[Psychological mistreatment of children with sickle cell disease in Cameroon: description and analysis of 1 case].

Psychological maltreatment of a children with sickle-cell disease is a form of parental dysfunction provoked by a crisis situation. In most cases, this type of child abuse involves a relatively harmonious family going through a period of adaptation that jeopardizes its internal equilibrium. The weakest components of the family, i.e., the children, become the scapegoats for the crisis. After a brief description of this disorder, the authors analyze the different causes that lead to eruption of intra-familial violence. Several cultural, social, and economic factors combine to trigger the maltreatment to which hapless children with sickle-cell disease fall victim. Special legislation to provide appropriate child care is the only alternative to prevent these situations from becoming chronic subject only to the socio-economic conditions of the parents and prevailing ethos.