Pain and love: reports of psychological violence suffered in romantic relationships

• Grant number: 23/10703-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Fernanda Kimie Tavares Mishima
• Grantee: Isadora Silva Naressi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Violence is defined as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself or another. In this sense, it can manifest itself in different ways, such as the psychological, physical, sexual, patrimonial, moral and coercive control. This problem has grown enormously in recent years, especially in romantic relationships. As an important aspect of mental health, there is the individual's ability to experience love. In this sense, reported violence with a partner has serious consequences for emotional development, whether in the short, medium or long term. This research aims to investigate the experience of individuals who have already experienced some type of violence in their romantic relationships, whether current or not, with emphasis on reports of psychological violence. It will be a study with a qualitative approach, of clinical investigation, with a focus on a psychoanalytically oriented case study. Five people of both sexes, aged between 18 and 50, who reported having lived in a violent relationship and who sought free psychological care in an extension project of a public university will participate in the study. After contacting the first participant, the research can follow the snowball method, in which one person indicates another to participate. Data collection can be done online or in person, according to the participant's residence and interest. After consenting to participate in the research, contact will be made and a meeting will be made to apply an interview and conversation mediated by a work of art (¡Que se la llevaron!, by Francisco de Goya); later, feedback will be offered to summarize the experienced process, acceptance and emotional support. All sessions will be transcribed and supervised by the advisor, using the method of free inspection of the material as a basis for data analysis, with the support of Winnicott's psychoanalytic approach to interpreting the collected information. After analysis, a summary of each participant will be made, and, in the end, a general summary of all of them, so that it is possible to think of effective intervention strategies with people who reported having lived experiences of violence in their romantic relationships.