Clinical-neuropsychological profile and quality of life in women who have suffered gender-based violence

Abstract

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 the participants who were selected by random sampling from a population affected by violence (N = 120). 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 (RAVLT = -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, which functions showed correlations with years of schooling.