REALIZATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS - CAN CHRONICALLY-ILL ADOLESCENTS CATCH-UP SETBACKS

The present study investigates the question of which effects a chronic physical illness has on psychosocial development in adolescence. Base d on the concept of Havighurst (1953), a 4 1/2 year longitudinal study was conducted on 86 diabetic and 103 physically healthy adolescents, using a procedure for self-evaluation of developmental status. Once a year, from 1991 to 1994, the adolescents assessed their current develo pmental status and indicated their intended future levels for 11 diffe rent: developmental tasks. MANOVAs with repeated measurements revealed that above all, adolescent age and gender were important for accompli shing specific developmental tasks. Although at the beginning of the i nvestigation the chronically ill adolescents demonstrated definite dev elopmental deficits in a few relevant areas, in the long run they were successful in making up for these setbacks.