Violent situations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction:The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has changed the lifestyle of the general population, mainly due to the distancing and isolation measures adopted to contain the spread of the disease.These measures generated a series of stressors, including an increase in domestic violence.Objective:To identify the occurrence of domestic violence during isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, its association with issues related to mental health and poorly adaptive personality traits.Method: Nonprobabilistic study, composed of a sample of 3625 participants who were assessed using the PCL-5, DASS-21, PID-5-BF and AUDIT-C.Instruments were administered on-line from April 22, 2020 to May 8, 2020.Results: 379 (13%) of respondents experienced some type of adverse situation during social distancing.Participants who experienced violence had higher alcohol consumption (p=0.004),greater severity of symptoms related to a diagnosis of PTSD (p <0.001), and greater prevalence of anxiety (p<0.001) and depression (p<0.001)symptoms in relation to those who had no such experiences.They also demonstrated higher PID-5 scores of maladaptive personality traits, such as negative affectivity (p<0.001),distance (p<0.001),antagonism (p<0.001),disinhibition (p<0.001) and psychoticism (p<0.001).Conclusion: Isolation due to the pandemic is having a great impact on people's mental health, specifically on those who have experienced violence.Together with public agencies and the private sector, strategies should be created aimed at scaling up interventions to mitigate this impact of the pandemic, especially by providing expanded listening spaces in the health and social care sectors. BJPsychoterapy