Social determinants of psychological distress and stress in men who perpetrate family violence in Mexico City

Abstract

The social determinants of psychological distress and stress are described and analyzed in two groups of men attending reeducation programs for family violence in Mexico City. A non-experimental, descriptive, transversal study was conducted employing a qualitative methodology and an interpretive approach, in which questionnaires were utilized and focus groups were held. Symptoms of stress that were reported included muscle aches, insomnia and nightmares, headaches or dizziness, irritability or bad mood, nausea, stomach pain and indigestion. The principal issues that could be identified as the root of these symptoms included personal and family finances, their own health or that of their family members, and mental distress, among others. Differences with respect to living conditions and the effects of domestic violence were present. We argue that initiatives directed at men and their particular conditions and problems which are based on a hegemonic view of masculinity and gender are likely to be limited in their capacity to explain and modify the causes of situations generated by and experienced by men.