I Get by with a Little Help from my Family and Friends: Adolescents' Support for Diabetes Care

TLDR

The study evaluated and compared family and friend support for adolescents with diabetes, examining its relation to other social support measures, demographics, and adherence. The authors conducted structured interviews with 74 adolescents to detail how family and friends supported insulin administration, glucose monitoring, meals, exercise, and emotional coping. Families offered more instrumental support for insulin, monitoring, and meals, while friends provided more emotional support; higher family support correlated with younger age, shorter disease duration, and better adherence, suggesting parents should remain involved and peers should support meals and exercise.

Abstract

Evaluated and compared the support provided by family members and friends for adolescents' diabetes care. Family and friend support also were examined in relation to other measures of social support, to demographic variables (age, gender, duration of diabetes) and to adherence. Using a structured interview, 74 adolescents with diabetes described the ways that family members and friends provided support for diabetes management (insulin shots, blood glucose monitoring, eating proper meals, exercise), and for helping them to "feel good about their diabetes." Families provided more support than friends for three management tasks (insulin injections, blood glucose monitoring, meals); this support was largely instrumental. In contrast, friends provided more emotional support for diabetes than families. Greater family support was related to younger age, shorter disease duration, and better treatment adherence. Implications of the findings include encouraging parents to remain involved in adolescents' treatment management, and involving peers as supportive companions for meals and exercise.