Abstract

CASTRO, Elisa Kern de  and  JOB, Clarisse. Mother's cancer and the psychological impact on small children's behavior. Gerais, Rev. Interinst. Psicol. [online]. 2010, vol.3, n.2, pp.136-148. ISSN 1983-8220.

Cancer is a disease which, in addition to physically weakening the person, promotes very important psychological changes. This study aims to examine the perceptions of mothers with cancer about their children's behavior towards them and their disease, as well as to learn about their view as to how much the mother's disease may affect them emotionally on a daily basis. The participants were three young female adults with cancer. The instrument used was a semi-structured interview. The results showed that mothers reported changes in their children's behavior, who became more anxious, confused and stressed after the mother's diagnosis. Furthermore, it was observed that mothers had problems dealing with the demands of being mothers while they needed to deal with the cancer. It was concluded that cancer of the mothers caused significant psychological changes in their children's lives, which deserve to be focused by the work of Psychology.

Keywords : Cancer; Motherhood; Children.

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