Neighborhood Disadvantage and Psychosocial Health for Parents of Teens with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)

Background: The psychosocial health of parents is important to the mental and physical health of teens with T1D, yet living in an area of high neighborhood disadvantage may risk parental psychosocial health due, in part, to increased exposure to stressors and less available support. We explored associations among neighborhood disadvantage and parents’ self-reported psychosocial outcomes among racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse parents of teens with T1D. Methods: At baseline of a 2-site psychosocial intervention trial, 130 parents of teens aged 13-18 with T1D reported on demographic information and their diabetes distress, family conflict, diabetes-related quality of life, and resilience. We retrieved area deprivation index (ADI) scores for home addresses; this measure of neighborhood disadvantage summarizes neighborhood-level income, education, employment, and housing quality via a state-relative decile score ranging from 1-10 (higher scores indicate more disadvantage). Regression analyses were used to examine associations among ADI and psychosocial measures. Results: 130 parents (2% American Indian/Alaska Native, 2% Asian, 8% Black/African American, 10% Latino/Mexican/South or Central American, 81% White; 87% mothers; 73% employed full-time; 78% private Insurance; 59% college graduate or higher) completed surveys. Mean ADI was 3.8±2.7 (range 1-10). Higher neighborhood disadvantage was associated with significantly higher diabetes distress [F(1,127)=13.99, p<.001] and family conflict [F(1,126)=19.42, p<.001] and lower resilience [F(1,127)=4.30, p=.04] and diabetes-related quality of life [F(1,125)=10.42, p=.002]. Conclusions: Consistently poorer psychosocial health among parents in areas with higher neighborhood disadvantage highlights the centrality of social determinants of health to families of teens with T1D. Targeted support for parents in these areas may benefit family T1D management and, ultimately, youth outcomes. Disclosure M.B.O'donnell: None. S.R.Scott: None. B.M.Ellisor: None. S.Garcia perez: None. Y.Rojas: None. F.Malik: None. M.E.Hilliard: None. J.P.Yi-frazier: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01DK121224)