The literature on chronic diseases recognizes the role of illness cognition as a mediator between stress and illness. The results of testing of the Russian version of the illness cognition questionnaire. The basis for this questionnaire served as the model representations of the disease is widely developed in the foreign clinical psychology. Diagnostic procedure involves identifying the positive and negative factors to assess the impact of the disease on the psychosocial adaptation. The questionnaire assesses three ways of cognitively evaluating the stressful and aversive character of a chronic illness: helplessness, acceptance, and perceived benefits. Scale «Acceptance» and «Perceived benefits» perceived ability to diminish, live with and master the aversive consequences of one’s disease recognising the need to adapt to the chronic illness, additional positive consequences of the illness situation, such as changes in life priorities and personal goals, positive personality changes, and strengthened personal relationships. Scale «Helplessness» reflect evaluation of the illness that emphasises the negative meaning of the illness, focusing on the adverse aspects of the disease as uncontrollable, unpredictable and unchangeable. Total sample consisted of 177 women with cancer of the reproductive system, the average age was 54,7 ± 6,9 years. Questionnaire includes an 18-point Likert scale measured at designed to study the basic concepts of the disease. Russian version of the illness cognition questionnaire has sufficient internal consistency, test-retest reliability is characterized by high and complies the English version in relation to the factor structure. Convergent validity of the questionnaire is supported by significant relations between cognitive representations of the disease and locus of disease control, anxiety, depression, coping behavior.

The paper is devoted to the study of coping behavior of adults with cystic fibrosis, who manage stressful situations, and also individual and specific strategies for healing cystic fibrosis regarding subjective illness perception as either moderate or expressed threat to life and health. Cystic fibrosis is regarded as a real threat to life and health, which launches the cognitive and emotional processes of its regulation and influence on the choice of coping with the disease. We suggest that healing cystic fibrosis in adult patients will be differentiated regarding the subjective illness perception as a threat to life and health.

The research involved 86 male and female patients (mean age – 23.7 ± 4.8 years) with cystic fibrosis, with severe and moderate course, receiving inpatient or outpatient treatment. The research identified adaptive and maladaptive ways of coping with cystic fibrosis and ways of overcoming their difficult life situations. We confirmed that perceptions of cystic fibrosis as a moderate threat to life and health contributes to psychological adjustment to problem life situations and illness proper due to moderately intensive use of adaptive coping strategies and more rare reference to the maladaptive coping strategies avoidance. The perception of cystic fibrosis as expressed threat to life and health is associated with decreased psychological adjustment to problem life situations and illness caused by the rise of cystic fibrosis avoidant behaviour and suppression of optimistic illness acceptance.