ABSTRACT
Failure to adhere to medical treatment regimens is a complex and often frustrating phe-
nomenon that appears to be influenced by a vast array of social and psychological factors.
In the case of adult chronic illness, the influences of the physician-patient relation-
ship and patients’ beliefs, feelings, habits, social norms, and social support on patients’
choices to follow or avoid medical advice are well established. When the adherence of a
child or adolescent to chronic illness treatment is at stake, there is the potential for even
greater complexity in determining adherence if only because more people, each with their
unique perspectives, opinions, developmental stages, and relationships, are involved.
