Psychological Harm in Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: Epidemiology and Quantification of Injury in Mental Health Markers

espanolRESUMEN La victimizacion de un delito se define por el dano infringido, incluido el psicologico. Se diseno un estudio de campo con mujeres victimas de violencia de genero (M-VVG) para conocer la epidemiologia del dano en los marcadores de salud mental y cuantificar el dano, combinando el estudio de la poblacion (diferencia de medias) con el de casos (significatividad clinica). Una muestra de 50 M-VVG fisica y psicologica (confirmada por sentencia judicial) respondio voluntariamente al SCL-90-R. Los resultados mostraron que las M-VVG informaban de mas sintomas clinicos en todas las dimensiones clinicas medidas (i.e., somatizacion, obsesion-compulsion, sensibilidad interpersonal, depresion, ansiedad, hostilidad, ansiedad fobica, ideacion paranoide, psicoticismo), asi como de mayor severidad en los indices de malestar (i.e., GSI, PST, PSDI). Estos resultados son generalizables a otras muestras de la poblacion de M-VVG, pero no a todas ellas. El promedio de dano fue del 53% en depresion y obsesion-compulsion, 48% en ansiedad, 45% en sensibilidad interpersonal, 44% en ansiedad fobica, 43% en ideacion paranoide, 38% en psicoticismo, 36% en somatizacion y 20% en hostilidad, asi como del 48%, 45% y 43% en los indices de malestar GSI, PST y PSDI, respectivamente. Asimismo, el estudio de casos constato entre las victimas una tasa significativa de casos clinicos (significatividad clinica) en todas las dimensiones y en los indices de malestar, resultados tambien generalizables a otros estudios de la misma poblacion. Se discuten las implicaciones de los resultados para la evaluacion clinica y forense. EnglishABSTRACT Victimization of a crime is defined in terms of the physical and psychological injury sustained by the victim. A field study was designed with women victims of intimate partner violence (WVs-IPV) to assess the epidemiology of injury in mental health markers and to quantify injury by combining the analysis of the population of WVs-IPV (difference in means) with clinical cases (clinical significance). A total of 50 WVs-IPV, of both physical and psychological violence as confirmed by unappealable legal judgements, voluntarily responded to the SCL-90-R. The results showed WVs-IPV informed of more clinical symptoms in all of the clinical dimensions measured (i.e., somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism), and of higher scores in the distress indexes (i.e., GSI, PST, PSDI). These results were generalizable to other samples of the WVs-IPV population, but not all. The mean injury was 53% in depression and obsession-compulsion, 48% in anxiety, 45% in interpersonal sensitivity, 44% in phobic anxiety, 43% in paranoid ideation, 38% in psychoticism, 36% in somatization, and 20% in hostility; and 48%, 45%, and 43% in the GSI, PST, and PSDI distress indexes, respectively. Moreover, the study of cases in victims found a significant rate of clinical cases (clinical significance) in all of the dimensions and distress indexes. The results were also generalizable to other studies in the same population. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for both clinical and forensic evaluation.