Psychological assessment in intrafamilial violence cases: A documentary review from forensic psychology
Keywords:
domestic violence, psychological assessment, forensic psychology, documentary review, Prosecutor's OfficeAbstract
Domestic violence represents a significant public health challenge and has a considerable legal impact on the psychological well-being of women victims. The objective of this article was to analyze the characteristics of the forensic psychological evaluations conducted on women victims of domestic violence assisted by the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Manabí, through a documentary review of forensic case files. A qualitative, documentary, and cross-sectional study with a descriptive approach was developed, based on the analysis of forensic and legal files corresponding to 15 cases attended between the years 2020 and 2025. The results showed that psychological violence was the predominant type of violence in 80% of the reviewed cases, primarily associated with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. In the majority of the cases analyzed, clinical and forensic interviews were used, complemented variably with psychometric tests such as the MMPI-2, PAI, Millon IV, and anxiety scales. However, variability in the application of these tests was observed depending on the cases, showing differences in the standardization of evaluative procedures. It is concluded that forensic psychological evaluations are a fundamental tool for identifying psychological harm in domestic violence cases. However, there is a need to strengthen methodological standardization and improve institutional conditions to optimize the quality and consistency of forensic reports in this context.
Keywords: domestic violence, psychological assessment, forensic psychology, documentary review, Prosecutor's Office.
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