The Concepts of Coping and Vulnerability as Applied to Children with Chronic Conditions

Much literature is available on children with chronic health problems; however, little attention has been given to the transaction between the individuals' coping strategies, levels of vulnerability, and the support or nonsupport of the environment, which help to determine their adaptation to living with a chronic condition. In this article the behavioral processes needed for coping and adaptation are viewed as a) seeking information, b) maintaining autonomy, and c) utilizing intrapsychic processes. Vulnerability is viewed as a dynamic continuum, affected by both constitutional and acquired factors. Clinical examples illustrate how chronic conditions can affect children's coping strategies and levels of vulnerability and influence their transactions with an environment that may offer varying levels of support.