Conceptualization and development of the Acceptance of Chronic Health Conditions Scale.

Acceptance of chronic conditions often has been studied from the perspective of grief and loss. This paper presents a new conceptualization of acceptance of chronic conditions that is grounded in the perspective of those living with a chronic condition and focuses on adaptation to and acceptance of change in one's life. Data obtained from a sample of 822 persons with multiple sclerosis and a sample of more than 2,000 polio survivors support the reliability and validity of the new Acceptance of Chronic Health Conditions Scale.