Mylène Fernet

• PhD
• Professor at University of Quebec in Montreal

The need for effective training to support survivors of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify IPSV-related training needs among shelter workers. A comprehensive qualitative analysis was conducted with 179 shelter advocates through focus groups and a World Café. The analysis revealed four overarc...

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate participants’ appreciation and perceived benefits and limitations of a trauma-sensitive, mindfulness-based intervention for complex trauma survivors from their viewpoints. The intervention was planned and implemented in the public health system in Quebec, Canada. Method Based on a fourth-generation qualitati...

Child sexual abuse (CSA) can have lasting negative impacts on one's sense of safety and trust, ultimately affecting the quality of relationships, and increasing the likelihood of future victimization experiences. The present study provides a qualitative description of the themes that were generated through interviews conducted with 23 mothers who e...

La violence dans les relations amoureuses des adolescent·es (VRA) représente un enjeu de santé publique associé à plusieurs conséquences néfastes et chroniques sur le plan de la santé mentale et physique. La prévalence alarmante de cette problématique souligne la nécessité de déployer des stratégies préventives efficaces dès l’adolescence. Malgré l...

This article describes the development of an instrument used to evaluate the perceived self-efficacy of school staff in addressing dating violence (DV) among youth. The study employed a mixed exploratory sequential design. First, a series of items was elaborated upon based on the scientific literature on self-efficacy and material from 15 semi-stru...

The SPARX team responded to the scarcity of training available to school staff concerning dating violence prevention by developing an innovative asynchronous online training program as one facet of their broader initiative. This mixed-methods study aimed to fill the existing gap in the literature regarding the factors influencing the transfer of le...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) can have detrimental consequences, including later IPV victimization for children exposed to IPV. Purpose This study, using a dyadic design, investigates the mediating role of emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV in the association between their mothers’ childhood exposure to IPV and their own experience of ph...

A dyadic examination of the impact of jealousy and trust on control in adolescent dating relationships.

Cet article présente une analyse de données secondaire réalisée à partir de 68 récits de vie de femmes ayant vécu des violences et des situations d’itinérance dans leur parcours de vie. Il se penche plus spécifiquement sur différentes tactiques de contrôle déployées par des partenaires intimes en contexte post-séparation, lesquelles ont eu pour eff...

Research on male survivors of childhood sexual abuse is notably deficient when it comes to addressing their sexual concerns, such as experiences of sexual distress, negative thoughts, and feelings related to their sexuality. Dissociation, a known consequence of childhood sexual abuse, could be associated with higher sexual concerns through identity...

Examining the relationship between the perpetration of control and other forms of teen dating violence.

Différentes stratégies de sensibilisation et de prévention des violences dans les relations intimes ont été déployées dans les dernières années auprès des adolescent.e.s et ont pu démontrer leur efficacité pour réduire ces violences. Cependant, peu d’entre elles se sont attardées spécifiquement aux jeunes de niveau collégial et ont misé sur les tec...

Many studies focusing on childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may have neglected the consequences related to experiencing other types of childhood maltreatment, such as psychological maltreatment. Moreover, the literature has focused more on negative consequences related to CSA, hence potentially leaving out more adaptive and resilient trajectories. This q...

Amid adolescence, youth are developing the relational skills necessary to form and maintain positive intimate relationships. Sexual assertiveness is a key skill that could be related to couples’ sexual outcomes (i.e., sexual satisfaction, sexual concerns, and sexual function). However, dyadic studies are lacking, and associations between sexual ass...

A metasynthesis was performed on 15 qualitative studies to document the experience of revictimization by an intimate partner among women, based on survivors’ perspectives on their sustained childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence victimization. Results identified two main conceptual categories: (a) Barriers to action: A belief system r...

Les interventions portant sur la violence dans les relations amoureuses des jeunes visent principalement à prévenir la violence hors ligne. Or, l’utilisation croissante des technologies de l’information et de communication chez cette population crée un nouveau contexte dans lequel les dynamiques et les rapports de pouvoir rencontrés hors ligne se t...

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects many individuals and can have a significant impact on their health and well-being. In order to inform prevention strategies, several studies have focused on the determinants of IPV. However, knowledge on the association between neighbourhood characteristics and IPV remains scarce. The social disorg...

Studies on child sexual abuse (CSA) have mostly focused on female survivors. However, men are not spared from this type of abuse, as one in 10 men report having experienced CSA before the age of 18. Some adult male victims of CSA, in trying to cope with their history of sexual abuse, overinvest in typically masculine behaviors, such as aggression a...

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is likely to have impacts on adult survivors' sexuality, particularly on their sexual self-concept. However, little is known about how survivors cope with CSA-related sexual impacts, including sexual self-concept impairments. Thus, this study aimed to examine the interplay between sexual self-concept and coping strategi...

Sexual assertiveness is often conceptualized as an individual’s ability to express one’s own sexual needs, desires, and limits. Given that sexual assertiveness is embedded in interactions and can affect not only both partners’ sexual well-being but also relationship satisfaction, dyadic approaches are needed to investigate sexual assertiveness nego...

Objectives Despite the large body of research on violence against women, violence that specifically targets women’s reproductive autonomy and control over their reproductive health, called reproductive coercion (RC), is poorly documented in Canada. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of RC behaviors in an adult Canadian communi...

Youth narratives of love are shaped by romantic experiences through observation of others’ romantic relationships, and by media commonly conveying romantic beliefs. Since past reports have linked romantic beliefs to dating violence (DV), studies need to explore narratives of love by youth who report DV victimization experiences to identify specific...

School staff plays a central role in youth sexual education, making them critical actors in dating violence (DV) prevention initiatives. However, since most of them did not benefit from specific training in sexual education, they often report feeling challenged in their role as a sex educator. To optimize the scope of actions to prevent DV, the SPA...

Les violences sexuelles en contexte conjugal (VSC) sont répandues et associées à des conséquences négatives importantes sur le bien-être des femmes. Plus de 33% des femmes ayant séjourné dans une maison d’aide et d’hébergement pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale (VC) rapportent avoir subi des VSC. Ces violences sont souvent invisibilisées et...

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is an endemic problem affecting nearly one in five girls worldwide. Empirical literature recognizes CSA as an important risk factor for later revictimization within intimate relationships, especially among female survivors. Such revictimization constitutes a serious issue that deserves to be understood through the eyes...

Sur la base des expériences et des recommandations d'adolescentes victimes de violences sexuelles en contexte de relation amoureuse, nous avons identifié cinq principes-clés à mettre en place dans les contextes d'éducation à la sexualité afin de mieux adapter les pratiques à leurs besoins. //Based on the experiences and recommandations of adolesce...

Les études antérieures rapportent des résultats mitigés concernant les différences de genre quant à la capacité des adolescent.e.s à exprimer leurs besoins, désirs et limites dans la sphère sexuelle. Cette étude qualitative vise à documenter la négociation des besoins, désirs et limites sexuels lors d'interactions où des dyades étaient invitées à d...

The need for autonomy and independence in adolescence is so fundamental that it can be difficult for youth to seek help when they experience difficulties. To date, few studies have documented profiles of help-seeking strategies among adolescents and young adults. The aims of the study were to: (1) identify distinct help-seeking profiles, and (2) il...

Introduction School staff play a central role in youth sexual health education (SHE), making them critical actors in dating violence (DV) prevention initiatives. However, since most school staff do not benefit from specific training on SHE, they often report feeling challenged in their roles as sex educators. The mention of a lack of self-efficacy...

Introduction First dating relationships can elicit intense emotions that youth may attempt to alleviate by using control tactics that negatively impact the quality of their relationship and their partner's well‐being. Despite the breadth of research on dating violence, studies examining control tactics in youth relationships are limited. The curren...

Sexual dating violence (DV) is common among female adoles- cents, and victims may experience other forms of DV (physical, psychological, and cyberviolence) and report a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). Heterogeneity of these victimization experi- ences could influence how adolescent girls’ cope. We aimed to identify distinct profiles of victimi...

Adolescents and young adults are particularly at risk of experiencing or perpetrating cyber dating violence (CDV) in their romantic relationships. However, it remains difficult to understand the motivations behind tolerating or perpetrating CDV in romantic relationships. Romantic attachment and beliefs may be an interesting avenue to explore among...

Canadian guidelines suggest using a positive, empowering, comprehensive, and safe approach to provide sexual health education (SHE). However, when they do so, decision-makers and educators often favour sexual risk prevention initiatives rather than positive aspects of sexuality. Furthermore, youth often criticize the gap between what they learn in...

Sexual abuse trauma can have long-term implications for individuals in terms of psychological functioning, relationships, and socio-environmental circumstances, all of which are elements that could explain the CSA intergenerational continuity phenomenon. There are few empirical studies drawing comparisons between families to identify factors associ...

Le présent chapitre visait à documenter : 1) les expériences relationnelles et sexuelles des jeunes; 2) le fonctionnement sexuel des jeunes selon le genre et; 3) les stratégies que les jeunes déploient lorsqu’ils vivent des difficultés dans leur vie amoureuse et sexuelle et les démarches de recherche d’aide qu’ils entreprennent.

Intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment (CM) is a well-documented phenomenon of concern; however, its effects on the child’s level of exposure to CM, as well as subsequent trauma exposure and adult functioning remain undocumented. The present study aimed to further explore the intergenerational effects of CM by comparing emerging adults...

Sexual violence in the context of domestic abuse is a prevalent phenomenon associated with significant negative health outcomes for women. This form of violence raises specific issues that may be overlooked in interventions with victims of domestic violence or in interventions with victims of sexual violence committed by a perpetrator outside of a...

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with long-lasting and pervasive impacts on survivors’ sexual health, particularly on their sexual satisfaction. Dispositional mindfulness has been found to be associated with greater sexual satisfaction among adult CSA survivors. However, the mechanisms involved in this association remain understudied. The...

Considering the increased risk of revictimization, adolescents who have experienced child sexual abuse (CSA) are a priority subpopulation for the prevention of dating violence. Yet, intervention programs often focus on psychological symptomology associated with CSA; few tackle issues specific to relational violence. Addressing the relational trauma...

First dating relationships often occur when youths’ confidence, sense of self, and independence are developing. These relationships can bring about various intense emotions, including jealousy and insecurities. Consequently, to alleviate these intense emotions, youth use control tactics (i.e., isolation, jealousy hypervigilance, dominance, emotiona...

The need for autonomy and independence in adolescence is so fundamental that it can be difficult for youth to seek help when they experience difficulties. To date, few studies have documented profiles of help-seeking behavior according to victimization, gender, and perceived social support among adolescents and emerging adults. The aims of the stud...

This poster documents the approach coping strategies (i.e., aimed at dealing with the trauma and its aftermath) that survivors of childhood sexual abuse may mobilize in their sexuality. Together, these strategies appear to reflect survivors' willingness and readiness to be more authentic in their sexuality, which is essential to achieving a positiv...

Objectives Buddha’s Four Noble Truths state that (1) life is full of suffering, (2) there is a cause of suffering, (3) it is possible to stop suffering, and (4) there is a path leading to the cessation of suffering. The current study aimed to explore how trauma-related suffering and mindfulness dispositions are experienced among survivors of childh...

The current mixed-method study aimed to 1) identify different childhood interpersonal trauma (CIT) and dispositional mindfulness (DM) profiles in an adult sample; 2) illustrate these profiles with qualitative data documenting childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and CIT survivors’ perceptions of their own DM; and 3) examine profile differences on sexual an...

Marcoux, L., Martel, N., Girard, M., Vaillancourt Morel, MP., Hébert, M., Fernet, M., et Godbout, N. (2022, mai). Trauma interpersonnel cumulatif en enfance et difficultés sexuelles chez les survivant.e.s consultant en thérapie sexuelle [affiche]. 2e Colloque relations interpersonnelles : sexualité et parentalité du Centre de recherche interdiscipl...

Sexual assertiveness is a key variable in the development of satisfying and violence-free intimate relationships, yet no specific measure has been validated to assess sexual assertiveness in adolescents. This study aimed to validate the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness in a sample of French-speaking adolescents. Analyses were conducted on sel...

Achieving healthy and satisfying sexual relationships is a major developmental task in adolescence, but factors promoting sexual satisfaction among adolescent romantic relationships remain underexplored. Since sexuality is shaped by relational experiences, strategies mobilized to negotiate conflicts in romantic relationships could be related to sex...

Although the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and homelessness among women is well documented, few studies have investigated this topic from a feminist standpoint, examining the impact of sociocultural factors such as rape culture. Based on a qualitative life course approach, individual interviews were conducted with 21 women who experi...

The perinatal period may include domestic violence (DV). In this study, the perinatal period extends from the start of pregnancy to the end of the child’s second year of life. DV places the safety of both mother and child at risk and undermines the mother–child attachment bond. In this article, we look at the challenges for motherhood in a context...

L'agression sexuelle à l'enfance (ASE) est susceptible d’engendrer des impacts à long terme sur la santé sexuelle des survivants, en particulier sur la satisfaction sexuelle. La présence attentive (mindfulness) a été associée à une plus grande satisfaction sexuelle chez les adultes survivant.e.s d’ASE. Cependant, les mécanismes impliqués dans cette...

The use of technology as a communication tool among youth has fostered opportunities for harassment, stalking or pressuring in romantic relationships. There is a paucity of studies exploring the links between childhood victimization experiences and cyber dating violence (DV) and how youth positively adapt to such experiences. This mixed methods stu...

This study aims to document interactions in conflict situations by identifying profiles in adolescent romantic relationships. Qualitative analyses based on the dimensions of the Circumplex Model of Marital & Family Systems were used to investigate interaction tasks completed by 40 dyads. A typological analysis revealed four profiles of interactions...

The disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) is a complex process that remains partially understood, despite its crucial role in survivors’ recovery. Gender specific experiences of disclosure have been little investigated while this information is crucial to better tailor interventions for survivors. This qualitative study aims to 1) explore survivor...

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a trauma associated with long-term consequences. Notably, survivors are more prone to develop traumatic relational and sexual responses in adulthood. The multiple sequelae associated with CSA prompted researchers to study how survivors cope with these negative experiences. Existing qualitative studies have identified rec...

Domestic violence during the perinatal period (DVPP) refers to the various ways that women’s partners or ex-partners control and coerce them during pregnancy and the 2 years postpartum. From the descriptions of 17 women with firsthand experience of DVPP, this article reports on its manifestations and the associated contexts. The results reveal esca...

Introduction While several studies involving adolescents have addressed issues related to romantic relationships and dating violence, there is a limited understanding of adolescent romantic relationship dynamics. Typological analyses have been useful to provide targeted interventions and to simplify our understanding of complex phenomena. Methods...

À l’adolescence, les filles sont particulièrement à risque de vivre des violences sexuelles de la part d’un partenaire intime (VSPI). Les études qui se sont intéressées aux VSPI se sont surtout attardées aux conséquences dévastatrices de ces expériences auprès des survivantes, au détriment des mécanismes d’adaptation qu’elles mettent en place pour...

Les quatre nobles vérités du Bouddha énoncent que 1) la vie est remplie de souffrance, 2) il y a une cause à la souffrance, 3) il est possible de faire cesser la souffrance et 4) il y a une trajectoire menant à la cessation de la souffrance. Ces dernières sont liées de près à la conceptualisation de l’expérience des traumas, ainsi qu’à la présence...

Objectives: Although most of the literature on physical dating violence (physical DV) focuses on victimization among girls, boys are also at risk. This study aims to document the experiences of boys who underwent physical violence in their romantic relationships. Method: In the Parcours Amoureux des Jeunes Survey, 1,701 boys reported having had a r...

L'adolescence est une période cruciale du développement où se forgent les représentations de l'amour des jeunes à partir, entre autres, de l’observation des relations amoureuses vécues par leurs parents et leurs pairs et de l’exposition aux médias reliant fréquemment l’amour au romantisme. L’adhésion à une telle idéologie peut toutefois être problé...

The present study focused on the informal help-seeking process, facilitators and barriers in the context of romantic relationship difficulties and dating violence (DV). This study also aimed to describe gender specificities involved in the help-seeking process. Data analysis was performed relying on the help-seeking and change model developed for i...

Teen dating violence is a complex issue associated with several deleterious consequences. Previous studies emphasize the importance of considering the heterogeneity of teen dating violence experiences to better understand this issue and its correlates. In this perspective, the present study aimed to identify gender-specific patterns of teen dating...

Objectives A substantive body of quantitative literature found links between mindfulness interventions or dispositional mindfulness and increased relationality and/or sexuality. However, there needs to be a better understanding of the contexts in which the links between mindfulness and relationality/sexuality may occur, which qualitative studies ma...

Objective: This study aims to document the relational and sexual recovery process of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Method: Using the framework-based synthesis approach (Dixon-Woods, 2011), a metasynthesis was conducted on qualitative peer-reviewed studies published between 2004 and 2019, focusing on the recovery from relational and sexual out...

Étude qualitative documentant les types de réactions de proche lors de dévoilements d'agression sexuelle à l'enfance et des réactions qui sont spécifiques en fonction du genre des survivant.es

The transition to parenthood is a momentous time that has numerous repercussions for new parents, as a couple and as individuals. This qualitative exploratory study examines new parents’ experiences and perceptions of the challenges in assuming the parenting role and maintaining relational well-being. Twenty-three new parent heterosexual or same-se...

Introduction: Women living with HIV in Canada experience barriers to comprehensive HIV care. We sought to describe care gaps across a typology of care. Methods: We analyzed baseline data from the Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS). A typology of care was characterized by primary HIV physician and care setting...

Background Child sexual abuse (CSA) can impact survivor’s sexuality, notably regarding sexual self-concept, a key component of sexual well-being. Yet, sexual self-concept has been understudied among CSA survivors and gender differences have been sparsely investigated. Objective The current study aimed to identify CSA survivors’ distinct profiles a...

While several studies in adolescents have addressed issues related to romantic relationships and dating violence, there is a limited understanding of their interaction patterns. This study aims to document interactions in conflict situations by identifying profiles of adolescent romantic relationships. Qualitative analysis based on the dimensions o...

The current study aimed to document intervention practices, challenges, and training needs concerning the intersections between HIV and intimate partner violence (IPV) among community service providers (n = 12). A direct content analysis using the Trauma-Informed Approach was performed. Results revealed that community service providers need to crea...

Rapport de recherche présenté au FRQSC-MSSS

Au Québec, près de 10% des hommes et 22% des femmes rapportent avoir vécu une agression sexuelle à l’enfance (ASE). Des études menées auprès de survivants d’ASE suggèrent un lien entre le concept de soi sexuel (i.e. perception de soi en sur le plan sexuel) et les différentes répercussions sexuelles de l’ASE. Toutefois, considérant la diversité des...

Bien que plusieurs études auprès des adolescents aient traité de difficultés liées aux relations amoureuses et de la violence, les dynamiques au sein des relations amoureuses à l’adolescence demeurent sous-documentées. La présente étude vise à explorer les dynamiques relationnelles au sein de dyades amoureuses à l’adolescence. Au total, 90 dyades h...

Worldwide, it is estimated that one in five women have reported being sexually victimized before the age of 18. Girls are particularly at risk of sexual abuse at the end of adolescence and are more vulnerable to revictimization during this period. However, there is a paucity of findings related to the relational and sexual impacts of child sexual a...

The transition to parenthood (TtoP) is a major life event that brings about significant changes in the sexuality of individuals and couples. This qualitative study documents, from the perspective of new parents, the repercussions on sexual intimacy and the changes that it undergoes in the perinatal period. Data were collected from March 2017 to Feb...

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the prevalence of traumas and strengths in a representative sample of Quebec youth and to test whether poly-strengths were associated with low psychological distress, after controlling for poly-traumas. Method: Using data from the Quebec Youths' Romantic Relationships survey (QYRRS), hierarchical logistic...

Background The current state of knowledge regarding the role of non-offending fathers in supporting their sexually abused children is very scarce. Objective The objective of this study is to further our understanding of fathers’ roles following disclosure of their children’s sexual abuse (SA) by evaluating fathers’ perceptions of the impact of dis...

Sexual dating violence (DV) is highly prevalent and associated with deleterious outcomes. Unfortunately, this form of violence remains poorly understood. Furthermore, the measures used to assess sexual DV may not account for the various manifestations of sexual DV, which limits our understanding of this problem. This study aimed to (a) explore how...

Introduction: Women living with HIV (WLHIV) experience stigma and elevated exposure to violence in comparison with HIV-negative women. We examined the mediating role of experiencing recent violence in the relationship between stigma and depression among WLHIV in Canada. Methods: We conducted a cohort study with WLHIV in three Canadian provinces....

Recent research has highlighted that off-time sexual transitions such as maintaining virginity into adulthood are often experienced as a stigma. Based on stigma and identity theories, adult virginity is conceptualized as a concealable and stigmatized identity. The literature on concealable stigmatized identities emphasizes the significance of their...

La violence sexuelle est très répandue dans le contexte des relations intimes chez les adolescents et les adultes émergents. La recherche d’aide soulève de nombreux défis pour les jeunes victimes de violence sexuelle dans leurs relations amoureuses, mais les défis spécifiques à cette forme de violence sur la recherche d’aide demeurent peu étudiés (...

Intimate partner violence (IPV), and dating violence are major health issues, causing negative health outcomes, and in some cases, ending in homicides. In a lifetime, nearly one out of two individuals will have reported being victimized by a current or a former partner, with higher victimization rates in women. The development of communication tech...

L’agression sexuelle à l’enfance (ASE) est liée à des risques accrus d’être également victime d’autres types de traumas interpersonnels à l’enfance (p. ex., violence physique et psychologique, négligence) (Bolduc et al., 2014), ainsi qu’à un déficit de présence attentive (Godbout et al., 2016). Cependant, cette étude vise à répondre à une lacune, s...

Background Sexual dating violence is highly prevalent within the context of intimate relationships but this form of violence remains understudied among teenagers and emerging adults. Objectives To identify the specific needs of adolescents and emerging adults who reported sexual dating violence, this study aimed to document the: 1) prevalence of s...

Non-offending maternal (NOM) support is considered one of the most important protective factors in facilitating better victim adjustment following the disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA). However, recent findings have led authors to conclude that NOM support has yet to be properly conceptualized and operationalized within the CSA literature. Emo...

Little research in Canada has examined the perspectives of women living with HIV on decision-making across the stages of motherhood. In 2004–2005, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 African, Caucasian and Haitian HIV-positive women recruited in Montreal. All were or wished to be biological mothers. Transcripts underwent thematic anal...

Little research in Canada has examined the perspectives of women living with HIV on decision-making across the stages of motherhood. In 2004-2005, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 African, Caucasian and Haitian HIV-positive women recruited in Montreal. All were or wished to be biological mothers. Transcripts underwent thematic anal...

Introduction Les violences dans les relations amoureuses (VRA) touchent un nombre important d’adolescents et pourraient avoir des répercussions majeures sur la santé et le bien-être de ces individus. La victimisation pourrait notamment être associée à la dépression, à certains symptômes de stress post-traumatique ou encore à des idées suicidaires....