Chronic illness as biographical contingency? Young people's experiences of asthma

Abstract

Much research on chronic illness, which views the experience as disruptive, is adult-focused though there is an emerging literature on children's and young people's experiences. Drawing on 31 interviews conducted with young people diagnosed with asthma in south-west Ireland, this article contributes to this literature. The sample includes boys (n = 15) and girls (n = 16) aged between 5 and 17 from the Irish Traveller community and the larger settled community. The study also explores the potential value of what might be called biographical contingency. This concept refers to the way in which a chronic illness may be an 'only sometimes' problem and takes account of the 'now you see it, now you don't' nature of a condition that varies in terms of its symptoms, meanings and consequences. In concluding, we consider the uses and limitations of this concept and the interpretivist paradigm that typically informs qualitative research on the illness experience.

Ménière's disease and biographical disruption: Where family transitions collide

“…In doing so, we respond to calls to analyse people's experiences of chronic illness within the context of shifting family relationships and interconnected life transitions (Gregory, 2005;Monaghan and Gabe, 2015). We also extend Bury's (1992) concept of 'biographical disruption' to understand the experiences of those undergoing later-stage shifts in their illness trajectory rather than focusing solely on those facing illness onset .…”

“…The shared nature of people's illness trajectories e and the potential for personal disruptions to intersect with those of partners, close family and friends e has received somewhat less attention to date in the work on biographical disruption (Monaghan and Gabe, 2015). Yet, as noted by Grenier (2012: 128), life transitions often take the form of 'linked experiences that occur in relationships with the self, family, society', and these social relations may influence one's sense of stability whilst negotiating an increasingly unpredictable body.…”

Opening up dialogues and airways: using vignettes to enrich asthma understandings in sport and exercise

“…Creators generally adopt a long-term approach towards managing their asthma, and are noted for taking responsibility for their asthma (see also Monaghan and Gabe 2015). This was our heuristic asthma typology, but it should be stressed that our original study participants did not always fit neatly and squarely within any particular type, with some changing from one dominant aspect to another.…”

“…Exact numbers and prevalence are difficult to determine, given the lack of an agreed diagnostic test, differing classification methods and symptom interpretation (Monaghan and Gabe 2015). Asthma is generally characterised by a myriad of different symptoms that include cough, wheeze, chest tightness and breathlessness, primarily caused by the 4 | P a g e inflammation of the airways (McArdle et al 2007), but symptoms vary greatly between individuals.…”

‘It seems like you're going around in circles’: recurrent biographical disruption constructed through the past, present and anticipated future in the narratives of young adults with inflammatory bowel disease

“…Bray et al . ; Monaghan and Gabe ; Williams et al . ), young adults’ experiences of chronic illness have not thus far been explored through the lens of biographical disruption; a gap this article looks to address.…”