Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:100-103
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Children of dialysis patients
RJ Friedlander Jr and M Viederman
The authors interviewed and administered projective drawing tests to 14
children of dialysis patients in order to understand the children's
fantasies about their parents' illness and treatment. They uncovered latent
aggressive feelings toward the sick parent among a majority of the children
and found that many children defended themselves against these feelings by
identification with the sick parent or by pseudomature behavior (reinforced
by the parent). The authors believe that the dialysis of a parent has a
profound impact on the development of these children and stress the need
for further investigation.
