Phenomenological Study of the Type-1 Diabetes Well -Siblings’ Experience Within the Puerto Rican’s Family Context

• Main Author: Retamales Torres, Marina G
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: Spanish
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2008
• Subjects: Beliefs; Cognitive Processes; Cognitive psychology; Coping; Diabetes; Economic Status; Families & family life; Family Involvement; Health education; Holistic Approach; Individual & family studies; Phenomenology; Puerto Ricans; School counseling; Sibling Relationship; Socialization; United States > US; Puerto Rico
• ISBN: 9780549954347; 0549954341

Treatment providers of children with chronic illnesses tend to ignore these children's siblings even though sibling relationships are likely to be the most long-lasting relationships spanning across a person's life. There is also a dynamic element to these relationships due to changes typical to developmental life stages and to shared learning and socialization processes. These processes are also influenced by interaction with family members and with their peers. The goal of this phenomenological study was to allow the voices of the well-siblings to be heard to better understand the meanings they gave to their experiences with their Type 1 diabetes brothers and sisters. The purpose of this study was to help health care professionals augment their knowledge base and their understanding of the role that well-siblings have in the life and treatment of their diabetic patients. By taking into consideration the well-siblings' input, professionals can make necessary changes in their beliefs and schemas that will lead to the development of techniques and strategies and to the development of programs and interventions geared to help not only the well-siblings, but to help the whole family as well. The participants were biological siblings of Type 1 diagnosed diabetic patients between the ages of 12 and 18, whose parents are Puerto Rican. We used the phenomenological interview technique to collect data. A number of themes emerged from the data, which were grouped together into five main categories: stressors, perceptions, coping mechanisms, benefits and recommendations. The model used was Bandura's deterministic model to organize, analyze and interpret the findings. Well-siblings gave meaning to their personal experiences and to how their families coped with this illness. Even though some families cope better than others, all participants benefitted some way or another from the diabetes reality in their home. Participants viewed themselves and their families as "normal." Their perception about diabetes is that it is a manageable condition, but could be fatal if you don't know how to handle it. We concluded that the adjustment to a chronic condition is systemic, and depends on the cognitive processes of the family members. Cognitive processes have both inputs (education, family support, beliefs, economic status) and outputs (care feelings, independence, and growth). As in any system, each component is important. If the goal is to help the family cope in a healthy manner, a holistic approach to provide the best treatment when handling this chronic disease should be considered.