Impact of domestic violence in women's mental health: analysis and perspectives in Mexico.

The purpouse of this paper is to present the current panorama of domestic v iolence as a public health problem, considering, on the one hand, the morbi lity and mortality it produces at a national and international level, and, on the other hand, its impact on the quality of women's life. Emphasis is p laced on the association between domestic violence and women's mental healt h, expressed through different symptoms, some of which can be fatal. Depres sion, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, as w ell as homicide and suicide are among the most frequent disorders. Unfortunately the association between domestic violence and mental health h as hardly been explored in Mexico. This has caused an information gap for m ental health workers and researchers. However, incipient efforts are being made to overcome this limitation. This paper reviews the results of the international literature on this them e, focusing on a description of the association between domestic violence a nd mental disorders so as to identify the negative effects violence has on women's mental health. The final proposal is that this information be included in the professional training of health workers in general and, particulary, in that of mental health workers (psychoterapists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychologis ts and nurses). It also suggests a guidline for research in this field in M exico.