Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes

Aims: The purposes of this study are to investigate parents' beliefs about the likelihood of diabetes outcomes for their child, the reasons that they give for these beliefs and the relationship between the beliefs and parental psychopathology. Methods: Seventy-one mothers of children with diabe...

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Main Authors: Freckleton, E., Sharpe, L., Mullan, Barbara
Format: Journal Article
Published: Blackwell Scientific Publications 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25311
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author Freckleton, E.
Sharpe, L.
Mullan, Barbara
author_facet Freckleton, E.
Sharpe, L.
Mullan, Barbara
author_sort Freckleton, E.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Aims: The purposes of this study are to investigate parents' beliefs about the likelihood of diabetes outcomes for their child, the reasons that they give for these beliefs and the relationship between the beliefs and parental psychopathology. Methods: Seventy-one mothers of children with diabetes completed a questionnaire about the likelihood of certain diabetes outcomes and measures of psychopathology. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected at a single time point. Results: Mothers generally held very optimistic views about their children's future, and this was associated with less maternal depressive symptoms. Mothers typically used their previous experiences and belief that diabetes is controllable to justify optimistic beliefs about short-term consequences. In contrast, formation of mothers' views on long-term consequences generally relied on information from a variety of sources. Conclusion: The results suggest that it is usual and helpful for mothers of children with diabetes to hold overly optimistic views about their children's futures. Medical evidence appears to have little influence on mothers' beliefs about likely outcomes for their children.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-253112017-09-13T15:22:17Z Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes Freckleton, E. Sharpe, L. Mullan, Barbara Aims: The purposes of this study are to investigate parents' beliefs about the likelihood of diabetes outcomes for their child, the reasons that they give for these beliefs and the relationship between the beliefs and parental psychopathology. Methods: Seventy-one mothers of children with diabetes completed a questionnaire about the likelihood of certain diabetes outcomes and measures of psychopathology. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected at a single time point. Results: Mothers generally held very optimistic views about their children's future, and this was associated with less maternal depressive symptoms. Mothers typically used their previous experiences and belief that diabetes is controllable to justify optimistic beliefs about short-term consequences. In contrast, formation of mothers' views on long-term consequences generally relied on information from a variety of sources. Conclusion: The results suggest that it is usual and helpful for mothers of children with diabetes to hold overly optimistic views about their children's futures. Medical evidence appears to have little influence on mothers' beliefs about likely outcomes for their children. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25311 10.1111/jpc.12489 Blackwell Scientific Publications restricted
spellingShingle Freckleton, E.
Sharpe, L.
Mullan, Barbara
Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
title Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
title_full Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
title_fullStr Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
title_full_unstemmed Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
title_short Reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
title_sort reasons for the overly optimistic beliefs of parents of children with diabetes
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25311