Legacy of diabetes and self-care behavior

The effect of multigenerational legacies of diabetes on health beliefs and behaviors was explored. Diabetic participants (N = 123) with family histories of diabetes responded to survey questions about their own diabetes self-care behavior, illness representation (including consequences and controllability of diabetes), recollection of a family member's illness representation and complications, and perceived social consequences of diabetes. Recollections about family members' disease controllability (r = .21, p < .05) and social consequences (r = -.19, p < .05) and participants' own perceptions of controllability were significantly related. Significant associations were also found between perceptions of controllability and general and social consequences with medication adherence (ß=-.33, ß=-36, and β= -.43, respectively, all p <. 05). Findings suggest that explorations of patients' recollections of a family member's experiences with diabetes can affect their illness perceptions and behavior.