Estrés post-traumático y resistencia psicológica en jóvenes desplazados.

Abstract

Colombia is a country which has suffered violence through its history. This violence bas transformed Colombian lives in many ways and one of these trans formations is reflected in the psychological consequences of our young people. Colombian young people generally show fears, nightmares, repetitive thoughts about painful events, desires to escape from what remembers them the difficult moments, etc. All these are called post-traumatic stress.

In this work, the results of descriptive comparative research carried out in Malambo (a village from Colombia) among 100 children and young people (displaced and non displaced) are presented. In the sample, the post-traumatic stress level was observed by means of questionnaires and interviews about the different PTSD symptoms. Results showed a high level of PTSD in many of the displaced young people (especially thoughts about the event and an increased alert state) as well as depressive and anxious bebaviour. However, results also showed that young women were the most affected population taken into account their psychological resistance level regarding these symptoms.