The clock is ticking: Parental stress around emerging adulthood for adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Joyce P Yi-Frazier, Kirsten Senturia, Davene R Wright and 2 others
PMID 34294485WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of teens with type 1 diabetes described looming milestones like driving, college, and legal adulthood as a ticking clock.
They stayed heavily involved in glucose checks and supplies out of fear, and reported coaching, offering help, and gradual structure reduced their stress.
Key findings
01Parents described approaching milestones such as driving, alcohol use, college, and legal adulthood as a ticking clock that increased stress when diabetes self-care was not reliable.
02Parents assisted with glucose checks, technology, supplies, food, and carbohydrate counting, and some were motivated by fear of letting teens take sole ownership.
03Parents reported strategies such as coaching selected tasks, having the teen try first while the parent checked, and offering rather than requiring help.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included 39 parents from one metropolitan area and a tertiary care hospital, so it may not reflect families in other regions or settings. The sample skewed toward middle and upper income families, so lower-income families' costs and barriers may be underrepresented. Almost all participants were mothers (90%), and fathers' stress was not assessed separately. The findings are parents' reported experiences and strategies, not proof that these approaches improve diabetes outcomes or transition readiness. Some families with delayed transitions based on income or cultural norms may not be represented.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the parents' reported strategies as proof that coaching or offering help improves diabetes control or transition readiness. These were experiences from 39 parents, most of whom were mothers, in one Seattle-area sample, and the study did not test outcomes.