Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part IV: Psychological and psychiatric consequences of ill-treatment and torture: trauma and human worldviews.
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Most literature on psychological consequences of torture is related to prolonged detention. Psychological consequences of intensive physical and psychological torture in brief detention have not been investigated. The aim of this study is to analyse the psychological impact of torture in short-term incommunicado detention. METHOD A sample of 45 Basque people who had allegedly been subjected to ill-treatment or torture whilst held in incommunicado detention between two and 11 days in Spain in the period 1980-2012 was analysed. The period between detention and evaluation ranged between two and 12 years. Each case was evaluated by several psychiatrists and psychologists. Clinical interviews which followed the Istanbul Protocol were assessed, as were psychometric tests (Post-traumatic Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Vital Impact Assessment Questionnaire (VIVO)) and external documentary evidence. A cumulative prevalence of psychiatric diagnosis (ICD-10) from the period of detention was established. FINDINGS Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the most frequent diagnosis (53%). Enduring personality change after a catastrophic experience was detected in 11% of subjects. Other diagnoses were depressive disorders (16%) and anxiety disorders (9%). Psychometric evaluation at the time of the study showed symptoms of PTSD in 52% of the subjects (with a tendency for these symptoms to diminish over time) and depressive symptoms in 56%. The VIVO questionnaire discerned two subgroups of survivors: "affected" survivors (36%); and "resilient" survivors (64%). INTERPRETATION The data demonstrated two important issues: the undervalued damaging effect of intensive torture in short-term detention and the long lasting psychological damage of the same over time.
منابع مشابه
Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain:Part I: The Istanbul Protocol Project in the Basque Country.
There is increasing evidence to show that torture is a serious problem in the Basque Country. Whilst such evidence can be found in reports of international human rights monitoring bodies, sentences of Spanish and international courts, and empirical studies, they are limited in not having followed the Istanbul Protocol (IP) in order to evaluate the reliability of torture. A working group compose...
متن کاملIncommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part II: Enhanced credibility assessment based on the Istanbul Protocol.
BACKGROUND The Istanbul Protocol (IP) is the key instrument in the documentation of allegations of torture. However, few scientific studies have evaluated its effectiveness as a tool to assess credibility of allegations of ill-treatment or torture. OBJECTIVE Present data on the credibility of allegations of torture in a sample of 45 Basque people held in short-term incommunicado detention bet...
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BACKGROUND Torture is changing in western societies, evolving from pain-producing torture to more subtle mixed psychological methods that are harder to detect. Despite this, there is not an adequate understanding of the complexities of contemporary psychological techniques used in coercive interrogation and torture. METHODS The interrogation and torture techniques used on 45 detainees held in...
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CONTEXT After the reports of human rights abuses by the US military in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, questions have been raised as to whether certain detention and interrogation procedures amount to torture. OBJECTIVE To examine the distinction between various forms of ill treatment and torture during captivity in terms of their relative psychological impact. DESIGN AND SETTING A c...
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Torture : quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture
دوره 26 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016