Why help? Why now?

Identity in itself proves difficult to fully understand due to its complexity. Many theories suggest sociological, psychological, and interactional approaches in a futile attempt to reach a definition. In my attempt to try to understand these theories I desired to determine whether chronic disease impacts one’s identity, or how one views oneself. I initially understood that chronic disease probably affected an individual’s identity in some way, but not until after I did a fair amount of research did I discover this to be correct. Chronic illness does seem to affect an individual’s identity, but not necessarily in a negative way. Through my experiences as a researcher and student I have come to understand that the age of diagnosis may have causality with how identity is adaptable. Research indicates that diagnosis of a chronic disease before the critical age of 11 years old does not seem to change an individual’s identity, but after this point will cause identity to change. Identity then may become more or less adaptive. This change in identity seems dependent upon the individual’s social environment which has a significant effect on identity, because it causes an individual to see oneself differently based on the judgments of others. We call this impact that the actions of others have on one's perception of oneself as the "extended identity."

This knowledge is extremely important in our society today because chronic disease is becoming even more prevalent and more and more children are being diagnosed with chronic illness. If we can understand how this diagnosis effects their identity we can then in turn find ways to help them upon their diagnosis. If medical professionals understand the effects that diagnosis of a chronic disease has on individuals in each age group, they will better be able to care for them. The new understanding that they will gain may allow doctors to empathize with their patients and learn how to provide better care and treatment courses for them taking into account their individual identity states. If doctors understand that at certain ages identities change in different ways then they can more effectively come up with treatment plans and coping mechanisms that are age dependent. If medical professionals working with adolescents understand that getting diagnosed with a chronic illness can influence how patients construct their identities, then those professionals can more effectively help those patients cope and make sense of the ways in which their chronic disease influences their identity once diagnosed.