Traditional conceptions of autonomy, which highlight the separation of the individual from the social forces around them, contradict a core assumption of sociological thought: that the individual is embedded in society. What then are we to make of autonomy’s cultural power to structure a person’s relationships and commitments? Moreover, how do people maintain autonomous social identities despite the dependencies that structure modern life? I explore these questions through ethnographic inquiry of the daily negotiation of carework and autonomy at an independent living community for adults with intellectual disability. I find that autonomous social identity emerges when autonomous actions are socially and temporally distanced from the actions of others. By framing dependence as a momentary state on the way to a more autonomous future, staff attribute autonomy to participants based on their progress toward future goals. The result is paradoxical. When daily productivity becomes the most salient indicator of autonomy, participants are obligated to be autonomous as a condition for their status as adults. I argue that this obligation to autonomy is a basic mechanism through which social institutions, like adulthood, induce self-governance as a mechanism of social control.

Orientadores: Cecilia Guarnieri Batista, Maria Aparecida Affonso Moyses / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T09:41:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tsuji_EneidaMiyuki_M.pdf: 1785033 bytes, checksum: ddd13c04b42bc86ef017144debaa7aba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: A atuação profissional voltada para crianças com problemas de origem orgânica, com prognóstico desfavorável, merece reflexão, por sua relação com o desenvolvimento psicológico da criança. Neste trabalho foi realizado o estudo de caso de uma criança com diagnósticos de problemas orgânicos e queixas de comportamentos agitados e agressivos. Analisou-se sua participação, durante três anos, em projeto de intervenção em grupo especializado, com foco em seus modos de participação e interações com parceiros e adultos. Foram identificadas competências e modalidades cooperativas de participação, que se tornaram mais diversificadas e complexas ao longo do período de observação. O estudo permitiu uma ampliação do olhar para as possibilidades e dificuldades da criança, sugerindo análises mais abrangentes do desenvolvimento de crianças com múltiplas queixas. Ressaltou-se a importância da percepção do outro para a construção da identidade da criança, pois é a partir destes olhares que se poderá conduzi-la à estabilidade ou à possibilidade de mudança / Abstract: The professional practice directed to children with organic problems and unfavorable prognosis deserves attention, for being directly related to the psychological development of the child. It is presented the case study of a child with diagnoses of organic problems and behavioral complaints, characterized as agitated and aggressive. It was analyzed the participation of the child, during three years, in a project of intervention in groups, with focus on modes of participation and peer interaction. The analysis allowed the identification of competencies and cooperative modalities of participation, which became more diversified and complex during the period of observation. With this study, it was possible to take a wider perspective of the possibilities and difficulties of the child, suggesting broader analyses of the development of children with multiple developmental complaints. This work emphasizes the relevance of the perception of the Other in the building of the child's identity, because it this sight that will lead the children to stability or to make possible for her to change / Mestrado / Saude da Criança e do Adolescente / Mestre em Saude da Criança e do Adolescente