The Relationship Between a Balanced Time Perspective and Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose Among People With Type 1 Diabetes

Background: Self-monitoring of blood glucose helps people with type 1 diabetes to maintain glycemic control and reduce the risk of complications. However, adherence to blood glucose monitoring is often suboptimal. Purpose: Like many health behaviors, self-monitoring of blood glucose involves exerting effort in the present to achieve future benefits. As such, the present research explored whether individual differences in time perspective-specifically, the extent to which people have a balanced time perspective-are associated with the frequency with which people with type 1 diabetes monitor their blood glucose and, thus, maintain glycemic control. Methods: Adults with type 1 diabetes completed measures of time perspective, feelings associated with monitoring, attitudes toward monitoring, and trait self-control. Objective data regarding the frequency with which participants monitored their blood glucose levels and their long-term glycemic control were extracted from their medical records. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses and tests of indirect effects (N = 129) indicated that having a more balanced time perspective was associated with more frequent monitoring of blood glucose and, as a result, better glycemic control. Further analyses (N = 158) also indicated that there was an indirect relationship between balanced time perspective and monitoring of blood glucose via the feelings that participants associated with monitoring and their subsequent attitudes toward monitoring. Conclusions: These findings point to the importance and relevance of time perspective for understanding health-related behavior and may help to inform interventions designed to promote self-monitoring of blood glucose in people with type 1 diabetes.