Children of dialysis patients.

Abstract

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.