Executive Functioning, Diabetes Distress, and Diabetes Management Among Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Youth and...

Objective: Most adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) do not achieve recommended glycemic targets, placing them at risk for long-term complications. Executive functioning (EF), or the cognitive processes that support goal-directed action and management of behavior, emotion, and cognition, is proposed to support effective T1D management and contribute to glycemic stability. We sought to examine associations of EF with T1D management behaviors and diabetes-related distress in adolescents with T1D. Methods: Participants were 13-17-year-olds (M = 15.44, SD = 1.38 years) from a randomized controlled trial (N = 88). We conducted secondary analyses of preintervention data. Youth and their parents each reported on youth EF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning; BRIEF) and T1D management behaviors (Self-Care Inventory-Revised; SCI-R), parents reported on responsibility for T1D management (Diabetes Family Responsibility Questionnaire; DFRQ), and youth reported on their diabetes-related distress (Problem Areas In Diabetes-Teen; PAID-T). Youth also completed performance-based measures of EF. Results: Questionnaire-based and performance-based EF measures were generally unrelated. Regression analysis showed that youth self-reported EF predicted youth-reported T1D management (SCI-R) and diabetes distress (PAID-T) outcomes, and parent-reported youth EF predicted parent-reported T1D management behaviors, such that greater EF difficulties predicted suboptimal management and greater diabetes-related distress (youth PAID-T β: 0.41, p  < 0.01; youth SCI-R β: -0.40, p  < 0.01; parent SCI-R β: -0.33, p  < 0.01). Older child age and poorer performance-based EF also predicted greater youth responsibility for T1D management (age β: 0.43,p  < 0.01; EF reaction time β: 0.23,p < 0.05; EF accuracy β: -0.23, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Youth EF may shape which adolescents are at increased risk for suboptimal T1D management as well as diabetes distress; understanding EF challenges may help guide T1D family management across this developmental period. Implications for EF measurement approaches in youth are also discussed. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03688919.