Abstract

MESQUITA, Paula Casagranda  and  BENETTI, Sílvia Pereira da Cruz. Maternal representation in children with depressive mothers. Arq. bras. psicol. [online]. 2014, vol.66, n.2, pp.53-67. ISSN 1809-5267.

Research indicates that maternal depression is a risk factor for child psychopathology. The aim of this study was to identify maternal representations of children with mothers with Major Depressive Disorder. It is a multiple case study with three pairs of mother-child between 7 and 10 years old. The instruments were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB), an instrument that uses narratives to assess parental representations. In the children's narratives maternal representations were disciplinary, with conflict and lack of affective interactions. We concluded that the identification of the characteristics of maternal representation is an important resource for the development of appropriate psychotherapeutic interventions, as well as programs aimed at prevention of child psychopathology.

Keywords : Maternal Representation; Maternal Depression; Mother-Child Relationship.

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