Abstract

HERRERA MERCHAN, Edna Johanna  and  CANAS BETANCUR, Dora Cristina. Post-Traumatic Stress as a Precursor of Mental Health Damage and Cognitive Impairment in Victims of Violence. Divers.: Perspect. Psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.16, n.2, pp.311-323.  Epub July 01, 2020. ISSN 1794-9998.  https://doi.org/10.15332/22563067.6297.

This article aims to demonstrate how violence is a socially damaging act that generates mental health detriment and cognitive impairment. A systematic review of articles was carried out based on the prismaguidelines. Studies found were related to psychopathology, violence, and cognitive impairment in victims of violence. A total of 50 articles, dated from 2008 to 2018, were systematized in databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, PsicoDoc, Proquest, and Google Scholar. The keywords were health*violence, psychopathology*violence, cognitive impairment*violence, mental health*violence, cognitive impairment*violence, war*mental health, traumatic stress*brain injury. The results indicate that the most frequent mental health damage derived from violent acts is the post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) that causes cognitive impairment in attention, working memory, and learning, which are necessary cognitive functions for optimal performance in daily life. Besides, ptsdtriggers disorders such as depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric diseases such as bipolar affective disorder or schizophrenia.

Keywords : violence; post-traumatic stress disorder; brain damage; mental health.

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