Response to diagnosis, family functioning, psychological distress, and well-being in mothers and fathers of children with type-1 diabetes

Introduction: Reactions to the diagnosis of a chronic pediatric illness may impact parents in different ways. The study explores differences between mothers and fathers of children with type-1 diabetes mellitus (DMTI) in family functioning, psychological distress, and well-being in relation to their diagnosis responses and perceptions. Methods: A total of 110 parents (mean age 43.5 ± 4.5) of children with DMTI (mean age 6.4 ± 3.4; mean glycated hemoglobin 7.11 ± 0.89) were evaluated using an ad hoc questionnaire for reactions to diagnosis, Family Assessment Functioning Device (FAD), Symptom Questionnaire (SQ), Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), and Psychological Well-being scales (PWB). Bivariate correlational analyses and t-tests were run. Results: No differences between mothers and fathers were found in FAD, PWB, and DTS scores. One significant difference emerged in SQ-somatization with mothers reporting significantly higher total scores (p = 0.001). In mothers, SQ-anxiety (r = 0.31; p < 0.05), SQ-depression (r = 0.38; p < 0.05) and SQ-somatization (r = 0.32; p < 0.05) correlated positively with feeling lonely. However, in fathers the scales SQ-anxiety (r = -0.36; p < 0.05), SQ-depression (r = -0.47; p < 0.05) as well as SQ-hostility (r = -0.363; p< 0.05) correlated negatively with feeling prepared in managing the illness. Concerning positive aspects, in mothers acceptance of the diagnosis correlated with better scores in FAD-distribution of roles scale (r = -0.373; p < 0.05). Differently, in fathers it correlated with lower FAD-communication scores r = 0.333; p< 0.05). Conclusions: The findings indicate that distress may be associated with different aspects of the reaction to diagnosis depending on the parent in question. Such differences between mothers and fathers may be due to gender differences in coping and adjusting to illness and thus warrant further consideration.