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Long-Term Physical Illness in Childhood: A Challenge to Psychosocial Adaptation

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Coping with Physical Illness

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Abstract

Robert Louis Stevenson, a victim of pulmonary tuberculosis, once wrote, “Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.” Children with a chronic physical disorder who have successfully mastered the physical, social, and emotional hardships associated with their illness well illustrate his point. This paper intends to review the common forms of emotional stress experienced by the child with a long-term illness and by his parents. It also describes the major adaptational techniques enabling the sick child and his family to achieve a satisfactory psychosocial adaptation.

Supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service Grant No. 2T01MH12904.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

    Ake Mattsson M.D. (Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics)

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  1. Ake Mattsson M.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University Medical Center, USA

    Rudolf H. Moos

  2. Veterans Administration Hospital, Palo Alto, California, USA

    Rudolf H. Moos

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© 1977 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Mattsson, A. (1977). Long-Term Physical Illness in Childhood: A Challenge to Psychosocial Adaptation. In: Moos, R.H. (eds) Coping with Physical Illness. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9089-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9089-7_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-9091-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-9089-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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