Abstract
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease, still without cure, caused by chromosomal mutations that can affect various systems, the respiratory and digestive systems being the most common. Chronic illness brings psychological changes to patients and their caregivers. Aiming to evaluate internalizing and externalizing problems, and competences of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis, we interviewed 31 family caregivers, mostly mothers, of patients aged 6 to 18 years in waiting rooms of three Reference Centers in the treatment of the disease in the municipality of São Paulo, state of São Paulo. The instruments used were: Child behavior checklist and Field Diary. The results pointed out the prevalence of internalizing problems in patients with cystic fibrosis in adolescence. Field diary analysis indicated difficulties in adherence to treatment and unassisted demands for psychological care in patients and their family caregivers. The absence of a Psychology professional in the multiprofessional teams showed to be prejudicial to the psychological conditions of cystic fibrosis patients and their family caregivers.
Keywords:
Cystic fibrosis; Internalizing problems; Externalizing problems; Developmental psychology; Child behavior checklist