Psychological analysis of the life situation of adolescents with orthopedic diseases

BACKGROUND: The situational approach is a promising direction in the study of the determinants of mental development and behaviors in modern psychological research. This study considered the possibility of using a situational approach in the study of psychological problems of children and adolescents with orthopedic diseases and discussed the objective and subjective characteristics of the life situation associated with orthopedic diseases and surgical treatment. AIM: The study aimed to examine the peculiarities of life situations in adolescents with various orthopedic diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved adolescents aged 1217 years diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis (n = 54) and juvenile chronic arthritis (n = 44) and healthy adolescents (n = 43). Clinicalpsychological and psychodiagnostic methods were used. Mathematical and statistical data processing was carried out. RESULTS: The life situation of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis and juvenile chronic arthritis was characterized by events that cause traumatic experiences. Objective factors of the life situation and traumatic life events presented in the mental picture of the disease of adolescents agree with the pronounced emotional problems of patients with orthopedic diseases. Compared with healthy adolescents, adolescents with orthopedic diseases had higher general index of PTS, which indicates a pronounced subjective difficulty of the life situation of adolescents with orthopedic diseases. The results are confirmed by the severity of the subjective negative emotional reactions to certain characteristics of the disease. The objective and subjective characteristics of the life situation of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis and juvenile chronic arthritis may determine the degree of difficulty and the degree of risk in the occurrence of emotional trauma for illness, hospitalization, and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the life difficulties of adolescents with orthopedic diseases can improve the prediction of behavioral problems and adaptation opportunities in hospital settings and provide timely psychological assistance to adolescents with severe orthopedic diseases, taking into account situational variables.