Abstract

LOZANO SERRANO, Carolina; ORTIZ LOBO, Alberto  and  GONZALEZ GONZALEZ, Rocío. A comparative study of individuals with or without mental disorder diagnosable. Rev. Asoc. Esp. Neuropsiq. [online]. 2011, vol.31, n.3, pp.421-435. ISSN 2340-2733.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S0211-57352011000300003.

Objective: To analyze the differences between socio-demographic variables, inpatients and outpatients of individuals assessed in a community mental health center (CMHC) with or with no diagnosable mental disorders according to ICD-10 (mental disorder or Z code). Method: Design: comparative description. Scope: urban area. Population: all patients referred to the Salamanca Mental Health Service (n =1187). Variables: sociodemographics, clinical and health service utilization gathered through clinical interview, GHQ-28, SCL-90-R and an expectations scale. Results: Among the mental patients there are more singles, a lower level of education, they are diagnosed by female professionals more frequently, and they have priority referals. Moreover they have mental health history more frequently, they arrive at the mental health service with psychopharmacological treatment administered often and after the evaluation they are discharged less frequently than Z code. Mental disorders are given more weight in all the SCL-90-R indexes studied. Vital occurrences were out of control more often in mental disorders than Z codes at the time of evaluation. Conclusions: The socio-demographic differences between both populations are finite like in previous studies. In our research both patient groups have fewer clinical visits than in international studies, but more prescribed medication at the time of the evaluation, especially in Z codes. It appears that mental patients lack social skills or the ability to stressful life events and, therefore, are more vulnerable than Z codes.

Keywords : Z code conditions; psychiatric outpatients; comparative study; stressful life event; SCL-90R.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )