Managing type 1 diabetes in youth: Does self-compassion help? (v1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Extending self-kindness: Self-compassion as a predictor of glycaemic control and regimen adherence in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
IRAS ID
213711
Contact name
Katherine Jackson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 25 days
Research summary
This research aims to increase our understanding of the psychological processes that affect how well type 1 diabetes is managed in adolescence. \n\nManaging type 1 diabetes involves keeping good control of blood sugar levels by adhering to a diabetes management routine. This research will focus on finding out if young people who are more self-compassionate (kind and non-judgemental toward themselves) do this better. It will also investigate whether self-compassion has any role in protecting adolescents from the negative effects that emotional distress and critical or non-supportive parent behaviours sometimes have on their diabetes management. \n \nYoung people will be asked to take part if they are aged between 11 and 18 years, have type 1 diabetes, have been diagnosed for one year or more, and can speak and read English. They will be recruited from the children and young people’s diabetes services at two NHS hospital Trusts. Participants will complete some questionnaires, which ask about their diabetes management routine, self-compassion, emotional distress, and non-supportive behaviours in their parents. This takes around 30 minutes. We will also get a glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) reading from their hospital notes – this is a way of measuring average blood sugar levels over a few months. \n\nPrevious research shows that adolescents with type 1 diabetes sometimes find it difficult to follow their diabetes management routines and have poorer control of their blood sugar levels than adults and younger children. This puts them at greater risk of diabetes-related complications, which can be life-threatening. It is therefore important to understand what helps adolescents manage their diabetes well. Self-compassion has already been found to have benefits for diabetes control in adults. If we discover that self-compassion is also beneficial for adolescents, other researchers could use this information to develop new, compassion-focused psychological treatments for young people with type 1 diabetes.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
17/NS/0022
Date of REC Opinion
14 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion