Parental resolution and the adolescent’s health and adjustment: The case of adolescents with type 1 diabetes

This study examines the association between parents’ resolution of their adolescent child’s diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and the health and mental adjustment of the adolescents themselves. Parents of 75 adolescents with type 1 diabetes were interviewed using the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview. Parents and adolescents completed questionnaires regarding the child’s physical health, self-management of the disease, and behavioral and emotional problems. Physicians reported adolescents’ HbA1c levels. Results showed that adolescents whose fathers were resolved with the diagnosis exhibited better diabetes self-management and adolescents whose mothers were resolved with the diagnosis exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings highlight the different role of mothers and fathers in the treatment of adolescents with diabetes and provide a basis for clinical intervention that focuses not only on adolescent health, but also on parental state of mind regarding the resolution with the disease.