Abstract
BackgroundThroughout 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/DesignThis 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.DiscussionThis 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.
Highlights
Throughout the world, millions of people living in deprived urban environments with frequent experiences of violence are mentally distressed
The findings could inform policies to reduce mental distress and improve the quality of life of people living in urban areas affected by violence
People living in urban neighbourhoods with low human development indices (LHDI) subject to frequent violence are vulnerable to the development of different types of mental disorders [1]
Summary
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. The proposed study will provide new knowledge about the individual characteristics of people living in a particular urban environment with high levels of economic deprivation together with a socio-cultural analysis of the key features of that territory. Conflicts among armed criminal organisations and between armed criminal organisations and law enforcement agents are often more persistent, no matter what illicit product or activity is involved In many of these scenarios, violence related to drug traffic and armed conflicts occur on a daily basis in densely inhabited environments [4]. There is scant scientific information about the different types of violence that occur in these circumstances and most studies on violence focus on domestic or sexual violence or are directed towards specific parts of the population, such as violence motivated by racism or homophobia [9]
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