Kierunki badań nad osobowością dzieci i młodzieży chorych na astmę

Abstract

In the history of research on the structure of personality in individuals suffering from asthma it is possible to distinguish two trends (taking theories of personality as a criterion) in the light of which the complicated relations between structural features of a patient and symptoms of disease, its genesis and duration are interpreted. The first trend in empirical investigations is closely connected with classical psychosomatic views on etiology of different diseases. In the opinion of authors accepting this point of view, the structure of personality determinates outset and course of asthma and so learning a personality pattern of asthmatic patient facilitates understanding symptoms of his/her somatic complaints. The second direction of research on the psychological factors in asthma has been shaped under the influence of cognitive conceptions of personality. The advocates of cognitive psychology notice certain associations between disorders in the anatomical structure of individual and his/her behavior in the situations which are created by disease. They try to understand and explain these relationships in terms of the most contemporary theories in psychology. Their interests and investigations are focused on three psychological variables: self-concept, health locus of control beliefs and attitudes towards own illness.