Teaching teens to cope: coping skills training for adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
OBJECTIVE
To review the potential use and application of coping-skills training in teaching adolescents effective ways of managing the stressors related to living with diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
Adolescents ages 13 to 20 with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus who are participating in the research project, "Nursing Intervention to Implement DCCT Therapy in Youth" at Yale University School of Nursing.


CONCLUSIONS
Teaching adolescents with diabetes mellitus to use appropriate coping skills may help them cope with the day-to-day management of the illness and aid in long-term adaptation.


CONCLUSIONS
Research has suggested that the use of effective coping skills may aid in healthy long-term adaptation to diabetes mellitus. Thus, nurses caring for adolescents with this illness should teach and be role models for these effective coping strategies.
Davidson
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M
Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT 06536-0740, USA. maryanne.davidson@yale.edu
Boland
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EA
Grey
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001242:Assertiveness; D003142:Communication; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011340:Problem Solving; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology