Jornal de Obesidade e Terapia para Perda de Peso

Abstrato

Mother's Experiences in Early Stages of Relationship with the Child, in Mothers of Adolescents Treated for Obesity

Joanna Radoszewska

This article describes the specifics of mental representation of the self as a mother in mothers of obese adolescents. The mental representation of the self as a mother is a way of experiencing the self as a mother of one’s child and the relationship with the child. It determines how the mother functions and what her experiences are in relation to the child. It is the collection of mental representations related to being with the child, mental representations of the mother-child relationship. The study presented in this article falls within the area of research covering psychological conditions of formation and persistence of obesity in children and teenagers. 37 mothers participated in the study – 17 mothers of obese persons and 20 mothers of persons with normal body mass. Among the children of interviewed mothers, the average age of obese children was 14.57, and the average age of children with normal body mass was 13.42. Structured clinical interviews were used as the study method. Mothers of obese adolescents were noted to more frequently lack access to the representation of the self as a mother. More frequent referral to experiences caused by extreme emotional events in relationship with the child up until the age of 3 was observed in mothers of obese teenagers.