[Obese teenager in the eyes of their mother].
BACKGROUND
The child representation in mother is understand as a experience manner of themselves. There are specific relation properties of mother to obese child. The aim of the study is an attempt of an answer what is a mental representation of child experienced by mothers of obese girls and boys in adolescence.


METHODS
There were 37 mothers investigated: 17 mothers of obese people (8 girls and 9 boys) and 20 mothers of people of normal body mass (13 girls and 7 boys). The mean age of the obese children of investigated mothers was 14.57, and for children with normal body mass was 13.42. All mothers were investigated by clinical interview with 10 questions concerning mental child representation. The obtain results were analyzed in relation to mental mother representation contents: cognitive, emotional, social, sexual, certificate, behavioral and somatic.


RESULTS
1. Mothers of obese people more often than the mothers of adolescents of the normal body mass identify in mental child representation emotional-social, cognitive, somatic, sexual, certificate and behavioral properties. 2. Mothers of obese teenagers more often than the mothers of kids with the normal body mass identify in mental child representation external contents. 3. There are differences in mental child representation in mothers of obese girls and mothers of obese boys.


CONCLUSIONS
1. Mental representation of obese, adolescent child in mother often contains external, not mental properties. 2. Mental representation of the obese, adolescent boy in mother contains some deficits of cognitive properties. It could be a reason of seeing son as dependent and expecting support. 3. Mothers of the obese, adolescent girls identify in their daughters mental representation contents, which give them possibility of identical experience. This perception manner, protects mother from notice of maturity and independence of her daughter.
Radoszewska
Joanna
J
Katedra Psychologii Klinicznej Dziecka i Rodziny, Wydział Psychologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. joanrad@psych.uw.edu.pl
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012933:Social Identification