Ilyamín Merlín García

Background: There is extensive evidence linking specific sociodemographic and clinical factors to increased vulnerability for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, most studies have focused on community samples, and little is known about how such factorsshape PTSD risk in clinical psychiatric settings in Latin America, where trauma exposure is highly prevalent. The present study addresses these gaps by examining sociodemographic characteristics and specific types of traumatic events linked to PTSD diagnosis among individuals receiving care at a tertiary mental health facility in Mexico City, Mexico. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational design was employed, enrolling 160 psychiatric patients. Participants were assessed for exposure to potentially traumatic events using the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5). Probable PTSD was initially identified with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), followed by diagnostic confirmation using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5). Sociodemographic data, including age, sex, and educational attainment, were also collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify PTSD predictors, with a significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The frequency of PTSD in the sample was 31.9%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that sexual aggression was the strongest independent predictor of PTSD (odds ratio (OR) = 38.49; 95% confidence interval (CI): 10.59–139.95; p < 0.001). Other significant predictors included being female (OR = 8.09; 95% CI: 1.60–40.86; p < 0.001) and over 30 years old (OR = 2.86; 95% CI: 1.13–7.24; p < 0.05). The model demonstrated good overall fit (Pearson χ2 p = 0.673) and explained a moderate proportion of the variance (Nagelkerke R2 = 0.550). Conclusions: Sexual aggression, female sex, and older age were significantly associated with a PTSD diagnosis among psychiatric trauma survivors. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating traumainformed care principles and systematic screening for sexual violence into mental health settings to improve diagnostic accuracy and optimize interventions for this population.

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has a high prevalence, presenting with self-injurious behaviors, suicide attempts and other psychiatric comorbidities. This condition is accompanied by high levels of stigma and self-stigma, driving to deleterious effects on prognosis. The present study aimed to compare demographic and clinical characteristics of women diagnosed with BPD with low and high internalized stigma and to address internalized stigma dimensions severity (disclosure, positive aspects, and discrimination) between the source of perceived stigma. Methods: A total of 106 women with a diagnosis of BPD were evaluated for sociodemographic data, sources of stigma, the severity of the symptomatology and internalized stigma, evaluated with the Borderline Evaluation of Severity Over Time (BEST) and the Spanish version of King's Internalized Stigma Scale (ISS), respectively. Results: Participants with high internalized stigma reported greater symptom severity. Regarding the reported sources of stigma, in almost all sources of stigma, discrimination was perceived as greater (p < 0.05) (friends, co-workers, doctors, psychiatrists and nurses) as well as the perceived global internalized stigma (p < 0.05) for friends, co-workers and nursing staff. Conclusion: It is necessary to address stigmatizing behaviors by health personnel and the support network close to the patient in addition to improving awareness about associated internalized stigma which is related to worse outcomes.