Research on diabetes management and the family: a critique

Research on diabetes management and the family has been traditionally viewed within a linear model, in which parental attitudes toward diabetes are seen as the principal influence on the child's adjustment and metabolic control. Recently the focus of research has shifted to the broader family milieu, with an emphasis on patterns of cooperation and conflict among all family members in implementing the treatment regimen. As investigators have begun to study the entire family, the linear model of parental influences has been overshadowed by a systems model of family interaction, based on the concept of mutual influences among all individuals in the family. Several methodological problems have characterized research in this area, such as inadequate assessments of family functioning, unreliable indices of metabolic control, and insensitivity to differences in age and disease variables. Future studies of diabetes management will have much to gain from consideration of the role of the father and siblings in treatment, attention to the diabetic child's impact on family functioning, and recognition of sources of support and stress outside the family that affect adaptation to diabetes.