Illness perceptions as a mediator between emotional distress and management self-efficacy among Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Emotional distress and illness perceptions have been linked to patients’ self-efficacy for diabetes management. This study, guided by Leventhal’s Self-Regulatory Model, explores the direct effects of emotional distress (diabetes distress and depressive symptoms) on diabetes management self-efficacy, and the indirect effects through illness perceptions among Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Design: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional study of Chinese Americans with T2DM recruited from health fairs and other community settings (N = 155, 47.1% male, mean age 69.07 years). Data analyses including descriptive statistics, correlation, and PROCESS mediation models were used to examine the mediation effects of illness perceptions.

Results: Diabetes distress and depressive symptoms had direct negative effects on self-efficacy. Perceived treatment control mediated the association between diabetes distress and self-efficacy, while none of the illness perceptions dimensions impacted the relationship between depressive symptoms and self-efficacy.

Conclusion: Improved perceptions of treatment control can ameliorate diabetes distress and improve diabetes management self-efficacy among Chinese Americans. Health providers should elicit patients’ illness perceptions as a first step in evaluating their diabetes management self-efficacy and provide appropriate culturally-tailored interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Diabetes distress
• depressive symptoms
• illness perception
• diabetes self-management self-efficacy
• Asian Americans

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the participants and community organizations that supported and helped with this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Chapter Epsilon Theta of the Sigma Theta Tau International and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (Grant number: FFW-008-17-07).