Resilience in young adults with T1D
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Young people with type 1 diabetes (16 – 25 years old) with good and poor glycaemic control: adopting a resilience approach to enhance understanding of differences in this transitional group with generally poor clinical performance
IRAS ID
148724
Contact name
Jorg Huber
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Northampton
Research summary
Young people with type 1 diabetes find it difficult to adjust to and deal effectively with their illness as evidenced by poor blood sugar control, serious complications and high mortality. The problem is particularly pronounced in England in the 16-25 age group. Our understanding of this national failure is very limited, particularly as scant recent research is available in the UK. Instead of focussing on the negative aspects of diabetes, we want to find out how young people successfully adjust to and integrate the condition into their day to day life. They are living through an important transitional period where crucial developments are taking place, which impact on partner, career and other life style choices. We adopt a novel approach focussing on resilience, which others and ourselves have successfully researched in groups without diabetes.
Resilience is the ability to deal effectively with adversity and bounce back from poor wellbeing/mental health and this will be explored in our study. We will use questionnaire data to assess resilience and associated factors such as attachment, social support, self esteem and recent life events. We will use in depth interviews and personal diaries exploring issues of self-care, the challenges of the condition and the way individuals deal with these challenges with the aim to develop a deeper understanding of the role of resilience in dealing with a complex and demanding illness. A key element will be the comparison of individuals with good glycaemic control with those with poor control; in line with the resilience approach a key aim will be to provide a basis for further applications carrying out a longitudinal study, possibly incorporating neurobiological components, and contributing to the development of targeted interventions.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/0210
Date of REC Opinion
11 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion