Legacy of diabetes and self-care behavior.
The effect of multigenerational legacies of diabetes on health beliefs and behaviors was explored. Diabetic participants (N = 123) with family histories of diabetes responded to survey questions about their own diabetes self-care behavior, illness representation (including consequences and controllability of diabetes), recollection of a family member's illness representation and complications, and perceived social consequences of diabetes. Recollections about family members' disease controllability (r = .21, p < .05) and social consequences (r = -.19, p < .05) and participants' own perceptions of controllability were significantly related. Significant associations were also found between perceptions of controllability and general and social consequences with medication adherence (beta =-.33, beta = -36, and beta = -.43, respectively, all p<.05). Findings suggest that explorations of patients' recollections of a family member's experiences with diabetes can affect their illness perceptions and behavior.
Scollan-Koliopoulos
Melissa
M
Department of Graduate Nursing, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Nursing, 65 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey 07101, USA.
O'Connell
Kathleen A
KA
Walker
Elizabeth A
EA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009515:New Jersey; D009518:New York; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D011287:Prejudice; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*