Type 1 Diabetes in adolescence: The effect of depression, psychosocial adjustment and duration of illness on glycemic control

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: This study used a sample of patients from a diabetes and endocrinology pediatric clinic in a metropolitan hospital to explore the influence of Type 1 Diabetes on adolescents in the areas of depression and psychosocial adjustment. Adolescents and their parent(s) were given a demographic questionnaire including information on their most recent HbA1C measurement as well as the date of their diagnosis. Then, adolescents alone were given the Beck Depression Inventory- Fast Screen for Medical Patients (BDI-FS) and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale- Self-Report (PAIS-SR).

Findings and Conclusions: One-third of the sample scored in the clinically significant range on the BDI-FS and approximately one-third of the sample scored in the clinically significant range on the PAIS-SR. Scores on the BDI-FS and the PAIS-SR were positively correlated. A multiple regression analysis revealed that BDIFS scores were a significant predictor of HbA1C measurements. Adolescents who maintained their chronic illness with good control had significantly higher scores on the depression measure than did adolescents who maintained their chronic illness with poor control.