Correlates of youth involvement in decision making about growth hormone treatment

Youth decision-making involvement (DMI) regarding growth hormone (GH) may be beneficial. Identification of correlates of DMI may inform the development of strategies to encourage youth involvement and enhance self-efficacy. The goal of this study was to examine the associations of DMI regarding GH treatment with youth and parent characteristics.

Youth, aged 8-14 years (34% female), undergoing GH stimulation testing and a parent (94% mothers) completed surveys at the time of testing (Visit 1; 2019-2023); the Decision-Making Involvement Scale was completed 3 months later. Surveys collected demographics; decision-making involvement; youth coping skills, parent social support; parent autonomy support; parental perceived worry, scarcity, and instability regarding the child's current/future environments; and parents' achievement goals for their child. Correlations and multivariable linear regressions were used to identify factors significantly associated with Decision-Making Involvement Scale subscales.

The analysis included 44 parents who indicated that a decision about GH was made and that they discussed the decision with the youth, as well as 30 youth who remembered having such a discussion. On multivariable modeling, youth who had more engaged coping skills and parents who perceived resources in the world as scarce reported higher youth DMI. Parents with older children, less worry about their children being out in the world, and less desire for the child to avoid activities that he/she might not do well in reported higher youth DMI.

Parental worry and youth coping may be important targets of intervention when seeking to facilitate youth involvement in GH-related decision making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).