1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The empirical work presented in this thesis is devoted to the experiences of individuals who come to navigate at the confluence of the prosocial and the antisocial in their social universe. More specifically, it seeks to understand what happens when a significant relationship is simultaneously tainted by both the offending conduct of one of its actors and the prosocial attitude of the other.» (p. 53)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’échantillon est composé de 18 membres de Relais Famille, un organisme communautaire situé à Montréal, offrant un service d’aide aux personnes qui soutiennent un individu ayant eu des démêlés avec la justice. L’auteure utilise également les dossiers de 1318 personnes incarcérées dans une prison provinciale entre le 1er avril 2010 et le 31 mars 2013. Ces dossiers proviennent du ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec.

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Results show in particular that «[a]mong parents, unconditional love confronted the “surreal” idea that their offspring acted against the law, a conduct that went against everything they had ever sought to bequeath. [Also, the] form of emotional connexion described by parents combined with the unacceptable nature of offending actions was also present among participants involved in other forms of biological kinships.» (p. 142) Furthermore, results show that «when they tried to make sense of the offending of their loved one, all parents had to come to grips with the role they might have played in these actions. While actor adjustments could be mobilized to do that work, this narrative strategy remained limited, leaving many parents unable to fully expel doubts about their self-responsibility. The developmental/longitudinal structure of their account actually served as an additional strategy in reaching that goal. Through their walk down memory lane, parents were not only able to tentatively account for the incomprehensible conduct, but also to depict the role(s) they had taken along the way. What then emerged from their narratives was a deep sense of powerlessness, the idea that they had always done everything they could.» (p. 171)