[Personal values and goal orientations of chronically ill adolescents and young adults]

For all those involved in the care of the chronically ill, to provide support in a professional manner implies to strive for a comprehensive understanding of the specific coping strategies in the light of the individual person's priorities. Coping research has yet to present a systematic analysis of personal values, goals and expectations of the chronically ill. The reader is invited to approach the topic by a review of the relevant literature and presentation of our own study on the classification of individual values and goals in 164 chronically ill adolescents and young adults (cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease, haemophilia). Regarding personal values, the responses by the young patients were allocated to three main categories: pursuit of social contacts, striving for acceptance of the disease, the striving for joyful and intense living. Finally the relevance of personal values for appropriately coping with a serious illness is discussed.