Abstract
The current study examined fear of hypoglycemia in 81 mothers and 64 fathers of young children with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) using the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey-Parents of Young Children (HFS-P-YC possible range = 26–130). Mothers and fathers completed the HFS-P-YC at enrollment and mothers completed it 2 weeks later. Families recorded daily blood glucose on a standardized meter for 2 weeks. Mothers’ mean total HFS-P-YC score was 75.0 (SD = 17.2) and fathers’ mean score was 66.5 (SD = 18.0). Mothers reported greater HFS-P-YC total and behavior subscale scores than fathers. Mothers’ HFS-P-YC scores were comparable to published HFS scores for mothers of preadolescents with T1DM and higher than adult patients with T1DM. The HFS-P-YC had good internal consistency and test–retest reliability in this sample. These findings suggest parents of young children with T1DM report a high level of fear of hypoglycemia. Additionally, the HFS-P-YC appears to be a reliable measure in this population.
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This research was supported in part by grants R01-DK54915 and K24-DK59973 (to S.W.P.) and grant F32-DK61121 (to S.R.P.) from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. We thank TheraSense for their donation of FreeStyle blood glucose meters, software, and testing supplies. We thank Dr Morton Brown, School of Public Health, University of Michigan for his assistance in conducting our statistical analyses.
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Patton, S.R., Dolan, L.M., Henry, R. et al. Fear of Hypoglycemia in Parents of Young Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 15, 252–259 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-008-9123-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-008-9123-x