Coping and caregiving experience of parents of children and adolescents with type-1 diabetes: An exploratory study.

Aims: To assess the coping strategies and the relationship of coping with subjective burden and positive caregiving consequences as perceived by the caregivers of children and adolescents with Type-1 diabetes.

Design: Cross-sectional assessment.

Setting: Outpatient of Endocrinology Department.

Participants: Forty-one parents of children and adolescents with Type-1 diabetes.

Main Outcome Measure: Ways of coping checklist (WCC), involvement evaluation questionnaire (IEQ) and scale for assessment of positive aspects of caregiving experience (scale for positive aspects of caregiving experience) to study the coping, burden and positive aspects of caregiving respectively.

Results: On WCC, the highest score was obtained for seeking social support, followed by planful problem-solving. More frequent use of coping strategies of confrontation and escape-avoidance was associated with significantly higher score on the tension domain of IEQ. Those who more frequently used problem-solving and distancing had significantly higher scores on worrying-urging-I domain of IEQ. supervision domain of IEQ was associated with more frequent use of confrontation, self-control, social support, escape-avoidance and positive reappraisal. More frequent use of distancing and problem-solving were associated with lower caregiving personal gains. More frequent use of problem-solving was associated with higher caregiver satisfaction and lower scores in the domain of self-esteem and social aspects of caring.

Conclusion: Caregivers of patients with Type-1 diabetes predominantly use adaptive coping strategies. Higher use of certain coping strategies is associated with negative and positive caregiving consequences.