Este artigo discute estudos sobre a família atual e as situações que ocorrem quando existe uma criança deficiente na família. Parte do princípio de que não se pode negar a importância de aspectos ambientais no desenvolvimento e de que as famílias são fundamentais para o desenvolvimento das crianças. Quando existe uma criança deficiente na família, esta não irá, necessariamente, causar transtornos familiares, mas a ocorrência destes dependerá de múltiplos fatores, desde as crenças dos pais até os recursos da família em lidar com a deficiência. Além disso, mostra que os pais desejam e merecem ser tratados de forma sensível pelos profissionais que atendem seus filhos.

Impacto da notícia da síndrome de Down para os pais: histórias de vida

This study was conducted in order to observe interactions among twenty children living in a sheltered home and their care-givers. Using ethnographic methodology, these children (between ten months and five years old) were observed during half-hour meetings held twice a week for three and a half months. The findings indicate a lack of training among the care-givers, reflected in verbal hostility towards the children, with limited care, few words of encouragement and little physical contact. At the same time, it was noted that the children searched continuously for attention and care from other adults visiting the home. This underscores the need to prevent and restructure poor relationships between care-givers and children, shaping healthy environment for their development.

O impacto da deficiência nos irmãos: histórias de vida

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and children's social skills, establishing significant correlations between those two constructs. A total of 202 children, 7 to 10 years old, male and female, attending second to fourth year of government schools in São Paulo, Brazil, were participants of this research. They collectively completed Children's Social Skills Test (THAS-C) and Parental Styles Inventory (IEP). Results suggest that positive parental styles are predictors of altruism, while negative parental styles are predictors of assertiveness, conversation, and social confidence. Regarding general social skills, variables that offered the best probable model were positive monitoring, lax discipline, moral behavior, and physical abuse (the higher the general social skill, the lesser the abusive parenting styles). As a conclusion, it seems that different social skills are related to positive and negative parenting styles, reinforcing the idea of a social skill as an attribute of behavior.

Interactions between mothers and infants have recently been the object of many studies, which uncover fundamental aspects of attachment and development. For disabled infants, comprehension of those interactions is particularly significant because the mother's behaviours can offer important clues to professional staff who work with the infant, signalling specific needs that may not be detected with standard tests. The Theory of Innate Intersubjectivity proposes that human beings possess an innate ability to share subjective states. The aim of this research was to analyse in detail the interactions of two mothers and their disabled infants. Footages of two mothers and their infants with different disabilities (a boy with hypotonia and a girl with Down syndrome), in normal daily activities of bathing, feeding and playing with the infants, were studied with microanalysis frame-byframe, employing descriptive categories defined by Fiamenghi to identify intersubjective states. Results showed that intense interactions occurred in both dyads. However, the affective quality of the interactions varied according to the each mother's ability to share emotions with her child and the infants' responses to her affectionate states. The findings indicate that a mother of a disabled infant, regardless of the precise nature of the disability, should be aware that their child's development will benefit from a positive affective interaction with them. Future research should aim to develop programmes of intervention with parents that will equip them with information and procedures to help them cope with their infants' disability, and to improve their communicative and emotional skills in daily activities, as well as sharing their doubts and feelings regarding the difficult task of raising a disabled child.

A presente pesquisa é um estudo sobre as representações sociais da violência em três grupos de adolescentes com idade entre 14 e 17 anos, matriculados em três escolas de ensino médio da zona oeste, na cidade de São Paulo. As informações foram obtidas por meio de procedimentos verbais (discussão em grupo) e não-verbais (colagem), com o objetivo de ampliar a compreensão do fenômeno da violência sob o ponto de vista dos adolescentes e analisadas sob a abordagem da teoria da Representação Social de Moscovici. Os resultados mostraram que as representações sociais sobre a violência foram situações associadas às crianças e aos jovens, às cenas explícitas de destruições, crimes, política e esportes. Os adolescentes identificam-se com as cenas, apontando o medo e a insegurança que o fenômeno provoca. Para os adolescentes, a diminuição da violência passa pela cooperação e conscientização. Palavras-chave: Adolescência; Violência; Representação Social. Adolescents in school: social representation on violence AbstractThis research investigates the social representation of violence in groups of adolescents in São Paulo and it was developed with three groups of 14-to 17-year-old high school students, in three schools located in the West side of the city. Data were collected via verbal (group discussion) and non-verbal (collage) procedures, aiming to enlarge the comprehension of violence from the standpoint of adolescents and were analyzed based upon Moscovici's Social Representation theory. Results showed that social representation of violence appeared in situations associated to children, youths, and graphic scenes of destruction, crimes, politics and sports. Adolescents identify themselves with those scenes, expressing the fear and insecurity that the phenomenon elicits. Decrease in violence passes through cooperation and awareness processes on the adolescents' viewpoint. Keywords: Adolescence; Violence; Social Representation. Adolescentes en la escuela: representaciones sociales sobre violencia ResumenEsta investigación es un estudio sobre las representaciones sociales de la violencia en tres grupos de adolescentes con edad entre 14 y 17 años, inscriptos en tres escuelas de enseñanza secundaria de la zona oeste, en la ciudad de São Paulo. Las informaciones fueron obtenidas por medio de procedimientos verbales (discusión en grupo) y no verbales (collage), con el objetivo de ampliar la comprensión del fenómeno de la violencia desde el punto de vista de los adolescentes y analizadas sobre la óptica de la Teoría de la Representación Social de Moscovici. Los resultados mostraron que las representaciones sociales sobre la violencia fueron situaciones asociadas a los niños y a los jóvenes, a las escenas explícitas de destrucciones, crímenes, política y deportes. Los adolescentes se identificaron con las escenas, señalando el miedo y la inseguridad que el fenómeno provoca. Para los adolescentes la disminución de la violencia pasa por la cooperación y concienciación. Palabras clave: adolescencia, violencia, representación social. 111

Many studies in psychology assume that infants cannot interact with their mirror images before 24 months of age. Innate intersubjectivity theory seeks to explain that infants are born with an ability to share meanings and emotions and to recognize differences between self and other since birth. According to that theory, infants are able to engage in interactions with significant others from birth. Researchers on mother-infant interactions acknowledge those interactive abilities, but very few studies have dealt with infants interacting with peers. In this small-scale exploratory study, infants (6-to 9-month-olds), boys and girls, were observed interacting with their mirror images, and their emotional expressions were coded, according to an extensive behavioural, functional, negotiatory and emotional coding system. Analysis showed that girls appear to show a broader array of emotional expressions than boys, although boys seem to interact more with their mirror images. A number of self-exploratory behaviours were also coded, which could be an indication of the presence of self-awareness before 1 year.