Parental Psychological Distress Associated with Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: A Cross-sectional Study

Parenting a child with type 1 diabetes (T1D) represents an ongoing psychological burden necessitating continuous management of the disease. Although this issue has been recognized, few studies in Saudi Arabia have evaluated the disease-related anxiety and distress among parents of T1D children and adolescents. Therefore, this study was designed to assess levels of diabetes-related distress and anxiety among the parents of children and adolescents with T1D.

This cross-sectional study surveyed 87 parents of children with T1D who attended the Pediatric Diabetes Clinic at King Fahd Specialist Hospital. Two validated instruments, namely the Parent Diabetes Distress Scale (PDDS) and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, were used. To assess the reliability of both tools, Cronbach's α was calculated. Associations among parental distress, anxiety, and child or parent sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were determined using bivariate statistical techniques.

Parents exhibited moderate-related diabetes distress, with a mean PDDS score of 3.06 ± 0.85 on the 5-point scale. Furthermore, they demonstrated mild-to-moderate anxiety with a mean STAI score of 2.62 ± 0.39 on the 4-point scale. The highest PDDS subscale scores were observed on the parent-teen relationship and teen management subscales. Parents of children aged ≥10 years showed higher distress and anxiety compared with younger age groups (P < 0.05). The same higher distress was observed with longer disease duration.

Our findings highlight the need for appropriate psychosocial support for Saudi parents of children and adolescents with T1D, especially for those caring for adolescents and those with longer disease duration.