Características sociodemográficas e clínicas dos usuários de Ambulatório de Saúde Mental e sua relação com a capacidade de mentalização

Abstract

The present dissertation aimed to identify the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the clients of a Mental Health Ambulatory in Imperatriz – MA and its relationship with the mentalization capacity. The dissertation was organized in two articles that include, respectively, the specific objectives proposed. In both studies, the sample consisted of 80 users of the outpatient clinic who had their clinical records examined and responded to the Brief Symptom Inventory - BSI and to the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire - RFQ, that respectively measure symptoms of various psychiatric syndromes and impairment in reflexive function (or mentalization ability). The first study aimed to identify the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the clients and to verify the possible association between intensity of symptoms with the variables age, sex and schooling. The second study investigated the association between mentalization and psychiatric symptoms, examining whether impairments in the ability to mentalize (certainty and uncertainty) explain the severity of different groups of symptoms reported by clients.