Cultural factors predict and empathy among Hispanic adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their parents

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Parental empathy for their children is crucial for health outcomes in the context of managing chronic illness (Vervoort et al., 2007). However, there is a dearth of research on parental empathy and chronic illness management in Hispanic families, despite the fact that Hispanic youth are being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a significantly higher rate than non-Hispanic youth (Mayer-Davis et al., 2017) and close family relationships are central to Hispanic culture (Piña-Watson et al., 2019). Previous research has found that language discrepancies between parents and adolescents are associated with lower quality parent-adolescent communication on sensitive topics (Chung et al., 2007; Kim & Ward, 2007). Furthermore, empathy is central to effect conflict resolution in parent-adolescent relationships (Van Lissa et al., 2017). However, no study to our knowledge has examined relations between cultural factors, perceptions of conflict, and empathy in the context of type 1 diabetes (T1D) management in adolescence.
The current study examined associations between cultural factors (language discrepancies between parents and adolescents and generation status), parent and adolescent perceptions of diabetes-related conflict, and parental empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking) in a sample of Hispanic adolescents and the parent most involved in their diabetes care (N=68 dyads). We hypothesized that language discrepancies and higher generation status would predict greater parent and adolescent perceptions of conflict, which in turn would predict lower parental empathy. Parents reported on theirs and their adolescent’s country of origin (generation status) and primary language. Language discrepancies were coded as 0 (no discrepancy between the parent’s and the adolescent’s primary language) and 1 (discrepancy between the parent’s and adolescent’s primary language). Parents and adolescents separately completed the Diabetes Family Conflict Scale (Hood et al., 2007) to measure diabetes-related conflict and parents completed the empathic concern and perspective taking subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980).
Somewhat consistent with hypotheses, higher adolescent generation status and language discrepancies were associated with greater parent-reported (but not adolescent-reported) diabetes-related conflict, which in turn was associated with less parental empathic concern but not perspective taking (see Figure 1). To investigate whether there were associations between conflict discrepancies and parental empathy, we also tested whether there was an interaction between parent- and adolescent-reported conflict predicting parent empathic concern and perspective taking; the interaction was not significant and is not shown in the model.
Findings revealed that cultural factors are important for the quality of parent-adolescent communication in the context of type 1 diabetes management. Specifically, acculturative gaps between parents and adolescents affect parent (but not adolescent) perceptions of conflict in the relationship, making it more difficult for parents to empathize with their adolescents. This effect was seen for empathic concern (but not perspective taking), suggesting that parents who perceive more conflict have more difficulty sympathizing with their adolescent’s challenges managing chronic illness. This study suggest that it is important to examine within-culture variability in relation to conflict and empathy in parent-adolescent relationships. Implications for promoting positive parent-adolescent communication in the context of chronic illness management will be discussed.

Group Authors

Maritza Miramontes, Alexandra Main, Carmen Kho, Janice Disla, Deborah Wiebe, and Jennifer Raymond

Authors

• Maritza Miramontes, University of California - Davis
  Presenting Author

• Alexandra Main, University of California, Merced
  Non-Presenting Author

• Carmen Kho, North Dakota State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Janice Disla, University of California
  Non-Presenting Author

• Deborah Wiebe, University of California, Merced
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Raymond, Children's Hospital Los Angeles
  Non-Presenting Author