L’image du corps et le processus d’identification chez les enfants handicapés moteurs : étude de cas chez les patients du centre de réhabilitation Joséphine Rodolphe de Garoua»

Abstract

The importance given to the concept of body image over the last few decades has given rise to various research studies that have made it possible to understand its impact on the process of identification of an individual. The present research, a case study, analyses the body image of children with motor disabilities aged 12 to 13 years encountered in the Joséphine Rodolfi Garoua Rehabilitation Centre. The main question that allows us to define our study, to orientate it and to organise our ideas in order to achieve our objectives was the following: how is the identification process characterized in the motor handicapped child of the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre of Garoua with regard to his self-image? Our objective in this research was to examine if self-image has an impact on the identification process of the motor disabled child at the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre in Garoua, and we formulated the general hypothesis that: The identification process of the motor disabled child is linked to the experience of his or her self-image. The operationalization of this general hypothesis gave rise to three research or specific hypotheses which are: HS1: The basic self-image positively facilitates the identification process in children with motor disabilities at the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre in Garoua. HS2: The functional self-image facilitates the identification process in children with motor disabilities at the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre in Garoua. HS3: The erogenous image of the self positively influences the identification process in children with motor disabilities at the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre in Garoua. To test these research hypotheses, we conducted a field study with five children with motor disabilities, all hospitalized at the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre in Garoua. A semi-directive interview guide was submitted to them. The interviews were analyzed using the Bardinian model of content analysis. After analysis, it was found that our three research hypotheses were validated. In other words, the body image participates in the modeling of the identification process in the motor handicapped child of the Joséphine Rodolfi Rehabilitation Centre of Garoua.