How resilience factors influence adjustment in adolescents with chronic kidney disease

Illness severity may not fully predict an adolescent's adjustment rather; psychosocial factors may be playing a role. The current study utilized the Disability-Distress-Coping Model to conceptualize how resilience factors influence adjustment. Participants were recruited from the UNC Chapel Hill outpatient clinic and included 50 adolescents age 13-18 with a diagnosis of CKD II or above. Data analysis consisted of a series of regressions, indicating that overall family functioning and specifically family cohesion are significant positive predictor of social functioning. Overall coping efficacy was not a significant predictor of social or psychosocial functioning, however; the efficacies of two specific coping strategies were: emotion regulation and seeking social support. These findings suggest that adolescents with CKD are able to adjust well to having a chronic illness and that family functioning and coping efficacy play an important role in facilitating this positive adjustment