Investigação das características psicodinâmicas de crianças obesas e de seus pais / Obese Children and their parents: Investigation of psychodynamic characteristics.

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

Obesity is a chronic illness that reaches thousands of people. Being considered of high risk and with serious consequences for the physical and mental health, its incidence in childhood became an important subject to be investigated and related to its possible damage in individual, family and social levels. Considering this, the present aimed to contribute for the knowledge of the psychodynamic characteristics of obese children and their parents, by applying projective interviews and techniques. Five case studies had been performed with 7-10-year-old, male children, average socioeconomical level, with IMC-for-age level ? 95% (obesity). The parents were invited to take part of the study with their children and were explained about the its aims. After their allowance, the parents were interviewed in the private researchers office, and applied both a semi-structured interview concerning their childrens personal history and a socioeconomic classification protocol (ABIPEME). After that, the children went through individual, psychological assessment sessions. The techniques used were Machovers Draw-a-Person Test (DAP) and CAT-A, whose results were analyzed according to Bellaks approach. The parents had also been assessed using the DAP and a reduced form of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), according to Morvals approach. The data obtained from the CAT-A and the TAT were later organized in order to inform about the ego functionsconditions of both the child and parents; also, a dynamic evaluation by simple inspection was performed, according to the psychoanalytic approach. The results had suggested a specific familiar dynamics maintaining the childs obesity: on one hand, a maternal image that did not offer the son enough holding in order to facilitate the illusion-disillusion process and to make a transitional experience possible. On the other hand, paternal image that was not able to satisfy the childs needs, as well as to support the mother-son dyad, providing the mother conditions to perform her function. Consequently, the child had problems to reach transitional experiences, which caused damages to symbolization ability, creativity expression and personal style-of-being, thus leading the child to search for concrete support in the external reality (food) as a way to have a relationship with the environment and alleviate anxiety.

ASSUNTO(S)

métodos projetivos família obesidade projective techniques criança child family obesity

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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