Abstract
<jats:p><p><strong>Context and relevance.</strong> Psychologists working with children in oncology departments of medical institutions note differences in the emotional response of boys and girls to the situation of severe treatment and prolonged hospitalization. <strong>Objective.</strong> To identify the features of the emotional spheres of girls and boys in primary school age with oncological diseases. <strong>Hypotheses.</strong> Children with oncological diseases have features of the emotional sphere compared to their healthy peers. These features include increased anxiety, a tendency towards depressive states and asthenia. There are also differences between girls and boys with oncological diseases, with boys more prone to neurotic states and the manifestation of defensive aggression, and girls being more likely to experience depression. <strong>Methods and materials.</strong> Empirical research was conducted on a sample of students at the &laquo;We Teach/ They Learn&raquo; Project of Hospital Schools, Russian Children's Clinical Hospital and National Medical Research Center of Oncology named after N.N. Blokhin. The study involved 40 children of primary school age, including 20 children with cancer and 20 children without chronic somatic diseases. The following methods were used: CMAS Scale (adapted by A.M. Prihozhan) for apparent anxiety, projective technique &ldquo;Drawing a Non-Existent Animal&rdquo; (M.Z. Dukarevich), the projective technique &ldquo;Houses&rdquo; (by O.A. Orekhova), the Hands test (E. Wagner). <strong>Results.</strong> The data obtained showed that boys with cancer were significantly more likely to experience feelings of loneliness, neurotic and defensive aggression than boys without cancer, while girls with cancer had lower levels of anxiety and a tendency towards depression. <strong>Conclusions.</strong> Boys and girls in primary school age aged with cancer differ in their emotional indicators.</p></jats:p>