Family support and conflict among adults with type 2 diabetes

Background: Family relationships can be a source of support for people with diabetes and may influence self-management behaviour. Research examining diabetes-related family support and conflict to date has focused on children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.Aims: To develop a short (≤10-item) measure of diabetes-related family support and family conflict suitable for use among adults with type 2 diabetes, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of this measure in a pilot study.Methods: Participants were randomly selected from a database of primary care records in New Zealand. Data were collected through a mailed questionnaire (n=629).Results: A principal components analysis identified two latent factors that supported the theoretically derived subscales assessing diabetes-related family support and conflict. These subscales showed good evidence of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α, 0.84 and 0.75 respectively).Conclusion: The Diabetes Family Support and Conflict (DFSC) scale is a 10-item measure suitable for use among adults with type 2 diabetes. We encourage researchers and clinicians to consider this instrument when a brief measure of diabetes-related family support and family conflict is required. Further testing of the DFSC scale is recommended to help establish normative data for different populations and clinical settings.