AbstractDespite the higher proportion of foreclosures and home evictions executed in Spain, compared to other countries, and the known link between social exclusion and mental health problems, studies exploring this association in Spain remain scarce. This study investigated the link between the process of home eviction and the appearance of symptomatology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. Two hundred and five people affected by the process of home eviction were assessed using a structured interview that included three validated assessment instruments for PTSD, perceived stress, anxiety and depression. Analysis involved comparison with the normative groups that formed the validation studies together with regression analysis to determine the major psychological and socio-demographic predictors of perceived stress. Of the participants, 95.1% reported that they were experiencing the process of home eviction with fear, helplessness, or horror. In PTSD symptomatology, they scored higher than the normative PTSD group in symptoms of avoidance (t = 5.01; p < .05), activation (t = 5.48; p < .01), and total score (t = 4.15; p < .05). Of this subgroup, 72.5% fulfilled the DSM-IV symptom criteria for PTSD. The major predictor of perceived stress was PTSD symptomatology (B = .09; p < .001). The process of home eviction in Spain is having an alarming impact on mental health of affected people calling for effective measures to provide psychological and social support.
Perceived stress and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among intensive care unit staff caring for severely ill coronavirus disease 2019 patients during the pandemic: a national study
