Entre proteção e regulação: sentidos do cuidado Infantojuvenil na rede pública de atenção

Abstract

This study analyzes the meanings attributed to childhood care within the context of Brazilian public policies on child and adolescent mental health. It is based on the understanding that care is not a neutral, homogeneous, or exclusively protective practice, but rather a historical and social construction shaped by different conceptions of childhood, development, psychological suffering, and institutional intervention. Grounded in discussions on the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform, the Psychosocial Care Network, and the Child and Adolescent Psychosocial Care Centers, this study discusses the tensions between psychosocial, medicalizing, and normative perspectives present in care practices. This is an integrative literature review based on national scientific productions on childhood, child and adolescent mental health, and public policies. The results indicate that childhood care is configured as a heterogeneous field, marked by disputes of meaning, the coexistence of different rationalities, and diverse ways of recognizing and managing children’s psychological suffering. It is concluded that the conceptions underlying care directly affect institutional practices, as they may either expand forms of protection and recognition or reinforce processes of normalization, medicalization, and control over children and families.