A construção de uma trajetória resiliente durante as primeiras etapas do desenvolvimento da criança: o papel da sensibilidade materna e do suporte social

Abstract

This correlational study aims at examining the role of maternal sensitivity and social support in the construction of a resilient trajectory for children exposed to psychosocial risk conditions during their first eighteen months of life. The sample consisted of 161 families of adult and young mothers and their children living in urban and semi-urban areas in the Province of Quebec in Canada. These families take part of a longitudinal Research Program – “Être Parent” Project (Tarabulsy et coll. 1996) – developed by the “Groupe de Recherche en Développement de l’Enfant et de la Famille” (GREDEF). The indicators of resilience were evaluated according to the mental development of children at 15-months, the attachment and the emotional and behavioral problems at 18 months. Quantitative analyses were based on descriptive analyses, the Pearson’s product-moment analyses, and the multiple linear regression analyses. The results show the mediational role of maternal sensitivity on the link between the psychosocial risk conditions and child development outcomes, highlighting its role in the prediction of a possible resilience trajectory in these first stages of life. From theses results several recommendations for professional practice with the families that live in psychosocial risk conditions are pointed out.