As interfaces entre sofrimento psíquico e gênero: uma revisão de escopo

Abstract

Gender is not characterized only as something purely biological, because it determines roles, experiences and symbolic ways in which individuals must present themselves to the world and are identified by it. Gender relations produce and reproduce hierarchical and asymmetrical practices which determines the inferiority of women in different spheres of their daily lives, restricting their access to work, culture, control over their own bodies and decision-making. These unequal relations can cause situations of violence and conflicts, generating suffering and psychological illness to them. Considering that the impact of mental illness and suffering in everyday life causes a rupture in people's lives, this undergraduate thesis aims to research Brazilian productions on psychological suffering and gender, to identify the main subjects that make up this theme and analyze studies through a scope review. The scope review consists of a mapping of what is relevant in the literature with the objective of summarising the knowledge of the investigated topic. The research question was: “What do studies in Portuguese bring about women’s mental health?” and the database was the Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (BVS), with the descriptors “(saúde mental) OR (sofrimento psíquico) AND (mulheres)”. A total of 59 articles were selected for analysis. The quantitative results refered to: the date that the articles were published, the geographic location, the health service involved in the research and whether the article was an intervention experience report or a statistical aspect about the diagnosis and psychological distress of women. About the qualitative results, the following main themes were found: the family and work routine, the social determinants of difference combined with gender being: race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality and gender identity and the suffering as a result of illnesses. It is concluded that there are many factors related to women's psychic suffering which may have sociocultural influences. Another point found was that the vast majority of publications focused on suffering factors as opposed to care strategies.