Relational Competence and Adjustment in Diabetic Patients

A sample of 43 diabetics completed a questionnaire assessing their adjustment to diabetes, their general adjustment, and the nature of their relationships. Loneliness, as a global, subjective measure of the perceived quality of relationships, was negatively related to adjustment, while objective measures of relationships were essentially unrelated to adjustment. More specific subjective measures of relationships were correlated with adjustment so as to suggest that both the perception of dealing effectively with others and the perception of being positively supported by others are involved in the relationship between social support and adjustment among diabetics. Competence models are proposed as being consistent with these data.