[The level of approval in selected chronic diseases]

Every somatic disease causes difficulties and negative emotions. It makes people limit or change their social roles. Approval of the disease is a significant factor in the process of adaptation to it. Approving the disease significantly influences the reduction of negative emotional reactions it causes. The paper attempts to define the degree of disease approval among the patients with the following illnesses: diabetes, bronchial asthma, cardiac ischaemia, chronic renal insufficiency.

The study was carried out on 121 subjects, the patients of the district hospital in the Lublin Region. The study applied Approval Illness Scale (AIS)--B.J. Felton, T.A. Revenson, C.A. Hinrichsen, adapted in Poland by Z. Juczyński. It consists of 8 statements describing consequences of bad health condition.

The analysis of the obtained results confirmed a similar approval level in comparable illnesses. However a correlation was confirmed between the level of illness approval and the sex, age and place of living.