Personal Illness Models of Diabetes: Parents of Preadolescents and Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore personal illness models of parents of preadolescents and adolescents regarding diabetes mellitus. Personal illness models were defined as the parents cognitive representations of the disease. Fifty-five parents of children ages 10 to 17 years with a diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire. Data were content analyzed for common themes. Parents attributed the cause qf diabetes to genetics coupled with a viral infection. Most believed the diabetes would last a lifetime but they were hopeful for a cure. Parents requested ongoing education for their children, support groups, counseling, one consistent healthcare provider, and intensive insulin therapy. Parents reported that the major problems caused by diabetes were increased structure of daily routines and that their children with diabetes felt different from healthy peers. Parents' fears about diabetes included long-term complications, early death, and severe insulin reactions.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Kleinman A. , Eisenberg L. Good B. Culture, illness, and care: clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research. Ann Intern Med 1978;88:251-58.

Standiford DA , Turner A. , Allen SR , Drozda DJ , McCain G. Personal illness models of diabetes: preadolescents and adolescents. Diabetes Educ 1997;23(2):147-51.

Hampson SE , Glasgow RE , Foster LS Personal models of diabetes among older adults: relationship to self-management and other variables. Diabetes Educ 1995;21(4):300-7.

Bobrow ES , AvRuskin TW , Siller J. Mother-daughter interaction and adherence to diabetes regimes. Diabetes Care 1985;8(2):146-51.

Jacobson AM , Hauser ST , Lavori P. , et al. Adherence among children and adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus over a four-year longitudinal follow-up: 1. The influence of patient coping and adjustment. J Pediatr Psychol 1990;15(4):511-26.

Grey M. Cameraon ME Thurber FW Coping and adaptation in children with diabetes. Nurs Res 1991;40(3):144-49.

Anderson BJ , Auslander W. Research on diabetes management and the family. Diabetes Care 1980;6:696-702.

Anderson BJ , Miller J. , Auslander W. , Santiago J. Family characteristics of diabetic adolescents: relationships to metabolic control. Diabetes Care 1981;4:586-94.

Krippendorff K. Content analysis: an introduction to its methodology . Beverly Hills, Calif: Sage Publications , 1980.

10.

McCann GC Content analysis: a method for studying clinical nursing problems. Appl Nurs Res 1988; 1(3):146-50.

11.

Cole FL Content analysis: process and application. Clin Nurs Specialist 1988;2(1):53-57.

12.

Polit DF , Hungler BP Nursing research, principles and methods. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1991.

13.

Moyer A. Caring for a child with diabetes: the effect of specialist nurse care on parents' needs and concerns. J Adv Nurs Care 1989;14:536-45.

14.

Dashiff CJ Parents' perceptions of diabetes in adolescent daughters and its impact on the family. J Pediatr Nurs 1993;8(6):361-69.

15.

Warzak WJ , Majors CT , Aylion T. , Milan MA , Delcher HK Parental versus professional perceptions of obstacles to pediatric diabetes care. Diabetes Educ 1993;19(2):121-24.

16.

Vandagriff JL , Marrero DG , Ingersoll GM , Fineberg NS

Parents of children with diabetes: what are they worried about?

Diabetes Educ 1992;18(4): 299-302.

17.

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 1993;329(14):977-86.