ASPECTS OF DEPENDENCE‐INDEPENDENCE CONFLICT IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA

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Abstract
SUMMARY: The study set out to verify by the experimental method several hypotheses arising out of the analytic Literature concerning the dynamics of the asthmatic child.Two groups of asthmatic children, differing in severity, were matched and compared with two control groups, one normal and the other with chronic chest disease. The asthmatic and normal children were drawn from random samples of the 10‐yr‐old population within the Melbourne (Australia) Metropolitan Area. The asthmatic children demonstrated an excessive dependence‐independence conflict with an intensive mother‐child bond and core anxiety around the threat of separation. Under such a threat “claustral” themes were more predominant. It was tentatively concluded that this complex of variables was specific to asthma.