Exploring adolescents' awareness of diabetes using the free association technique.
OBJECTIVE
Healthy adolescents' awareness of diabetes was explored, and gender and grade-level differences in understanding were determined.


METHODS
Adolescents without diabetes in grades five, eight, and 10 (n=128) at four New Brunswick schools wrote down all words/expressions that came to mind when they heard the word "diabetes" (i.e., they used the free association technique). Answers were classified into categories using content analysis.


RESULTS
Eighty-eight girls and 40 boys completed the activity (n=44, 52, and 32 in grades five, eight, and 10, respectively). Nine principal categories were identified: 66% of the adolescents cited sugar (e.g., eating too much sugar, not enough sugar), 48% treatment (e.g., needles, injections), 45% the nature of diabetes (e.g., a disease, types of diabetes, heredity), 41% nutrition (e.g., diet, sugar-containing foods, other foods), 38% blood (e.g., too much/not enough sugar in blood), 18% complications (e.g., death), 11% physiological manifestations/symptoms (e.g., fainting), 6% obesity, and 6% physical activity. No differences were found in category citation frequency between boys and girls and grade levels, except that grade 10 students more frequently cited the categories of treatment, blood, and obesity (p=0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Students thought of diabetes in terms of sugar and injections. Words related to obesity, prevention, and complications were cited infrequently.
LeClair
Cédée-Anne
CA
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC.
Marquis
Marie
M
Villalon
Lita
L
Strychar
Irene
I
D000293:Adolescent; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002648:Child; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005608:Free Association; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D009509:New Brunswick; D009765:Obesity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D001786:Blood Glucose; D019422:Dietary Sucrose