Life as a couple, and their ability to solve problems or not, can result in the relationship being satisfactory and functional or unsatisfactory and dysfunctional, which increases the risk of violence with serious implications. For that reason, it is important to isolate the risk factors to prevent and treat unsatisfactory and dysfunctional relationships. The qualitative interpretive exploratory method was used, analysing 50 sessions of group psychotherapy with patients from a reproductive health institution whose relationships faced violent problems. The identified factors were the lack of autonomy in one of the partners, unresolved internal factors, a combination of external factors and factors caused by their interaction; symmetrical and asymmetrical violence, subjugation of one before the other, intergenerational violence, family violence during childhood and normalisation of violence. Isolating factors to understand relationship problems at risk of manifesting violence opens the possibility of effective, specific and preventive treatments of family and intimate partner violence.
Keywords: affective deficiencies; asymmetrical violence; family abuse; intimate partner violence; symmetrical violence.