(1)Background: In the context of a child with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), the rearrangement of the family's lifestyle can account for an increased risk of experiencing psychosocial problems for both child and parents. Those few studies on pediatric diabetes, which focused on parents' perception of children's psychological strengths and weaknesses, reported significantly higher rates of children's emotional and conduct problems associated with an imbalance in the Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The main aim of this paper was to assess the role of parental perception of children's psychosocial symptoms as a mediator of the perceived parenting stress, considering mother and father separately. (2)Methods: The study involved 12 parent couples (Mothers M-age= 40.25, SD = 6.58; Fathers M-age= 42.5, SD = 6.38) of children with T1DM aged between 7 and 11 years (M-age= 8.8, SD = 0.996). Parents completed questionnaires such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for parents and their perspective of their child, and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. (3)Results: Mothers and fathers had significant differences in the perception of their child's internalizing symptoms. Specifically, mothers present a greater perception of the mentioned symptoms compared to fathers. Mediation models showed that only for fathers' perception of the child conduct problems has a significant role between the fathers' perception of dysfunctional interaction with the child and the HbA1c. (4)Conclusions: The current study provides useful evidence also for clinical settings, suggesting that an interesting interplay between parenting stress, perception of children's symptoms and glucometabolic control should be taken into consideration.

Mothers and Fathers Parenting Stress and Their Perception of Children's Psychosocial Functioning in Paediatric Diabetes: A Pilot Study

Maffeis, Claudio
2020-01-01

Abstract

(1)Background: In the context of a child with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), the rearrangement of the family's lifestyle can account for an increased risk of experiencing psychosocial problems for both child and parents. Those few studies on pediatric diabetes, which focused on parents' perception of children's psychological strengths and weaknesses, reported significantly higher rates of children's emotional and conduct problems associated with an imbalance in the Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The main aim of this paper was to assess the role of parental perception of children's psychosocial symptoms as a mediator of the perceived parenting stress, considering mother and father separately. (2)Methods: The study involved 12 parent couples (Mothers M-age= 40.25, SD = 6.58; Fathers M-age= 42.5, SD = 6.38) of children with T1DM aged between 7 and 11 years (M-age= 8.8, SD = 0.996). Parents completed questionnaires such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for parents and their perspective of their child, and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. (3)Results: Mothers and fathers had significant differences in the perception of their child's internalizing symptoms. Specifically, mothers present a greater perception of the mentioned symptoms compared to fathers. Mediation models showed that only for fathers' perception of the child conduct problems has a significant role between the fathers' perception of dysfunctional interaction with the child and the HbA1c. (4)Conclusions: The current study provides useful evidence also for clinical settings, suggesting that an interesting interplay between parenting stress, perception of children's symptoms and glucometabolic control should be taken into consideration.
2020
parent couples
parental perception
parenting stress
pediatric diabetes
type 1 diabetes mellitus
Child
Diabetes Mellitus
Fathers
Female
Humans
Male
Mothers
Parent-Child Relations
Parenting
Pilot Projects
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1029934
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