A child with chronic illness and the process of family adaptation*

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This article analyzes the concept of family adaptation to a child with chronic illness according to the Wilson method. This concept is viewed developmentally as a continual process of adjustment and change by a family system with a resultant response found across a continuum from optimal to ineffective adaptation. In a developmental context, the family system is viewed from a health-oriented rather than a pathological perspective. The focus is on the family's ability to address the stressful chronic illness situation rather than centering on maladaptation of the family and subsequent treatment.

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    *

    Adapted from a concept analysis, based on the Wilson model, completed while the author was enrolled in a doctoral nursing course at the University of Missouri at Columbia, MO.

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