The experience of chronic illness is often emotionally challenging. People respond to these challenges in very different ways yet their responses are inevitably shaped by their resources and social position, the wider environment and clinical, personal and societal reactions to their symptoms and diagnosis (or lack of diagnosis). This special issue of Chronic Illness features six papers, which ...

This article describes research on the role of environmental factors affecting autonomic regulation and predisposition for states of sympathetic and parasympathetic dominance. Perspectives regarding the role of environmental factors in physiological regulation contribute to our increasing understanding of the impact of gene-environment interactions in the origins of chronic illness such as type...

OBJECTIVES To compare prevalence rates of weight-control behaviors among adolescents with and without chronic illness and to explore the role of familial and other social factors on associations between disordered eating and chronic illness. DESIGN AND SETTING Survey conducted in public schools in Connecticut. PARTICIPANTS A representative statewide population-based sample of 9343 7th-, 9th...

OBJECTIVE To conduct a meta-analysis of social competence in children with a chronic illness. METHODS The meta-analysis included 57 studies comparing levels of social competence in children with chronic illness to those of children without chronic illness. A random effects model was used to calculate overall effect, subgroup, and meta-regression analyses. RESULTS Overall, the meta-analysis ...

lthough it is the individual who is diagnosed with chronic disease, the entire family experiences life with the illness. Chronic illness is a multidimensional experience; A the most efficacious support for families living with chronic illness will also be multidimensional. This paper summarizes what is known about support for individuals and families in which an adult member is living with chro...

Background: Adjustment to chronic disease is a complex and multidimensional construct which can help the patients deal with profound changes in their personal life resulting from illness. Ulcerative Colitis (UC) with unpredictable and disabling course, among chronic diseases, can be challenging and little is known about the role of psychological adjustment of the patients toward it. The aims of...

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