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Personality characteristics, environmental factors and glycemic control in adolescents with diabetes

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Abstract

Metabolic control in adolescents with diabetes is difficult to achieve and seems to depend in part on personality and the family environment. We tried to identify relevant characteristics in this study. We administered the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, a Self-Competence scale, a Locus of Control Scale, and a structured interview, to 40 adolescent diabetics and 39 healthy controls, and the Rotter Locus of Control Scale to mothers. There were indications of more depressive thoughts and feelings (P=0.036) and slightly more anxiety (P=0.065) in the diabetics than in the controls. The diabetics who put in more effort at school had better metabolic control. Also, the diabetics who worried about their illness (P=0.021) and the ones who belonged to lower social class (P=0.011) had poorer metabolic control than others. The diabetics did not differ in locus of control and self-competence from controls. Locus of control, self-competence and anxiety were not correlated to HbA1c values.

Résumé

L'équilibre métabolique des adolescents diabétiques est difficile à obtenir et dépend en partie de la personnalité et de l'environnement familial. Nous avons essayé dans cette étude d'identifier les caractéristiques significatives. Nous avons administré l'échelle d'anxiété manifeste des enfants, une échelle d'auto-compétence, une échelle de contrôle et un entretien structuré à 40 adolescents diabétiques et à 39 témoins-contrôles sains et l'échelle Rother de point de contrôle aux mères. Il y avait des indications en faveur de plus de sentiments et de pensées dépressives (p=0.036) et légèrement plus d'anxiété (p=0.065) chez les diabétiques que chez les sujets contrôles. Les diabétiques qui fournissaient plus d'efforts à l'école avait un meilleur équilibre métabolique. Egalement les diabétiques préoccupés par leur maladie (p=0.021) et ceux qui appartenaient à des classes sociales inférieures (p=0.0011) avaient un contrôle métabolique moins bon que les autres. Les diabétiques ne différaient pas dans le point de contrôle de l'auto-compétence des cas témoins. Les points de contrôle, l'auto-compétence et l'anxiété n'étaient pas corrélés aux valeurs HbA1c.

Zusammenfassung

Eine gute Einstellung eines Jugendlichen-Diabetes ist schwer zu erreichen und scheint zum Teil von der betreffenden Persönlichkeit und dem familiären Umfeld abzuhängen. Wir haben versucht, relevante Merkmale in dieser Studie zu identifizieren. Wir wandten die “Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale”, eine Selbstkompetenz Skala, eine “Skala zur Feststellung von Kontrollüberzeugungen” und ein strukturiertes Interview an, um 40 jungendliche Diabetiker und 39 gesunde Kontrollen zu untersuchen, außerdem die “Rotter Locus of Control Scale” für die Untersuchung der Mütter. Es fanden sich Hinweise auf mehr depressive Gedanken und Gefühle (p=0,036) und leicht erhöhte Angstskalen (p=0,065) bei den Diabetikern im Vergleich zu den Kontrollen. Die Diabetiker, die sich in der Schule stärker bemühten, hatten eine bessere Einstellung. Ferner zeigten die Diabetiker, die sich aufgrund ihrer Erkrankung Sorgen machten (p=0,021), ebenso wie die, die einer niedrigeren sozialen Schicht angehörten, eine schlechtere Einstellung. Die Diabetiker unterschieden sich nicht von Kontrollen im Hinblick auf “ihre Kontrollüberzeugung” und Selbstkompetenz. “Kontrollüberzeugung”, Selbstkompetenz und Angst korrelierten nicht mit den HbA1c-Werten.

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Liakopoulou, M., Korvessi, M. & Dacou-Voutetakis, C. Personality characteristics, environmental factors and glycemic control in adolescents with diabetes. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 1, 82–88 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02091790

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