Children's Attitudes Toward Their Diabetes, Locus of Control, and HbA1c Levels

Children's health attitudes and whether they are able to exert control over their chronic illness is related to disease management. For the current study, we assessed illness representations, general attitude toward having diabetes and health locus of control for 65 children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and how these were related to parent report of child HbA1c levels. Results of our regression model indicated that internal locus of control moderated the relationship between illness attitude and HbA1c levels. Specifically, children with a high internal locus of control had lower (better) HbA1c levels. Additionally, children with a low internal locus of control for their diabetes and positive attitudes demonstrated lower HbA1c levels, whereas children with a low internal locus of control and negative attitudes had higher HbA1c levels. The generalizability of study findings is limited because the sample was mostly Caucasian youth reporting a fairly high locus of control. Future research is needed to determine whether changes in children's perceptions of control over illness correspond to long-term improvements in health outcomes.