Chronic pain is a substantial problem for children with JCA, which must be considered in health care. The pain affected and disturbed the children's ordinary way of life. It blocked a number of goals. Psychological and physiological processes interact in the phenomenological experience of pain, and the response of the environment elicits, maintains or decreases the experience of pain. Hopefully,the findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the life situation of children suffering from JCA and can be of importance in developing rehabilitation programmes for these children.

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This study examined from the perspective of children with Juvenile Chronic Arthritis, their experiences of coping with chronic pain in daily life. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 children (6-17 years). The grounded theory method was applied for analysing the taped and transcribed interviews. Seven descriptive categories were grounded in the data, labelled (1) "controlling strategies", (2) "avoidance strategies", (3) "cognitive strategies", (4) "compliance with the treatment", (5) "seeking social support", and (6) "recovering". A core category was identified and labelled "making me different". The children seem to be caught in a dilemma. In one way the chosen coping strategy reduces chronic pain and in another way the strategy increases stress and feelings of being different from non-disabled peers. Our results indicate the great importance of social support from the children's environment.

The aim of this study was to generate a substantive theory, based on interviews with children and adolescents with low back pain (LBP), explaining how they manage their main concerns in daily life. Tape-recorded open interviews were conducted with 14 boys and girls with LBP, aged 12–18 years, who participated in a 12-week physical therapy intervention. The grounded theory was used for analyzing the transcribed interviews. A core category, mobilizing own resources, emerged from the analysis, describing how adolescents with LBP succeed in managing their main concern, gaining body confidence, in daily life. The core category was divided into four categories labelled: coaching from the physiotherapist, seeking for information, compliance with physiotherapy and gaining energy from pain-free moments. The categories formed a substantive theory, illuminating how young people with LBP experienced physical therapy intervention. The theory explains and provides a deeper understanding of the main concerns of these adolescents and their strategies in managing their life situation.

The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of female adolescents' daily living with chronic arthritis. Taperecorded open interviews were conducted once with six teenage girls (14Á17 years), who also wrote diaries for a 12-month period. In addition, 12 interviews of female adolescents diagnosed with chronic arthritis selected from another sample in an earlier study by the authors were included in the data. The Grounded Theory (GT) method was used for analysing the diaries and the transcribed interviews. A core category, labelled Fitting into the prevailing teenage culture, and four related categories labelled (1) mastering a body in pain; (2) living one day at time; (3) using social support; and (4) fighting for health emerged. The categories formed a substantive theory illuminating living with chronic arthritis during adolescence. The theory explains and provides a deeper understanding of the main concern of these female adolescents and their strategies in managing their situation.