Satisfaction with diabetes involvement: Exploring parent and adolescent perspectives

Both parent and adolescent involvement in type 1 diabetes management are critical during adolescence. The current study sought to understand the factors associated with parent and adolescent satisfaction with their own and one another's involvement in diabetes management.

Cross-sectional baseline data from 157 parent-adolescent dyads enrolled in an RCT were used. Adolescent ages ranged from 12 to 19 (M_age = 14.7, SD = 1.89) and were balanced by gender (50.3% male). Paired t-tests examined concordance between parent and adolescent satisfaction, bivariate correlations identified correlates, and regressions examined unique associations.

Roughly, 43% of adolescents and 29% of parents were very satisfied with adolescent involvement in diabetes management, whereas 71% of adolescents and 26.1% of parents were very satisfied with parent involvement. Indicators of better glycaemic health (via higher percent time-in-range and lower HbA1c and percent time in hyperglycaemia) and psychosocial functioning (less diabetes distress and depression) were correlated with higher satisfaction. Parent satisfaction with adolescent involvement was higher among older adolescents (R = 0.198, p = 0.013). Non-Hispanic white youth were more satisfied with their own involvement than youth of colour (t(149) = -2.783, p = 0.003). Both percent time-in-range and one's own diabetes distress uniquely related to parent and adolescent satisfaction with adolescent involvement. Conversely, parent satisfaction with their own involvement was only uniquely associated with parent diabetes distress.

Both adolescent and parents' satisfaction with adolescents' involvement in self-management are indicators of both glycaemic control and psychosocial well-being, whereas parents' self-evaluations are more closely tied to diabetes-specific distress.