ALVES, J. R. A representação familiar de crianças que vivenciaram o processo de adoção em diferentes configurações de família [The family representation of children who experienced the adoption process in different family configurations]. 2018. 123f. Master’s Dissertation – Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba (MG), 2018.
Available on: http://bdtd.uftm.edu.br/handle/tede/548
The adoptive family has been acquiring more visibility, and with the changes in family configurations, there are multiple possibilities of adoption under different contexts. The objective of this dissertation was to understand the family representation and the emotional maturation of children who experienced the adoption process from the point of view of the child itself. It is about two studies of qualitative research approach, being one study an integrative review of scientific literature and the other, a collective case study, descriptive, exploratory and cross-sectional. Specifically, Study 1 aimed to know what the scientific literature, anchored in the Winnicottian perspective, has discussed about the emotional development of the child who experienced the adoption process. The searches were carried out in the LILACS, PePSIC, and SciELO databases, from 2006 to 2016. Sixteen articles were analyzed in their entirety, based on pre-established inclusion/exclusion criteria. The predominant profile was of case studies and theoretical studies that address clinical care performed with individuals in the adoption process or who have experienced it, linking aspects of adoption to concepts of Winnicottian theory. The studies point out the importance of early relationships for the emotional development of a person, highlighting the importance of a good enough environment, and this environment can be offered by an adoptive family that understands the child’s need to know his/her history, and offers a safe and welcoming environment. The importance of both the preparation of the adoptive applicants and the child who will enter a new family is highlighted. Study 2 aimed to investigate the family representation of children who have experienced the adoption process in different family configurations from the point of view of the children themselves, besides evaluating their emotional maturity. Five children and their respective parents by adoption participated in the study. For the collection of data with the children, a Play Session was used, the Drawing-of-Family-with-Story Procedure and a session for further investigation/intervention on the drawings; besides a Semi-structured Interview with the couple or one of the responsible people. The data obtained was analyzed and interpreted according to the method of free inspection of the material from the comprehensive process, supported by Winnicottian psychoanalysis. It was highlighted the importance of the child knowing and being open to talk about his story with his caretakers; and, when there is a welcoming and safe environment and the offer of a therapeutic space for the child, which can be obtained in the family by adoption, this enables the child’s emotional maturation. It was also found that the child who has been in the family for less than two years does not yet feel he/she belongs to the family group, thus demonstrating that this is a process that is built over time, going through different phases. Finally, it was verified that the majority of the difficulties observed with the children were not linked to the way the couple that led the family was constituted, but to the universe of adoption, and that, independently of the family configuration, the family representation was linked to the way the children experienced the family and the family functions.