Abstract

Purpose formation often coincides with identity development, but what happens when these processes are disrupted by a cancer diagnosis, as is the case for more than 70,000 US young people each year? How does a cancer diagnosis shape adolescents’ and young adults’ views of their future and their purposes in life? To explore these questions, we conducted interviews with adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYA; N = 40). Findings suggest that following a diagnosis, nearly all participants feared their futures could be severely limited, which led a few to react with high levels of anxiety, a few others to focus on living in the moment, and most to commit to using their remaining time engaged in personally meaningful, generative activities. Nearly all participants reflected seriously on their purpose in life. Implications of these findings for AYAs, their caregivers, and others experiencing life-threatening illnesses during this formative period, are addressed.

摘要

目标的形成通常与身份的发展同时发生，但是当这些过程被癌症诊断打乱时会发生什么，每年有超过 70,000 名美国年轻人就是这种情况？癌症诊断如何影响青少年和年轻人对未来和人生目标的看法？为了探索这些问题，我们采访了青少年和年轻的成年癌症幸存者 (AYA; N = 40）。调查结果表明，在确诊后，几乎所有参与者都担心他们的未来会受到严重限制，这导致一些人产生高度焦虑，其他一些人专注于活在当下，大多数人承诺利用他们剩余的时间从事对个人有意义的、有益的活动。几乎所有参与者都认真反思了他们的人生目标。这些发现对 AYA、他们的照料者和其他在此形成时期经历危及生命的疾病的影响得到解决。