Measuring family members’ actual perceptions and behaviors is
less likely to be useful from a cognitive perspective. Similarly, associations between
recollections about a family member’s illness representation (particularly controllability
and consequences of diabetes) and self-care behavior (particularly diet,
insulin, and pill adherence) and the illness representation and self-care behavior of
affected individuals were reported by Scollan-Koliopoulos et al. (2006, 2007). In a
third study, diabetes was viewed as mild and non–life threatening, associated with
aging and being an inconvenience requiring lifestyle changes by individuals with
diabetes who had a family history of diabetes (Walter & Emery, 2006).