Adults with arthritic conditions and care-seeking in an attachment framework

This thesis investigated the role of care-seeking amongst adults with arthritis, using an attachment framework to help explain the inconsistent results of previous studies in regard to psychological adjustment to a chronic illness. The results highlight the importance of attachment processes in partially influencing care-seeking and coping strategies that shape psychological adjustment. The portfolio addresses the frequent co-occurence of depression with chronic medical disorders. This impacts the ability for chronic, medically ill adults to engage in self-management strategies. Four case studies are presented.