720 – Urban insecurity and fear of crime. a study among patients with anxiety and depressive disorders

Abstract

Background There has been an increased interest on the role of urban security and fear of crime on mental health of the general population, but there are not studies about this among patients with minor psychiatric disorders. Objectives Assess patients’ fear of crime and perceived urban insecurity. Aim To, 1) evaluate the association between perceived urban insecurity and crime, and minor psychiatric disorders; 2) identify subgroups of patients with high levels of perceived urban insecurity and fear of crime. Method A sample of 24 patients with depressive or anxiety disorders attending outpatient services was collected. Patients consenting to the study underwent a battery of psychometric instruments. This study is part of a national multicentric study that enrolled 426 subjects. Results The sample was mainly composed by females (83%), cohabiting (58%), employed (54%). Patients were more frequently diagnosed with dysthymia (54%) had an average GAF score of 73 (SD=8,44), an average GHQ-12 of 17.33 (SD =3,95). 41% reported high level of insecurity or fear and 58% stated that their worries were increased compared to 10 years earlier. Reported reasons for this were mostly ‘decrease of social security’ and ‘loss of values’. 12.5% of the sample reported of having been victim of a theft or vandalism. Conclusions The results of this study are not only useful to understand the role of fear of crime in the onset and relapses of minor psychiatric disorders, but they can also help to plan psychiatrists’ and Public Health's interventions in order to prevent them.