TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Experience of neighbourhood violence and mental distress in Brazilian favelas: a cross-sectional household survey
JO  - Lancet regional health. Americas
A1  - Cruz, Marcelo Santos
A1  - Silva, Eliana Sousa
A1  - Jakaite, Zivile
A1  - Krenzinger, Miriam
A1  - Valiati, Leandro
A1  - Gonçalves, Dalcio
A1  - Ribeiro, Eduardo
A1  - Heritage, Paul
A1  - Priebe, Stefan
SP  - e67
EP  - e67
VL  - 4
IS  - 
N2  - Background  Living in informal settlements with extensive neighbourhood violence has been shown to be linked with poorer mental health. However, there is little evidence as to whether different levels of personal experiences and fears of neighbourhood violence within such settlements affect mental health. This study assessed such personal experiences and fears of residents in favelas in Brazil. We tested whether variations predict mental health symptoms and quality of life, and whether this is independent of the influence of sociodemographic characteristics and poverty.     Methods  In a population-based survey of adults living in a group of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we assessed: sociodemographic characteristics; extent of personal experiences and fear of neighbourhood violence; mental health symptoms on the Brief Symptom Inventory; and quality of life on the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life. Univariate and multivariate regressions were fit to predict mental health symptoms and quality of life.     Findings  We interviewed 1,211 residents. Both more experiences of neighbourhood violence and more fear of violence predicted higher levels of mental health symptoms and poorer quality of life. In multivariate regression analyses, the associations remained significant after adjusting for the influence of other factors, in particular female gender, younger age, and marked poverty.     Interpretation  Even within a context in which the whole population can be exposed to violence and economic disadvantage, individual variations in the experiences of violence still make a significant difference for mental distress and quality of life. Policies to improve mental health and quality of life of residents in informal settlements need to address risk factors separately, most importantly the personal experiences of violence and poverty.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2667-193X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2021.100067
ID  - ref1
ER  -