Implication of social construction of deficit discourse for children of mother with a severe mental illness

• Grant number: 13/10546-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Carla Guanaes Lorenzi
• Grantee: Marilia Belfiore Palácio
• Supervisor: Sheila McNamee
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of New Hampshire (UNH), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/04165-1 - MEANINGS MADE BY CHILDREN OF WOMEN WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS ABOUT THEIR FAMILY RELATIONSHIP., BP.MS

Abstract

The present project aims to analyze the implication of social construction of the deficit discourse in narrative construction of children whose mothers are treated in psychiatric service. Deficit discourse is a set of ideas sustained in a negative value judgment, expressed in a language that reinforces the understanding that the failure or deficits is in the people, as an example, when mental illness is taken as something individual. This project is related to the master's research, entitled "Meanings made by children of women with a severe mental illness about their family relationships", from which, through the study of literature and pre-analysis of 8 interviews, it has been noticed that deficit discourse regarding to mental illness stands out, both in scientific discourse and in discursive practices of the children interviewed by the cited survey. Therefore, the purport of this project is to deepen the reflection proposed in the original design about the meanings made by children on their relationship with their mother. Mainly, this internship project search to think over those moments where the deficit discourse crosses the narrative of the children on their family relationships, and their implications in the relationship described. The dialogue with Professor McNamee in the Communication-University Department of New Hampshire, USA about this theme, can contribute to the analyses process and discussion of our original project. (AU)