Overseeing the intensive treatment required for controlling type 1 diabetes in children is typically the responsibility of parents/carers. As children progress to puberty and adolescence, they must learn to take on this responsibility. This is not easy – we know from published research that adolescence is often associated with a deterioration in glucose control and increased hospital admissions, leading to an increased risk of chronic complications later in life.

The aim of this project is to investigate the factors associated with the successful transference of responsibility. These may include factors specific to the individual person with type 1 diabetes, the family/carers, the overall family strucuture, the level of support provided, and other socio-demographic factors. By identifying these factors we can develop strategies for optimizing the transfer of responsibility to adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

This study is a project of the Center of Research on Psychological and Somatic disorders (CoRPS) at Tilburg University (Dr Giesje Nefs), in which Diabeter participates and which is funded by a grant from NWO.