The literature review paper is a critique of studies on the topic of compliance/adherence/concordance with medical advice in young people with insulin dependent mellitus (IDDM). It is noted that the body of research under scrutiny does not have a coherent conceptual or methodological framework. Such issues affect the reliability and validity of many results to such an extent that it can be difficult to assess the usefulness of the findings. It is concluded that there is currently a political change that sees a move into more collaborative research with young people and the clinicians who work with them. The empirical paper is a study comparing self care in young people with diabetes or severe food allergy. Some significant within and between group differences were found in the relationships between self care and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control. Implications of the findings for young people are discussed. Recommendations are made for future research particularly for the severe food allergy group where this study is the first to investigate psychosocial aspects of self care.