Browsing by Author "De la Hoz, Nancy"

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    Descripción de reacciones emocionales en familiares de víctimas de muertes violentas: informe final
    (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, 2003) Mejía Motta, Inés Elvira; Jímenez, Ivan; Morales, Mary Luz; Villegas, Victoria Eugenia; De la Hoz, Nancy; Perea, Ivan; Villamil, Amanda
    Research report by the Suicide Study Group of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences describing emotional reactions in relatives of victims of violent deaths (suicide, homicide and accidents) in Bogotá. Three study groups were formed with 32 relatives from 23 cases randomly selected from the Institute's database of users who claimed the body of a family member between six and thirteen months after the death. Participants were interviewed in forensic psychiatry and psychology clinics using a semi-structured interview focused on grief processes, global functioning and sociodemographic factors. The analysis combined quantitative methods (frequencies and percentages) and qualitative procedures (categorisation of narratives). Findings show that about half of the relatives presented complicated grief with chronic, masked or exaggerated symptoms, with homicide victims' families showing the greatest deterioration in global functioning and more frequent isolation, fear of their environment and feelings of impunity. The most common reactions across all groups were mood disturbances (sadness, depression, hopelessness), anger, guilt, anxiety, somatisation and changes in social relationships. The study concludes that sudden violent death exposes relatives to a high risk of complicated grief and proposes recommendations aimed at prevention, early detection of risk factors, timely psychological and social support, improved treatment by forensic, judicial and health institutions, and public policies that recognise relatives as secondary victims of violence.