Abstract
Young people with poorly regulated diabetes often experience recurrent hospitalization, behavioral problems, higher incidence of psychiatric disorders, as well as family dysfunction. It is crucial that young people with diabetes learn to manage their diabetes effectively. Some young people with diabetes cannot manage their diabetes at home and have to live at a residential care unit for young people with diabetes. In this study we highlight the identity development of these young people. The data consist of semi-structured interviews with current and former residents of a care facility for young people with diabetes. The analysis revealed three themes: (1) the young people report a high level of personal growth and maturity after moving to the care home; (2) the importance of identifying with others and how forming relations plays a significant role in the young people’s personal development; and (3) the young people have a constant fear of being different. Being able to define and shape one’s identity against a background that includes a meaningful perception of diabetes is key to understanding why life at the care home is so identity-changing for the young residents.
Highlights
The various aspects of identity theory that we have presented in the theory section and that have been essential to the analytical process have informed all of the findings across the three themes
Adolescence and early adulthood are phases characterized by personal development and growth in self-understanding and identity
Considering our three main thematic findings as a whole—(1) the young people report a high level of personal growth and maturity after moving to the care home; (2) the importance of identifying with others and how forming relations plays a significant role in the young people’s personal development; and (3) the young people have a constant fear of being different—it is clear that identity formation and identity repair are of significant importance to the young people living at the residential home
Summary
Hartog et al [2] demonstrated that illness is often experienced as a life event that conflicts with a person’s ultimate life goals, resulting in an experience of contingency and low levels of quality of life. They showed how people make meaning of illness events by creating narratives and narrative identities that lead to a kind of narrative integration, which reduces the experience of contingency and increases quality of life
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