Annette M. La Greca (**)

Kristen M. Thompson (**)

ABSTRACT

The present paper describes two studies of social support provided by family members and friends for adolescents' diabetes care. Using a structured interview, 74 middle-income and 62 socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents with diabetes described the ways that family members and friends provided support for several aspects of diabetes care (insulin shots, blood glucose monitoring, eating proper meals, exercise, and «feeling good about their diabetes»). In both samples, family members provided more support than did friends for diabetes care, especially for daily management tasks; friends provided considerable emotional support for diabetes. Few differences in support levels were observed as a function of the adolescents' socioeconomic status. However, more of the low-income adolescents had friends who did not provide any support for their diabetes care. Implications of the findings are discussed with respect to encouraging parents to remain involved in adolescents' treatment, and involving peers as supportive companions for the lifestyle aspects of adolescents' diabetes care.

Keywords: Adolescents, family support, peer support, diabetes care, adherence, friends.

Este artigo descreve dois estudos sobre o apoio social de familiares e amigos a adolescentes com diabetes. Através de entrevistas estruturadas, 74 adolescentes de classe média e 64 de classe socio-económica desfavorecida descrevem o apoio recebido em vários aspectos do tratamento da diabetes (injecções de insulina, análises da glicémia, alimentação adequada, exercício e no «sentir-se bem com a diabetes»). Em ambas as amostras, os familiares deram mais apoio nos tratamentos do que os amigos, especialmente nas tarefas quotidianas; os amigos deram sobretudo um apoio emocional considerável. Foram reduzidas as diferenças aos níveis de apoio em função do estatuto socio-económico dos adolescentes. No entanto, os adolescentes desfavorecidos tinham mais amigos que não davam apoio no tratamento da diabetes. Discutem-se as implicações dos resultados no sentido de encorajar os pais a participar no tratamento dos adolescentes, e de envolver os pares como companheiros que podem dar um apoio importante nos aspectos da vida social social mais afectados pela diabetes.

Palavras-chave: Adolescentes, apoio familiar, apoio dos pares, tratamento da diabetes, aderência, amigos.

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(*) Requests for reprints should be sent to: Annette M. La Greca, P. O. Box 248185, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0721, USA.

(**) University of Miami, USA.