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Unique Considerations when Treating Adolescents with Chronic Illness

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Behavioral Approaches to Chronic Disease in Adolescence

Adolescence is marked by significant developmental changes in virtually all aspects of life, encompassing major transformations as individuals move from childhood to adulthood. Changes associated with this era include significant internal processes (ego and identity development, changing self and body image, onset of and continued pubertal changes) and psychosocial influences (peer and family relationships, new romantic/sexual relationships). These salient developmental issues, as well as the overarching challenges represented by strivings for independence and future-oriented goals, can be made more complicated and stressful by the presence of a chronic illness – although this is not always the case.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Dr. Hauser passed away during the final stages of our writing this chapter. He was significantly involved in the conceptualization and writing processes, and even after his death, his influence continued to shape the chapter’s final form. The concepts explored in this chapter had been central foci in the relationship of its authors.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Judith Crowell, MD, Luisa Ribeiro, Ph.D., and Ann Rifkin, Ph.D., for their assistance in reviewing the chapter at various stages in the process.

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  1. Harvard Medical School, Judge Baker Children’s Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Dorothy E. Warner & Stuart T. Hauser

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  1. Dorothy E. Warner
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Correspondence to Dorothy E. Warner .

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    Warner, D.E., Hauser, S.T. (2009). Unique Considerations when Treating Adolescents with Chronic Illness. In: O'Donohue, W. (eds) Behavioral Approaches to Chronic Disease in Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-87687-0_3

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