Intergenerational transmission of chronic illness self-care: Results from the caring for hypertension in African American families study

Abstract

Purpose of the study:African Americans often experience early onset of hypertension that can result in generations of adults managing high blood pressure concurrently. Using a model based on the Theory of Interdependence, this study examined whether intergenerational transmission of hypertension knowledge and self-efficacy would affect hypertension self-care of older parents and their adult children.Design and Methods:We recruited 95 African American older parent-adult child dyads with hypertension. We constructed separate logistic regression models for older parents and adult children with medication adherence as the outcome. Each model included individual demographic and health characteristics, the partner's knowledge, and self-efficacy to manage hypertension and dyad-related characteristics.Results:Parents were more adherent with medication than adult children (67.4% vs. 49.5%, p