Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 May-Jun;34(3):501-10.
doi: 10.1177/0145721708316946.

Coping styles, well-being, and self-care behaviors among African Americans with type 2 diabetes

Carmen D Samuel-Hodge  1 , Daphne C Watkins  2 , Kyrel L Rowell  3 , Elizabeth G Hooten  4
Affiliations

Coping styles, well-being, and self-care behaviors among African Americans with type 2 diabetes

Carmen D Samuel-Hodge et al. Diabetes Educ. 2008 May-Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe how coping styles among African Americans with type 2 diabetes relate to diabetes appraisals, self-care behaviors, and health-related quality of life or well-being.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis of baseline measures from 185 African Americans with type 2 diabetes enrolled in a church-based randomized controlled trial uses the theoretical framework of the transactional model of stress and coping to describe bivariate and multivariate associations among coping styles, psychosocial factors, self-care behaviors, and well-being, as measured by validated questionnaires.

Results: Among participants who were on average 59 years of age with 9 years of diagnosed diabetes, passive and emotive styles of coping were used most frequently, with older and less educated participants using more often passive forms of coping. Emotive styles of coping were significantly associated with greater perceived stress, problem areas in diabetes, and negative appraisals of diabetes control. Both passive and active styles of coping were associated with better diabetes self-efficacy and competence in bivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, significant proportions of the variance in dietary behaviors and mental well-being outcomes (general and diabetes specific) were explained, with coping styles among the independent predictors. A positive role for church involvement in the psychological adaptation to living with diabetes was also observed.

Conclusions: In this sample of older African Americans with diabetes, coping styles were important factors in diabetes appraisals, self-care behaviors, and psychological outcomes. These findings suggest potential benefits in emphasizing cognitive and behavioral strategies to promote healthy coping outcomes in persons living with diabetes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transactional model of stress and coping emphasizing constructs (in boxes) measured in this study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Diabetes Association. African American and Diabetes Facts. [Accessed December 28, 2006]. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/africanamerica....
    1. Coelho R, Amorim I, Prata J. Coping styles and quality of life in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Psychosomatics. 2003;44:312–318. - PubMed
    1. Karlsen B, Idsoe T, Dirdal I, Rokne Hanestad B, Bru E. Effects of a group-based counselling programme on diabetes-related stress, coping, psychological well-being and metabolic control in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Patient Educ Couns. 2004;53:299–308. - PubMed
    1. Sanden-Eriksson B. Coping with type-2 diabetes: the role of sense of coherence compared with active management. J Adv Nurs. 2000;31:1393–1397. - PubMed
    1. Trief PM, Himes CL, Orendorff R, Weinstock RS. The marital relationship and psychosocial adaptation and glycemic control of individuals with diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2001;24:1384–1389. - PubMed

Publication types