Abstract
Objective
To document trajectories of paternal involvement in diabetes management and examine bidirectional associations with diabetes outcomes across early adolescence.
Methods
3-year prospective assessment of paternal involvement, diabetes self-management, and glycemic control among 136 youth (age 9–12 at baseline) and their mothers and fathers.
Results
Unconditional growth curves demonstrated decreasing amount (maternal report:
F
(1,128) = 14.79; paternal report:
F
(1,111) = 12.95,
p
s < 0.01) and level of contribution (maternal report:
F
(1,131) = 23.6,
p
< .01) of paternal involvement. Controlling for covariates, lower youth self-management predicted an increasing slope in fathers’ self-reported amount of involvement (b = −0.15 to −0.22,
p
< .05), and higher levels of fathers’ self-reported level of contribution predicted a decreasing slope in youths’ self-reported self-management (b = −0.01,
p
< .05).
Conclusions
Like mothers, fathers’ involvement declines modestly during early adolescence. Different aspects of paternal involvement influence or are influenced by youths’ self-management. Communication about ways to enhance fathers’ involvement before this transition may help prevent or reduce declining diabetes management and control common in adolescence.
