Quality of Life and Psychosocial Adaptation to Chronic Illness and Disability

Abstract

This article describes and presents an initial analysis of a quality-of-life—based model of psychosocial adaptation to chronic illness and disability. This model, termed disability centrality, represents a conceptual and theoretical synthesis of several existing theories and models, drawn from the quality-of-life, rehabilitation counseling, and rehabilitation psychology literature. The model was analyzed in a cross-sectional analysis using survey-based research among 72 college students with disabilities. The results supported the relationships hypothesized in the proposed model. The implications for clinical practice and further research concerning the psychosocial adaptation process are presented.