Asthmatic children’s attitudes towards their illness

Introduction
Among numerous chronic diseases of childhood and adolescence, bronchial asthma causes many psychological problems, and this is related to its course, long-term treatment and the requirement of self-control. One of the important factors affecting the mental condition of children with asthma is their beliefs about the disease. The attitude towards the illness is also an important factor influencing the prognosis, course of therapy and control of asthma.

Aim
To understand the attitudes of children suffering from bronchial asthma towards their illness.

Material and methods
The survey was conducted in 2019 among 106 children with bronchial asthma aged 8–18 years (mean age: 13.5 ±0.83) treated at the University Children’s Hospital in Lublin and their parents. The study used the Child Attitude Towards Illness Scale (CATIS) and an original questionnaire.

Results
The research demonstrated that children’s attitudes towards their own disease were quite varied. The mean of their scores in the CATIS scale ranged from 1.81 to 4.27, with the maximum value of the scale of 5, which means that negative or neutral attitudes prevailed.

Conclusions
In the studied group of children with asthma, negative or neutral attitudes towards their own disease prevailed, which depended mainly on the severity of the disease, the occurrence of exacerbations, self-control, as well as the family structure and place of residence. The CATIS scale can be useful in the work of many therapists as it can be used to assess and, possibly, change the unfavourable attitudes of chronically ill children towards their disease.