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The Role of Parental Overreactivity and Laxness in Diabetes Outcomes Among Children and Adolescents With Type 1
Alessa Thomas1, Su-Jong Kim-Dorner1, Olga Kordonouri2
1Department of Medical Psychology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany, mh-hannover.de.
Insights
Parental overreactivity and laxness negatively impact youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). These behaviors correlate with parental distress and poorer child outcomes, including less frequent glucose monitoring and higher distress.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Parental disciplinary behaviors like overreactivity and laxness can influence child well-being.
- Understanding these behaviors in the context of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between parental overreactivity and laxness and parental emotional well-being.
- To investigate the impact of these parenting behaviors on the behavioral, glycemic, and psychological outcomes of children and adolescents with T1D.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was conducted across five pediatric diabetes centers.
- Parents completed questionnaires on parenting behavior, diabetes distress, and depressive symptoms.
- Children reported glucose checking frequency and diabetes distress; analyses included correlations and regressions, with age-stratified subgroups.
Main Results:
- Higher parental overreactivity and laxness were associated with increased parental diabetes distress and depressive symptoms.
- Both behaviors significantly predicted child diabetes distress, with laxness linked to less frequent glucose checking.
- Age-stratified results indicated overreactivity was linked to distress in younger children (7-10 years), while laxness was associated with poorer outcomes in older adolescents (15-18 years).
Conclusions:
- Parental overreactivity appears more common with younger children, shifting to laxness as children age.
- Both overreactivity and laxness are linked to adverse diabetes-related outcomes in youth.
- Interventions supporting effective parenting practices may enhance psychological well-being and self-management in youth with T1D.
Introduction:
Parental disciplinary behaviors, such as overreactivity and laxness, can negatively affect children's behavior and well-being. We examined overreactivity and laxness in relation to parental emotional well-being and the behavioral, glycemic, and psychological outcomes of children and adolescents with T1D.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted at five pediatric diabetes centers. Parents provided demographic and clinical information and completed questionnaires assessing parenting behavior, diabetes-specific distress, and depressive symptoms. Children reported their frequency of glucose checking and diabetes distress. Correlation and regression analyses were used. Child age was stratified into three groups (7-10, 11-14, and 15-18 years) for subgroup analyses.
Results:
A total of 677 parents (mean age = 43.9 [±6.3] years, 77.1% mothers) and 654 children (mean age = 12.4 [±2.8] years, 44.7%female, diabetes duration = 5.4 [±3.8] years) participated. With increasing child age, parents reported less overreactivity (r = -0.114, p = 0.003) and more laxness (r = 0.104, p = 0.007). Higher overreactivity and laxness were associated with greater parental diabetes distress (r = 0.335, p < 0.001; r = 0.119, p < 0.01) and more depressive symptoms (r = 0.314, p < 0.001; r = 0.100, p < 0.01). After adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, both disciplinary behaviors were significant factors in child diabetes distress, and laxness predicted less frequent glucose checking. Age-stratified analyses showed that overreactivity was linked to greater diabetes distress in children aged 7-10 years. Laxness was associated with fewer glucose checks in the 7-10 and 15-18-year groups and with higher HbA1c and diabetes distress in adolescents aged 15-18 years.
Conclusions:
Parents appear to use more overreactivity with younger children and more laxness as children age. Both behaviors are associated with poorer diabetes-related outcomes. Supporting effective parenting practices may improve psychological well-being and self-management of youth with T1D.
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