Open AccessRepresentational structure of microcephaly and self-image from mothers of children with the neurological affliction
Author(s) -
João Pedro Santos Cipriano,
Emerson Araújo Do Bu,
Maria Edna Silva de Alexandre,
Maria da Penha Lima Coutinho
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
saúde e pesquisa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2176-9206
pISSN - 1983-1870
DOI - 10.17765/2176-9206.2020v13n3p631-643
Subject(s) - microcephaly , psychology , meaning (existential) , notice , developmental psychology , association (psychology) , feature (linguistics) , philosophy , psychiatry , psychotherapist , political science , linguistics , law
This study aimed to analyze the representational structure of microcephaly, as well as the self-image that mothers of children with the illness possess. There were 105 Brazilian women, aged between 20 and 50 (M=31; SD=7.32), who live, mostly, in the south-eastern region of Brazil (39.0%). For data acquisition, in 2018, it was used the Free Word Association Technique. Prototypical analyses of the collected material demonstrated that the participants build their representations upon microcephaly based on scientific knowledge, also describing it using signs that refer to spirituality and love. When it comes to the participants’ self-image, it was possible to notice elements that support the feature resilience and other factors that are associated with self transcending characteristics. The identified representations reveal adaptive processes, based on the allocation of resilient resources that allow the participants from this study to give a different meaning of being a mother of a child with microcephaly.