Young people and the sociology of chronic illness: meanings, management and consequences

The sociology of chronic illness emerged in the 1970s, exploring how people seek to cope with medical crises and normalise interaction. Although largely adult-centric, research on chronic illness in children and teenagers has also gathered momentum in recent decades. Particular attention is given in this chapter to qualitative micro-sociological research on asthma, type-one diabetes and epilepsy among young people, conditions regularly focused on in the literature. Discussion is divided into three sections: (1) the meanings associated with a chronic condition and its significance for young people’s biographies; (2) the way these young people relationally manage their condition and employ varied resources to do so; and, (3) the perceived consequences of their condition and the implications of social reactions for their sense of self. Attention is also given to the argument that the illness experience cannot be reduced to a ‘personal tragedy’ independent of macro-social structural factors. Finally, questions are posed that might inform further research in (post) COVID times.