Abstract / Summary
This systematic review sought to synthetize recent studies on psychological interventions aiming to address parental psychosocial factors in families of children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Particularly, its purpose was to characterize intervention designs, frameworks, and delivery modalities, as well as to examine their findings on both parental psychosocial and youth glycemic outcomes.
Twenty-six manuscripts from 2019 to 2025 were selected, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs, pilot, feasibility, and protocol studies. Most interventions were grounded in cognitive-behavioral frameworks and implemented through a range of diverse delivery formats. Overall, the available evidence indicates that the interventions are associated with improvements across a range of parental psychosocial factors (e.g., diabetes distress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, fear of hypoglycemia, and quality of life), while findings regarding glycemic outcomes were heterogeneous across studies. Interventions targeting parents of youth with T1D appear effective in enhancing psychosocial adjustment. The diversity of study designs, theoretical frameworks, and intervention approaches reflects both heterogeneity and a robust scientific evidence base, with potential for adaptation and replication across different contexts.