“…Hospitalization for the adolescent is a stressful experience (Hofmann & Becker, 1973), which: challenges body image stability (Kaufman, 1972;Lincoln, 1978), alters the developing needs of independence, mobility, and control (Blake, 1969;Conway, 1971), and affects existing and established patterns of peer and family interaction (Lord & Schowalter, 1982). In addition, the hospitalization causes alterations to the self-concept (Tiedt, 1972;Riffee, 1981) and heightens feelings of loneliness and alienation and thoughts of invalidism (Becker, 1979;Freud, 1952;Leichtman & Friedman, 1975). These emotional reactions precipitate the display of a number of coping mechanisms such as denial, intellectualization, and regression (Schowalter, 1977) as well as affecting behavior after discharge (Fletcher, 1981).…”