Abstract

MARQUES, Cristina. Depressão materna e representações mentais. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2003, vol.21, n.1, pp.85-94. ISSN 0870-8231.

Maternal depression deserves a special place amongst those situations in which the quality of maternal investment is compromised; not only because of its high prevalence but also due to the role it has been lately given as a risk factor in the development of emotional disturbances in children. In this paper, maternal mental representations of depressed mothers and their impact on mother-child interactions are more thoroughly analyzed, from the results of a study that took place at the Infancy Unit which aim was to evaluate maternal depression (in correlation with other significant risk factors) and psychological functioning of children of depressed mothers. The author analyses the results of this research, especially the significant differences found between depressed and non depressed mothers concerning mother's perceptions of herself, of the child and mother-child identification.

Keywords : Maternal depression; mental representations; mother-child relationship.

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