The relationship between parent personality characteristics and family function and metabolic control in type 1 diabetic children

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between parental personality characteristics and family functioning with metabolic control (glycosylated hemoglobin) in type 1 diabetic children. Research method was correlation and statistical population included parents with type 1 diabetic children who were the members of Iran Diabetes Association, and also parents with healthy children were included, among them 211 parents with type 1 diabetic children and 220 parents with healthy children were chosen by simple and cluster random sampling. The assessment tools included the Big Five Personality Questionnaire (Costa & McCrae, 1989), McMaster Family Assessment Device (Epstein et al, 1983) and questions on children metabolic control (glycosylated hemoglobin). Data were analyzed using multiple regression analyses (stepwise) and multivariate analyses of variance. Results showed significant positive relationship between neuroticism of mothers and family dysfunction in affective involvement dimension to glycosylated hemoglobin in diabetic children (P<0/01). Parents with diabetic children were higher neuroticism and lower extroversion than parents with healthy children. In addition, parents with diabetic children had significant difference in roles, affective responsiveness, and affective involvement dimensions in comparison with parents with healthy children (P<0/01).