Background: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) face considerable psychosocial demands that may increase vulnerability to diabetes-specific disordered eating behaviors. This study investigated the relationships among diabetes-specific disordered eating behaviors, social anxiety, social appearance anxiety, and psychological resilience in adolescents with T1D. Methods: This cross-sectional and correlational study included 176 adolescents diagnosed with T1D. Data were obtained using the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey-Revised (DEPS-R), the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A), the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS), and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12). Results: The mean age was 14.16 ± 2.73 years; 51.1% were male, and 63.1% had a disease duration of ≥3 years. Elevated levels of diabetes-specific disordered eating behaviors were observed in 85.8% of participants. Mean scores were 36.06 ± 15.26 (DEPS-R), 58.86 ± 12.90 (SAS-A), 48.82 ± 12.09 (SAAS), and 35.17 ± 10.61 (CYRM-12). Disordered eating behaviors showed positive correlations with social anxiety and social appearance anxiety and negative correlations with psychological resilience (all p < 0.001). Regression analyses indicated that social anxiety remained independently associated with disordered eating behaviors, whereas social appearance anxiety and psychological resilience did not. Psychological resilience was inversely related to both anxiety measures. Conclusions: Diabetes-specific disordered eating behaviors are common in adolescents with T1D and are closely linked to social anxiety-related factors. Social anxiety appears to be a key associated variable. Although psychological resilience was not independently related to disordered eating behaviors, it showed inverse associations with social anxiety. These findings support integrating routine psychosocial screening and targeted interventions into multidisciplinary diabetes care.
Durmus et al. (Mon,) studied this question.