This Master thesis examines the relationship between chronic inflammatory bowel disease, the partner of a patient with this illness, and their relationship during the transition to adulthood and early adulthood.
The quality of life of a patient with chronic inflammatory bowel disease is often reduced. This chronic disease affects not only the patient but also their partner. That is why I have investigated how the mentioned link manifests itself.
My main hypothesis is that each person copes with illness differently, and the same applies to partners. Some partners do not accept the disease and leave, others need some time to process the information and adjust to a different lifestyle, meanwhile, some of them are not bothered by the disease at all and do not see any difference between life before and after the disease manifested itself.
All the interviewees in my Master thesis have accepted the disease and coped with it successfully and so have their partners. None of them experienced any major problems in their relationship as a result of the disease.
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