title: [Sense of self-contact experienced by an obese child].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sense of self-contact experienced by a child is a mental availability of the contents of self-experience. It is a possibility of identifying and expressing the contents of own feelings, experiences and conditions. Sense of self-contact is an element of a sense of identity. The sense of identity involves the contents of mental self-experiencing, sense of differentiation and sense of continuity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this article is an attempt to answer what is a sense of self-contact experienced by an obese child.
  
  
  METHODS
  142 children have been examined (71 obese and 71 slim) at the age from 5 to 10 years. Children Apperception Test, the version with animal figures (CAT-A) has been used to children examination. The CAT-A consists of 10 black-white pictures presenting animals in different situations, significant in view of the child's development and functioning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The specific difficulties in an experience of self-contact by an obese child were pointed out.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychotherapy should be aimed at finding internal, mental points for self-description, thus also the sense of mental self-contact and self experience in personal dimension.
authors.affiliation: Katedra Psychologii Klinicznej Dziecka i Rodziny, Wydział Psychologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. joanrad@psych.uw.edu.pl
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radoszewska
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D011385:Projection; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires