Abstract
Objective
This study investigated the links between naturalistically observed and self-reported interpersonal problems, diabetes management, and glucose levels in older adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes.
Design
Sixty-eight older adolescents and young adults (aged 17–20 years) participated in a cross-sectional study that consisted of three home visits and a daily diary segment.
Main Outcome Measures
Participants wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) for four days to capture interpersonal problems and wore a continuous glucose monitor for blood glucose levels. Researchers also collected HbA1c values, conducted an interview to assess diabetes management, and collected participant-reported severity of interpersonal problems.
Results
High EAR-observed interpersonal problems were associated with poor diabetes management. Multiple regression analyses revealed that high EAR-observed interpersonal problems continued to explain variance in poor diabetes management after including self-reported interpersonal problems and covariates.
Conclusion
These findings corroborate literature suggesting that negative interactions are associated with type 1 diabetes management. This study is the first to use the EAR to capture naturalistically observed interactions in this population and identify its utility beyond self-reports. These findings highlight the importance of considering naturalistically observed interactions when developing interventions to promote better diabetes management in older adolescents and young adults.
Acknowledgements
Authors acknowledge that the data from this manuscript have been published as an abstract in the July/August 2020 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine for the 78th Annual Meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available on the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/WMHCY.