The effect of conflict-related violence intensity and alcohol use on mental health: The case of Colombia

• Published in: SSM - population health 2024-03, Vol.25, p.101626, Article 101626
• Main Authors: Salas-Ortiz, Andrea, Moreno-Serra, Rodrigo, Kreif, Noemi, Suhrcke, Marc, Casas, German
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol consumption; Colombia; Conflict violence; Difference-in-Differences; Mediation analysis; Mental health
• ISSN: 2352-8273; 2352-8273
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2024.101626

We investigated the causal impact of conflict-related violence on individual mental health and its potential pathways in Colombia. Using data from before and after the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), we adopted a difference-in-differences empirical design combined with instrumental variables estimation. We also used formal mediation analysis to investigate a possible mediating role of alcohol consumption in the relationship between conflict exposure and mental health. Our results did not support the hypothesis that changes in exposure to conflict violence after the peace accord causally led to any changes in individual mental health. We were unable to identify a statistically significant mediating effect of alcohol consumption in the relationship between exposure to conflict violence and mental health. •Two years after the 2016-peace accord, there was an overall trend of poor mental health among Meta residents.•However, we did not find evidence about people exposed to conflict-related violence in Colombia having worse mental health.•The lagged effect of violence on trauma is a potential reason for this.•No evidence was found to support the self-medication hypothesis.