Coordination of Self- and Parental-Regulation Surrounding Type I Diabetes Management in Late Adolescence

Daily self-regulation of emotions, cognitions and behaviors to support diabetes occurs separate from daily regulation of parental involvement in late adolescence, but is better on days when mothers help. Abstract Background Type 1 diabetes management involves self- and social-regulation, with past research examining components through individual differences unable to capture daily processes. Purpose Dynamical systems modeling was used to examine the coordinative structure of self- and social-regulation (operationalized as parental-regulation) related to daily diabetes management during late adolescence. Methods Two hundred and thirty-six late adolescents with type 1 diabetes (M age = 17.77 years, SD = .39) completed a 14-day diary reporting aspects of self- (e.g., adherence behaviors, cognitive self-regulation failures, and positive and negative affect) and parental-regulation (disclosure to parents, knowledge parents have, and help parents provide). Results Self-regulation functioned as one coordinative structure that was separate from parental-regulation, where mothers and fathers were coordinated separately from each other. Mothers’ perceived helpfulness served as a driver of returning adolescents back to homeostasis. Conclusions The results illustrate a dynamic process whereby numerous facets of self- and social-regulation are coordinated in order to return diabetes management to a stable state.