Abstract

BASAGLIA, Aline Esteves  and  SOUZA, Maria Abigail de. Difficulties in mothering in a group of mothers of aggressive children. Psicol. teor. prat. [online]. 2015, vol.17, n.1, pp. 15-25. ISSN 1516-3687.

Winnicott considered aggression in the school environment one of the manifestations of antisocial tendency, due to early emotional deprivation. With this assumption and to ensure a successful work with aggressive children, he suggested it would be advisable to provide the protective and stable environment they lacked. Due to the lack of studies directly addressing these mothers, we aimed to investigate the psychological functioning of mothers of aggressive boys between 8 and 12 years old. Thirty mothers, whose children were undergoing psychological treatment, were assessed through two psychodiagnostic interviews, one regarding the child and the other regarding the mother (Edao). The results showed weak emotional regulation, difficulty in establishing interpersonal contact, feelings of insecurity, anxiety and depressive tendency. Such characteristics could have a negative effect on the performance of maternal functions, reducing the possibility of providing their children with a protective and stable environment.

Keywords : aggressiveness; antisocial behavior; mother-child relations; deprivation; adaptative operational diagnostic scale.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )