The Association Between General Self-Efficacy and Depressive Symptoms in People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Mediating Role of Coping Styles Preference

Figures & data

Table 1 Sample Demographic Characteristics (n = 721)

Variable	Total Sample N (%)	Elevated Depressive Symptoms N (%)			p value
		No		Yes
Gender
Male	327 (45.4)	151 (49.8)		176 (42.1)	0.040
Female	394 (54.6)	152 (50.2)		242 (57.9)
Age (years)
Young adulthood (18–44)	153 (21.2)	76 (25.1)		77 (18.4)	0.012
Middle age (45–64)	318 (44.1)	139 (43.7)		179 (56.3)
Old age (≥ 65)	250 (34.7)	88 (35.2)		162 (64.8)
Marital status
Divorced/widowed/single	94 (13.0)	30 (9.9)		64 (15.3)	0.033
Married	627 (87.0)	273 (90.1)		354 (84.7)
Education level
Middle school and below	455 (63.1)	170 (56.1)		285 (68.2)	0.001
High school and above	266 (36.9)	133 (43.9)		133 (31.8)
Occupation status
Employed	529 (73.4)	221 (72.9)		308 (73.7)	0.993
Unemployed	192 (26.6)	82 (27.1)		110 (26.3)
Per capita monthly income (CNY)
≤1500	277 (38.4)	92 (30.4)		185 (44.3)	0.000
1501–4500	291 (40.4)	126 (41.6)		165 (39.5)
≥4501	153 (21.2)	85 (28.1)		68 (16.3)
Medical insurance
No	165 (22.9)	73 (24.1)		92 (22.0)	0.335
Yes	556 (77.1)	230 (75.9)		326 (78.0)
Family history of T2DM
Yes	189 (26.2)	90 (29.7)		99 (23.7)	0.070
No/ unknown	532 (73.8)	213 (70.3)		319 (76.3)
Diabetes-related complications
Yes	399 (55.3)	178 (58.7)		221 (52.9)	0.117
No	322 (44.7)	125 (41.3)		197 (47.1)
Other chronic diseases
Yes	206 (28.6)	71 (23.4)		135 (32.3)	0.009
No	515 (71.4)	232 (76.6)		283 (67.7)
Treatment regimen
Diet/exercise (no drugs)	249 (34.5)	87 (34.9)		162 (65.1)	0.014
Oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs)	224 (31.1)	107 (47.8)		117 (52.2)
Insulin (with/without OHAs)	248 (34.4)	109 (44.0)		139 (56.0)

Note: Bold values highlight p values <0.05.

Table 2 Descriptive Information of General Self-Efficacy, Coping Style Preference, and Depressive Symptoms, and Pearson Correlation Analyses

Variable	Mean (SD)	General Self-Efficacy (r)	Coping Style Preference (r)	Depressive Symptoms (r)
General self-efficacy	2.40 (0.59)	—
Coping style preference	1.41 (0.49)	0.168**	—
Depressive symptoms	21.55 (7.76)	−0.119**	−0.386**	—

Note: **:<0.01.

Figure 1 Mediation model for the effect of coping style preference on the relationships between general self-efficacy and depressive symptoms. Standardized coefficients and errors terms for the path is provided. Black lines indicate indirect effect.

Table 3 Summary of Total, Indirect, and Direct Effects of General Self-Efficacy, Coping Style Preference, and Depressive Symptoms in a Mediation Model

Exogenous Variables:	General Self-Efficacy
	Unadjusted Effects			Adjusted Effects
Dependent variable: depressive symptoms	β	95% Cl	p	β	95% Cl	p
Total	−0.201	−0.343~-0.057	0.005	−0.127	−0.264~0.008	0.064
Indirect	−0.167	−0.149~-0.055	0.000	−0.163	−0.245~-0.088	0.000
Direct	−0.034	−0.120~ 0.083	0.651	0.036	−0.114~0.178	0.630

Note: Models were adjusted for gender, marital status, education level, per capita monthly income (CNY), and other chronic diseases.