Predicting Health Resilience in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: A Test of the Resilience Model Framework.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This research examined whether individual and family-level factors during the transition from late childhood to early adolescence protected individuals from an increased risk of poor glycemic control across time, which is a predictor of future diabetes-related complications (i.e., health resilience). METHODS: This longitudinal, multisite study included 239 patients with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers. Glycemic control was based on hemoglobin A1c. Individual and family-level factors included demographic variables, youth behavioral regulation, adherence (frequency of blood glucose monitoring), diabetes self-management, level of parental support for diabetes autonomy, level of youth mastery and responsibility for diabetes management, and diabetes-related family conflict. RESULTS: Longitudinal mixed-effects logistic regression indicated that testing blood glucose more frequently, better self-management, and less diabetes-related family conflict were indicators of health resilience. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple individual and family-level factors predicted risk for future health complications. Future research should develop interventions targeting specific individual and family-level factors to sustain glycemic control within recommended targets, which reduces the risk of developing future health complications during the transition to adolescence and adulthood.