Table 2.

Perceptions of Cause of T2DM in the Family

Perceived Cause	Example	SG (n = 15)	YG (n = 18)
Poor diet	“I know my mother didn’t really follow a good diet and I think that’s a lot of it.”	10	12
Overweight	“There is quite a bit of obesity in my family so … I know that’s a contributing risk factor.”	8	11
Genetics/family history	“I think there’s always a genetic factor that goes into that.”	6	12
Lack of exercise	“Anybody in your family can get it especially if you’ve got a bad diet and don’t get enough exercise.”	3	4
Uncertain of role of genetics	“Most people say it’s inherited so … but I don’t know if it’s true or not.”	4	2
Age	“I think age kind of contributes too eventually.”	1	2
Stress	“It could be a combination of factors you know, maybe the lifestyle of stress, the way that they process information and continue high stress environments, even when it’s not stressful [laughs]. They make it stressful.”	1	1
Don’t go to doctor	“just overall, you know, just not being tactful about going to the doctor regularly because of economic issues.”	1	0
Gestational diabetes causes T2DM in child	“If you like say—if my mom, like if my mom say for instance, if she was pregnant and she’s a diabetic there’s a chance that the child, like, might have developed diabetes too.”	0	1
Giving birth to large babies	“I had a couple babies that weighed more than 9 pounds. … I know that is a factor.”	0	1
Pancreas not functioning	“It’s probably—and I know it’s ‘cause his pancreas isn’t working right.”	0	1
Smoking	“Smoking, just that overall nonhealthy choices that you’re making.”	0	1
Don’t know	“I really don’t know. I really never thought about it, I was just thankful that I didn’t have it and just hoping that they could get over it.”	3	0

Abbreviations: SG, same generation; T2DM, type 2 diabetes; YG, younger generation.