Community violence in neighborhoods and common mental disorders among Brazilian adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Background: The objectives of this study are to investigate the association between exposure to neighborhood violence and the presence of common mental disorders (CMDs) among Brazilian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years and to analyze whether sex, age and race are modifiers of the effect of this association. Methods: The study population consisted of 1,686 adolescents living in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, which is located in the Southeast region of Brazil. To measure exposure to community violence, three crime indicators were created from records at the Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro: crimes against property, nonlethal crimes, and lethal crimes. Geospatial analysis was performed based on the adolescents’ residence area, and logistic regression modeling was performed to measure the association between violence and CMDs. Results: Adolescents living in regions with higher rates of the three types of violence studied herein were more likely to have CMDs, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 2.33 to 2.99. When stratified by sex, age and race, girls, younger adolescents and black individuals had a higher likelihood of having CMDs than their respective counterparts. Conclusion: This study provides important contributions to the field of public health, as it reveals new information on the influence of community violence on adolescents’ mental health. Given the high rates of violence globally, knowing the effects of violence on adolescents is critical to prevent and treat CMDs in this population.