Personality characteristics, environmental factors and glycemic control in adolescents with diabetes

Metabolic control in adolescents with diabetes is difficult to achieve and seems to depend in part on personality and the family environment. We tried to identify relevant characteristics in this study. We administered the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, a Self-Competence scale, a Locus of Control Scale, and a structured interview, to 40 adolescent diabetics and 39 healthy controls, and the Rotter Locus of Control Scale to mothers. There were indications of more depressive thoughts and feelings (P=0.036) and slightly more anxiety (P=0.065) in the diabetics than in the controls. The diabetics who put in more effort at school had better metabolic control. Also, the diabetics who worried about their illness (P=0.021) and the ones who belonged to lower social class (P=0.011) had poorer metabolic control than others. The diabetics did not differ in locus of control and self-competence from controls. Locus of control, self-competence and anxiety were not correlated to HbA_1c values.