues. This suggests that news coverage of drug-trafficking is a psychological risk factor that should be taken into account for the design of public policies in Mexico.

Keywords : post-traumatic stress disorder; depression; anxiety; journalists; drug-trafficking; Mexico.

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