Children's Self-Reports of Psychologic Adjustment and Coping Strategies During First Year of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Psychologic adjustment, assessed by self-ratings of anxiety, self-esteem, and depression, and cognitive as well as behavioral coping strategies, elicited by interview, were monitored longitudinally among school-age children with recent-onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Our article documents the findings over the 1st yr of the illness. From the start, the children viewed themselves as self-confident and emotionally comfortable. The diagnosis of IDDM created minimal emotional upheaval (which faded within 6 mo), despite this cohort's consistent report that the diet, insulin injections, and urine tests were difficult. The most prevalent cognitive strategies for coping with IDDM included wishful thinking, thoughts of forbidden foods, and resentful thoughts. Behavioral coping strategies, including information seeking, were evident from the beginning. The frequency of socially oriented coping behaviors (e.g., showing IDDM management to peers) indicated that the young patients actively tried to adapt to the illness and were more comfortable with aspects of home care than previously thought. Selfrated psychologic adjustment, psychiatric diagnosis, and illness-related coping behaviors were unrelated to one another; psychologic variables were similarly unrelated to the use of socially oriented coping strategies. Therefore, in juvenile cohorts, the presumed association between psychologic status and coping behaviors requires further examination.