Disease perception and adherence to the therapeutic rehabilitation project. Asthmatic ado-lescents’ point of view

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Alberta Xodo
Publishing Year 2018 Issue 2018/3 Language Italian
Pages 21 P. 74-94 File size 234 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2018-003004
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The difficulty of asthmatic adolescents to take care of their own health through a regular intake of drugs and the adhesion to the physiotherapic treatments, it is very well documented. Curing asthma is not automatic, since it is an emotionally intense experience, where em-barrasment, sense of powerfulness and loss of control are perceived. All the above cannot be neglected particularly in an evolutive stage which is characterized by the relationships between peers together with a need for authonomy even on beliefs and values about health. This article follows the line marked by international literature, using the same theoretical and methodological setting (symbolic interactionism and narrative interview). 10 boys and 10 girls between 14 and 18 years old, admitted to Istituto Pio XII (Misurina, BL) were enrolled in the study. The interviews allowed the researchers to develop a theory based on the subjects’ self perceptions. The stories collected were about: 1) Identity building of an asthmatic person; 2) perception of the different daily lifestyle compared to persons of the same age; 3) Perception of friends and parents support; 4) Perception of the relationship with health professional; 5) Emotional impact (both happy and potentially traumatic experiences); 6) Therapy adherence. Having asthma is a stressful experience, particularly about the limitations on social life and the shame connected with it. Adolescents experience frustrations when they try to conquer their own authonomy by getting rid of what they perceive as an excessive parental control, so they carry out prejudicial behaviours (e.g. smoking) using their illness management as a favored battlefield. Health professionals are experienced as aloof and unsympathetic. The passage from therapeutic adherence to therapeutic agreement seems to be essential to promote rehabilitation projects in adolescents.

Keywords: Asthma, adolescent, treatment adherence, agreement, narrative interview, pediatric psychology.

  1. Bloomberg G.R., Chen E. (2002). The relationship of psychologic stress with childhood asthma. Immunol Allergy Clinic of North America 25: 83-105.
  2. Alexander F. (1951). Psychosomatische Medizin: Grundlagen und Anwendungsgebiete. Berlin: De Gruyter (trad. it. La medicina psicosomatica. Firenze: Giunti, 1951).
  3. Araujo A., Lunardi Rocha R. and Goncalves Alvim C. (2014). Adolescence and asthma management: the perspective of adolescents receiving primary health care. Revista Paulista de Pediatria, 32(3): 171-176. DOI: 10.1590/1984-0462201432304
  4. Atkinson R. (1998). The Life Story Interview. CA, USA: Sage Publications, Inc. (trad. it. L’intervista narrativa. Milano: Raffaelo Cortina, 2002).
  5. Baldini L. a cura di (2009). Psicologia Pediatrica. Roma: Piccin.
  6. Batan Alith M., Rodriguez Gazzotti M., Montealegre F., Fish J., Nascimento O.A. and Jardim J.R. (2014). Negative Impact of asthma on patients in different age groups. Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, 41(1): 116-22.
  7. Bender B.G. (2007). Depression Symptoms and substance abuse in adolescents with asthma. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: Official Publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology , 99(4): 319-324. DOI: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)60547-9
  8. Calam R., Gregg L. and Goodman R. (2005). Psychological adjustment and asthma in children and adolescent: The UK Nationwide Mental Health Survey. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67: 105-110.
  9. De Leo G. (1998). La devianza minorile. Roma: Carocci.
  10. De Leo G. e Patrizia P. (1999). Trattare con adolescenti devianti Progetti e metodi di intervento nella giustizia minorile. Roma: Carocci.
  11. Dinwiddie R. and Muller W.G. (2002). Adolescent treatment compliance in asthma. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 95: 8-71.
  12. Fenichel O. (1945). Trattato di psicoanalisi delle nevrosi e delle psicosi. Roma: Astrolabio, 1951.
  13. Freud S. (1901). Bruchstück einer Hysterie-Analyse, Monatsschrift fur Psychiatrie and Neurologie, vol. 18 (4): 258-310 (trad. it. Casi Clinici 3. Dora, frammento di un’analisi di isteria, S. Freud, Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1976).
  14. Gaddini R. (1970). Disturbi psicosomatici dell’apparato respiratorio. In: Gaddini R. (1970). Medicina psicosomatica in pediatria. Torino: Minerva Medica, pp. 55-59.
  15. Global Initiative for Astma (GINA) (1995, revised, 2002). Asthma Management and Prevention. Maryland: NHLBI: NIH Publication, 96-3659° Bethesda.
  16. Guo S.E., Ratner P.A., Johnson J.L., Okoli C.T.C. and Hossain S. (2010). Correlates of smoking among adolescents with asthma. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(5): 701-711.
  17. Hannson K. (2007). I Ett Andetag: En Kulturanalysis av Astma som Begransning och Mojlighet [In a Breath: A Cultural Analysis of Asthma as Limitation and Possibility]. Stockholm: Critical Ethnography Press.
  18. Kelsay K., Hazel N.A. and Wamboldt M.Z. (2005). Predictors of Body Dissatisfaction in Boys and Girls with Asthma. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 30 (6): 522-531 first published online March 3.
  19. Klinnert M.D., McQuaid E.L., McCormick D., Adinoff A.D. and Bryant I.N., (2000). A multimethod assessment of behavioral and emotional adjustment in children with asthma. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 25 (1): 35-46.
  20. Martino E. (2007). La psicologia interattivo-cognitiva e l’approccio narrativo. In: Pagliaro G., Salvini A. (2007). Mente e psicoterapia. Torino: Utet, pp. 42-55.
  21. Naimi D.R., Freedman T.G., Ginsburg K.R., Bogen D., Rand C.S. and Apter AJ. (2009). Adolescents and asthma: why bother with our meds? Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 123(6): 1335-1341.
  22. Pagliaro G. e Salvini A. (2007). Mente e psicoterapia. Torino: Utet.
  23. Sadof M. and Kaslovsky R. (2011). Adolescent asthma: a develpomental approach. Current Opinion in Pediatrics. Aug., 23(4): 373-378.
  24. Salvini A. e Dondoni M. (2011). Psicologia clinica dell’interazione e psicoterapia. Firenze: Giunti.
  25. Santoro L. e De Bortoli M. (2013). Allergo-immunologia e psiche. In: Righetti P.L., Santoro L., Sinatora F. e Ricca M., a cura di, Psicologia e pediatria. Strumenti per le professioni sociosanitarie, Milano: FrancoAngeli, pp. 135-150.
  26. Shaw R.J. (2001). Treatment Adherence in Adolescents: Development and Psychopathology. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 6, 1: 137-150. DOI: 10.1177/1359104501006001011
  27. Van De Ven M.O.M., Engels R.C.M.E., and Sawyer S.M. (2009). Asthma-specific Predictors of Smoking Onset in Adolescents with Asthma: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34 (2): 118-128.
  28. Westergren T. and Lilleaass U.B. Adolescent boys with asthma – a pilot study on embodied gendered habits. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 5: 289-297. DOI: 10.2147/JMDH.S37517
  29. Wildhaber J., Carrol W.D., Paul L.P. and Brand M.D. (2012). Global impact of asthma on children and adolescents’ daily lives: The room to breath survey. Pediatric Pulmonology, 47(4): 346-357.
  30. Williams C. (2000). Doing health, doing gender: teenagers, diabetes and asthma. Social Science and Medicine, 50(3): 387-396. DOI: 10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00340-8
  31. Woodgate R.L. (1998). Adolescent perspectives of chronic illness: “It’s hard”. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 13 (4): 210-223. DOI: 10.1016/S0882-5963(98)80048-1
  32. -- www.ginasthma.org/2017-gina-report-global-strategy-for-asthma-management-and-prevention/
  34. Brown E.S., editor (2003). Asthma: Social and Psychological Factors and Psychosomatic Syndromes. Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine, 24: 1-15.
  35. Burns J.J., Sadof M. and Kamath D. (2006). The adolescent with a chronic illness. Pediatric Annals, 35(3): 206-10, 214-6. DOI: 10.3928/0090-4481-20060301-14

  • Il processo di aderenza alle disposizioni precauzionali COVID-19 in 55 bambini trevigiani intervistati nei primi 10 giorni di quarantena successivi al DPCM 9 marzo 2020 Alberta Xodo, Monica Conz, Sara Vianello, Luana Buffon, in PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE 1/2022 pp.91
    DOI: 10.3280/PDS2022-001006

Alberta Xodo, Percezione della malattia e aderenza al progetto terapeutico riabilitativo. Il punto di vista degli adolescenti asmatici in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 3/2018, pp 74-94, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2018-003004