Abstract Background Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) often face challenges with diabetes management and experience diabetes distress related to the burden of treatment. Positive affect, including feelings of enthusiasm, joy, and engagement, may play a role in improving health outcomes. Purpose This study aimed to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with positive affect in adolescents with T1D and assess the impact of adolescents’ positive affect on glycemic outcomes and quality of life over time. Methods The current study is a longitudinal analysis of data from a multisite randomized controlled trial. Adolescents’ self-reported positive affect was analyzed in relation to demographic variables, clinical outcomes, and diabetes-related quality of life over a 12-month period. Results In our sample of 196 adolescents with T1D, greater adolescent age was significantly associated with lower levels of positive affect. Importantly, positive affect was associated with lower HbA1c and higher quality of life over 12 months, after adjusting for baseline levels and demographic factors. Conclusions These findings suggest that positive affect may be a protective factor for adolescents with T1D, underscoring the potential for incorporating approaches that induce positive affect as a way to improve diabetes management.
Jayaram et al. (Thu,) studied this question.