Abstract
The primary aims of this exploratory study were to determine the rate of occurrence of acute stress disorder (ASD) in children newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and their parents, to examine relationships with demographic and psychosocial factors, and to examine the relationships between ASD symptom clusters and early adherence behavior (clinic attendance). The sample consisted of 102 parents of children ages 0–17 years and 40 youth ages 11–17 who were evaluated within three days of diabetes diagnosis. Eighteen percent of parents and 17% of youth reported subthreshold symptoms of ASD. Acute stress symptoms and demographic variables predicted clinic attendance, with a differential pattern evident in the responses of youth and their parents. These findings reinforce the importance of screening symptoms of ASD in youth with newly diagnosed diabetes and their parents to assist in identifying families who may be in need of additional support.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (4th ed. text revision ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Anderson, B. J., Ho, J., Brackett, J., Finkelstein, D., & Laffel, L. (1997). Parental involvement in diabetes management tasks: Relationships to blood glucose monitoring adherence and metabolic control in young adolescents with IDDM. Journal of Pediatrics, 130, 257–265. doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(97)70352-4.
Birmes, P., Brunet, A., Carreras, J., Ducassé, J., Charlet, J., Lauque, D., et al. (2003). The predictive power of peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress symptoms for posttraumatic stress symptoms: A three-month prospective study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1337–1339. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.7.1337.
Bremner, J. D., & Brett, E. (1997). Trauma-related dissociative states and long-term psychopathology in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 37–49. doi:10.1002/jts.2490100105.
Cameron, L. D. (2003). Anxiety, cognition, and responses to health threats. In L. D. Cameron & H. Leventhal (Eds.), The self-regulation of health and illness behavior (pp. 157–183). London and New York: Routledge.
Cardeña, E., Koopman, C., Classen, C., Waelde, L. C., & Spiegel, D. (2000). Psychometric properties of the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire (SASRQ): A valid and reliable measure of acute stress. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 719–734. doi:10.1023/A:1007822603186.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155.
Coyne, I. T. (1997). Chronic illness: The importance of support for families caring for a child with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 6, 121–129. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.1997.tb00294.×.
Dalgleish, T., Meiser-Stedman, R., Kassam-Adams, N., Ehlers, A., Winston, F., Smith, P., et al. (2008). Predictive validity of acute stress disorder in children and adolescents. British Journal of Psychiatry, 192, 392–393. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.107.040451.
Daviss, W. B., Coon, H., Whitehead, P., Ryan, K., Burkley, M., & McMahon, W. (1995). Predicting diabetic control from competence, adherence, adjustment, and psychopathology. Journal of the American Academic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1629–1636. doi:10.1097/00004583-199512000-00013.
Daviss, W. B., Racusin, R., Fleischer, A., Mooney, D., Ford, J. D., & McHugo, G. J. (2000). Acute stress disorder symptomatology during hospitalization for pediatric injury. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 569–575. doi:10.1097/00004583-200005000-00010.
Hanson, C. L., Cigrang, J. A., Harris, M. A., Carle, D. L., Relyea, G., & Burghen, G. A. (1989). Coping styles in youths with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 644–651. doi:10.1037/0022-006×.57.5.644.
Harvey, A. G., & Bryant, R. A. (1999). The relationship between acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: A 2-year prospective evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 985–988. doi:10.1037/0022-006×.67.6.985.
Horsch, A., McManus, F., Kennedy, P., & Edge, J. (2007). Anxiety, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers of children with type 1 diabetes. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20, 881–891. doi:10.1002/jts.20247.
Kahana, S. Y., Feeny, N. C., Youngstrom, E. A., & Drotar, D. (2006). Posttraumatic stress in youth experiencing illnesses and injuries: An exploratory meta-analysis. Traumatology, 12, 148–161. doi:10.1177/1534765606294562.
Kassam-Adams, N. (2006). The Acute Stress Checklist for Children (ASC-Kids): Development of a child self-report measure. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19, 129–139. doi:10.1002/jts.20090.
Kaufman, F. R., Halvorson, M., & Carpenter, S. (1999). Association between diabetes control and visits to a multidisciplinary pediatric diabetes clinic. Pediatrics, 103, 948–951. doi:10.1542/peds.103.5.948.
Kazak, A. E., Kassam-Adams, N., Schneider, S., Zelikovsky, N., Alderfer, M. A., & Rourke, M. (2006). An integrative model of pediatric medical traumatic stress. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31, 343–355. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsj054.
Kazak, A. E., Schneider, S., & Kassam-Adams, N. (2009). Pediatric medical traumatic stress. In M. C. Roberts & R. G. Steele (Eds.), Handbook of pediatric psychology (pp. 205–215). New York: The Guilford Press.
Laffel, L. M., Brackett, J., Ho, J., & Anderson, B. J. (1998). Changing the process of diabetes care improves metabolic outcomes and reduces hospitalizations. Quality Management in Health Care, 6, 53–62.
Landolt, M. A., Ribi, K., Laimbacher, J., Vollrath, M., Gnehm, H. E., & Sennhauser, F. H. (2002). Brief report: Posttraumatic stress disorder in parents of children with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27, 647–652. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/27.7.647.
Landolt, M. A. P., Vollrath, M. P., Laimbacher, J. M. D., Gnehm, H. E. M., & Sennhauser, F. H. M. (2005). Prospective study of posttraumatic stress disorder in parents of children with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 682–689. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000161645.98022.35.
Lowes, L., Gregory, J. W., & Lyne, P. (2005). Newly diagnosed childhood diabetes: A psychosocial transition for parents? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 50, 253–261. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03388.x.
Makley, A. T., & Falcone, R. A. (2010). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the pediatric trauma patient. Seminars in Pediatric Surgery, 19, 292–299. doi:10.1053/j.sempedsurg.2010.06.006.
McGarvey, E. L., Canterbury, R. J., Koopman, C., Clavet, G. J., Cohen, R., Largay, K., et al. (1998). Acute stress disorder following diagnosis of cancer. International Journal of Rehabilitation and Health, 4, 1–15. doi:10.1023/A:1022975018175.
Meiser-Stedman, R., Dalgleish, T., Smith, P., Yule, W., Bryant, B., Ehlers, A., et al. (2007). Dissociative symptoms and the acute stress disorder diagnosis in children and adolescents: A replication of the Harvey and Bryant (1999) study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20, 359–364. doi:10.1002/jts.20211.
Meiser-Stedman, R., Yule, W., Smith, P., Glucksman, E., & Dalgleish, T. (2005). Acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents involved in assaults or motor vehicle accidents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 1381–1383. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.162.7.1381.
Robert, R., Blakeney, P. E., Villarreal, C., Rosenberg, L., & Meyer, W. J. (1999). Imipramine treatment in pediatric burn patients with symptoms of acute stress disorder: A pilot study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 873–882. doi:10.1097/00004583-199907000-00018.
Schwartz, D. D., Cline, V. D., Axelrad, M. E., & Anderson, B. J. (2011). Feasibility, acceptability, and predictive validity of a psychosocial screening program for children and youth newly diagnosed with type I diabetes. Diabetes Care, 34, 326–331. doi:10.2337/dc10-1553.
Stein, M. B., Walker, J. R., Hazen, A. L., & Forde, D. R. (1997). Full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder: Findings from a community survey. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 1114–1119. Retrieved from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org.ezproxyhost.library.tmc.edu/cgi/reprint/154/8/1114.
Stuber, M. L., Christakis, D., Houskamp, B., & Kazak, A. E. (1996). Posttrauma symptoms in childhood leukemia survivors and their parents. Psychosomatics, 37, 254–261. Retrieved from http://psy.psychiatryonline.org.ezproxyhost.library.tmc.edu/cgi/reprint/37/3/254.
Svoren, B. M., Butler, D., Levine, B. S., Anderson, B. J., & Laffel, L. M. B. (2003). Reducing acute adverse outcomes in youths with Type 1 diabetes: A randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics, 112, 914–922. doi:10.1542/peds.112.4.914.
Winston, F. K., Kassam-Adams, N., Vivarelli-O’Neill, C., Ford, J., Newman, E., Baxt, C., et al. (2002). Acute stress disorder symptoms in children and their parents after pediatric traffic injury. Pediatrics, 109, e90. doi:10.1542/peds.109.6.e90.
Zlotnick, C., Franklin, C. L., & Zimmerman, M. (2002). Does “subthreshold” posttraumatic stress disorder have any clinical relevance? Comprehensive Psychiatry, 43, 413–419. doi:10.1053/comp.2002.35900.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cline, G.D., Schwartz, D.D., Axelrad, M.E. et al. A Pilot Study of Acute Stress Symptoms in Parents and Youth Following Diagnosis of Type I Diabetes. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 18, 416–422 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-011-9266-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-011-9266-z