Points de vue de professionnels intervenant auprès des conjoints ayant des comportements violents au sujet de la concomitance de violence conjugale et de troubles mentaux

Abstract

La concomitance de violence conjugale et de troubles mentaux chez les conjoints violents est un sujet controversé, tant au plan conceptuel qu’au plan clinique. De nombreuses études ont objectivé la présence de troubles mentaux dans la population des conjoints violents, sans toutefois s’intéresser aux points de vue des professionnels qui accompagnent ces hommes dans un processus de changement. Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche qualitative qui visait à explorer les points de vue de professionnels spécialisés dans l’intervention auprès de conjoints violents quant à la concomitance de violence conjugale et de troubles mentaux chez leur clientèle. Onze professionnels ont été rencontrés au cours d’une entrevue de recherche semi-dirigée. Les participants estiment que les conjoints violents souffrant de troubles mentaux (CVTM) se distinguent de l’ensemble des conjoints violents par un degré élevé de désorganisation, et conçoivent les troubles mentaux comme un facteur augmentant le risque d’exercer de la violence conjugale. Leurs points de vue sont observables à travers leurs énoncés verbaux et les conduites professionnelles qu’ils adoptent auprès des CVTM, soit l’évitement, la distanciation et l’intégration. Le discours des participants reflète les paradoxes associés à la catégorisation des CVTM et à l’intervention auprès de cette clientèle.

Practitioners’ Views on IPV and Its Solutions: An Integrative Literature Review

“…The reader should nonetheless keep in mind that the studies reviewed here considered the practitioners’ viewpoints from several angles. Even though some of the studies explored IPV in a rather broad manner (e.g., Audet, 2002; Leisey, 2008), other studies looked at much more specific questions, such as the role of alcohol and drug consumption in violent behavior (Dalton, 2009), the responsibility of violent partners for their violence (Eisikovits, Griffel, Grinstein, & Azaiza, 2000; Virkki, 2015), and the concomitance of IPV and mental health problems (Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016). Not all the themes were covered exhaustively in all the studies.…”

“…Indeed, while they did not touch on biological causes, several individual factors were identified. These factors include, most notably, alcohol and drug consumption, mental health problems, low self-esteem, jealousy, unrealistic expectations of the partner, childhood exposure to violence and trauma, and difficulty handling stress, anger, and conflicts (Audet, 2002; Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016; Dalton, 2009; Edin et al, 2008, 2009; Javaid, 2015; Leisey, 2008; Lessard, 2004).…”

“…The question of accountability also comes up in situations where the perpetrators of violence have mental health problems. In a study conducted by Dallaire and Brodeur (2016), practitioners stated, on the one hand, that IPV is not a disease, that violent partners are fully responsible for their actions, and that interventions must be clear as to their full accountability. On the other hand, the practitioners’ description of their clientele indicated that some of these people had mental health problems and thus a limited responsibility for their acts.…”

“…This paradox illustrates the difficulties faced by these practitioners and those in other studies in defining the role that mental health problems play in the construction of IPV. In the opinion of several practitioners in the reviewed studies, these disorders neither cause nor explain IPV (Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016; Leisey, 2008). Others, however, take the opposite viewpoint and believe that they constitute a risk factor (Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016) or, to a lesser degree, are one of the causes of IPV (Audet, 2002).…”

“…In the opinion of several practitioners in the reviewed studies, these disorders neither cause nor explain IPV (Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016; Leisey, 2008). Others, however, take the opposite viewpoint and believe that they constitute a risk factor (Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016) or, to a lesser degree, are one of the causes of IPV (Audet, 2002). Still others consider that mental health problems are used to excuse violent partners and make them less accountable for their actions (Dallaire & Brodeur, 2016).…”