Maternal depression, behavioral profile and school performance in school-age children Depressão materna, perfil comportamental e desempenho escolar de crianças em idade escolar

The aim of this study was to compare behavioral profile and school performance of school-age children living with a mother who presents clinical history of recurrent depression, diagnosed according to CID-10 criteria in order to verify the influences of such adversity. Thirty-eight mother-child dyad...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mariana Pavan, Fernanda Aguiar Pizeta, Sonia Regina Loureiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2012-01-01
Series:Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-79722012000100015
Description
Summary:The aim of this study was to compare behavioral profile and school performance of school-age children living with a mother who presents clinical history of recurrent depression, diagnosed according to CID-10 criteria in order to verify the influences of such adversity. Thirty-eight mother-child dyads were evaluated using tests, interviews and questionnaires. Approximately two-thirds of the children presented behavioral and school performance difficulties with predominance of emotional and relationship problems, and impairment in the three areas of school performance which were assessed (writing, arithmetic and reading). Such difficulties may be associated with the negative impact of maternal depression. One-third of the children did not present difficulties, which suggests the use of protective mechanisms. The study highlights the importance of considering differences in children's profiles for the planning of mental health practices.<br>Objetivou-se comparar o perfil comportamental e de desempenho escolar de crianças, em idade escolar, que convivem com mães com história clínica de depressão recorrente, diagnosticada de acordo com os critérios da CID-10, visando verificar as influências dessa adversidade para as crianças. Foram avaliadas 38 duplas mãe-criança por testes, entrevista e questionários. Aproximadamente dois terços das crianças apresentaram dificuldades comportamentais e de desempenho escolar, predominando problemas emocionais, nos relacionamentos e nas três áreas avaliadas do desempenho escolar (escrita, aritmética e leitura), evidenciando o possível impacto da depressão materna. Um terço das crianças não apresentou dificuldades, sugerindo a ação de mecanismos protetores. Destaca-se a relevância de se considerar tais diferenças no perfil das crianças no planejamento de práticas de saúde mental.
ISSN:0102-7972
1678-7153