Abstract

We present the results of a case-control study on the psychological consequences of the politics of detention-disappearance in Mapuce and non-Mapuce persons of the Araucania region in Chile.

Methods
A randomized sample of 119 relatives obtained from the official records of victims (Informe Rettig) were located and interviewed using the Psychiatric State Examination (10th edition)/CATEGO-5 System. Present State and Life Before Symptoms were assessed.

Results
More than 20 years after the disappearance or execution of their relative, 3% of Mapuces and 9.7% of non-Mapuces still have uncomplete bereavement processes. With regard to the Life Before diagnosis, Pathological Depressive and Non-Depresive Bereavement process appeared in 24.1 % of Mapuces and 29.4% of non-Mapuce people (z=0.65, p<0.25). Taking all the diagnoses together, 18.9% of Mapuces and 31.1% of non-Mapuces had had an affective disorder related to the disappearance (z=1.5, p<0.06). Although isolated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms were frequent, the complete syndrome was present in only 1.7% of Mapuces and 6.5% of non-Mapuces.

Conclusions
After two decades, the psychological and psychosocial consequences of the repressive process remain present. When mapuces and non-mapuces are compared statistically across diagnosis, few differences arise. We discuss our results critically with special emphasis in the implications of the individual-clinical versus psychosocial-community focus in research.

This study appeared in: Psicothema, 2000, Vol. 12, supl., pp. 109-116.
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