Violence Against Women is a global problem that affects millions of women around the world. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the Mental Health and Quality of Life of Ecuadorian women exposed or not exposed to Gender Violence mediated by sociodemographic factors. A total of 433 Ecuadorian women, 18 to 64 years of age, most of whom (69%) reported being exposed to gender violence. Most of the women lived in the province of Pichincha and were selected through a type of nonprobabilistic sampling based on a survey about gender violence. Women exposed to gender violence showed a greater impact on personality profiles, clinical tests, and quality of life in the physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains compared to women not exposed to violence. In addition, these effects were mediated by age, economic level, education, marital status, and exposure to physical violence and psychological or sexual abuse within the socio-family or work contexts. The results of this study could contribute to improving public health systems, showing improvements in care programs for victims of violence.

Background: This research characterizes the clinical and neuropsychological profiles and the quality of life in a group of Ecuadorian women who suffered physical violence, psychological violence, or sexual violence, exploring their relationships with sociodemographic factors. Methods: A battery of tests were used to explore the clinical and neuropsychological functions and quality of life in 120 participants who were selected from a population affected by violence. Results: Sixty percent of the participants showed clinical anxiety, 26.7% clinical depression, 40% post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, 15% moderate personality disorder, and 51.7% a low quality-of-life index. Their Z-scores in the neuropsychological domains evaluated were verbal memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test = −1.35), working memory (Digits = −1.67), attention (D2 = −1.24), processing speed (Coding = −1.33; Trail Making Test A = 1.81), and executive function (Trail Making Test B = −1.15; Stroop = −0.20; verbal-semantic fluency test = 0.05; verbal fluency test = −1.23). Conclusions: The majority of women who suffered gender-based violence presented clinical levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic symptoms. The cognitive functions with lower scores ( Z < −1.5) were working memory and processing speed, mediated by education factor.

The number of female victims of violence has significantly increased in recent years, resulting in physical, mental, and social damage. To determine the effectiveness of the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) psychotherapeutic model compared with narrative exposure therapy (NET) as treatments for clinical improvement, neuropsychological outcomes, and quality of life in women who have experienced violence. A randomized experimental study was conducted, involving 120 women exposed to physical, psychological, and sexual violence, who were assigned to either an EMDR or NET group. An extensive battery of clinical, neuropsychological, and quality of life tests was administered both before and after a 10-session therapeutic intervention. Compared with the group of women treated with NET, the group of women who received EMDR therapy, exposed to physical, psychological, and sexual violence, achieved a greater decrease in anxiety (p = 0.001), depression (p = 0.001), and post-traumatic symptoms (p = 0.002). Additionally, there was an increase in the quality of life index (p = 0.001), performance in working memory (p = 0.000), and executive functioning tests (p = 0.000), compared with NET. EMDR proved to be more effective compared with NET in reducing post-traumatic clinical symptoms, increasing the level of quality of life, and enhancing cognitive performance in women affected by gender-based violence. Additionally, it demonstrated independence in therapeutic response across most estimated sociodemographic factors, making it a therapy with broader therapeutic reach in the community of Ecuadorian women.

La Organización Mundial de la Salud se ha pronunciado sobre las consecuencias psicosociales y de salud en la población mundial, a causa del SARS-CoV-2. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo valorar las consecuencias psicosociales en familias de los cantones Pedro Moncayo y Cayambe, Ecuador, en el contexto de la pandemia Covid-19, año 2021. Se trata de un estudio cuali-cuantitativo de diseño no experimental, con alcance exploratorio y descriptivo. Se aplicó una encuesta online a 252 familias de los cantones mencionados, quienes consintieron su participación, utilizando un cuestionario de preguntas personales y el test GHQ-12. Como parte de los resultados el 46 % de los participantes padecieron la enfermedad Covid-19, el porcentaje de desempleo fue del 52%. El 47 % de las familias mostraron bajo riesgo de sufrir alteraciones en su bienestar psicológico, funcionamiento social y afrontamiento (GHQ-12 16), y sólo el 2% reportaron alto riesgo de afectación de su salud mental (GHQ >25). En relación a las conclusiones se reportaron diferencias sobre el impacto psicosocial entre las familias participantes, mediado por factores socioeconómicos, sociodemográficos y la Covid-19. Las familias más afectadas son prevenientes del Cantón Cayambe. El grupo masculino mostró mayor afectación en su salud mental, comparados con el grupo femenino.