title: Decision-making competence and adherence to treatment in adolescents with diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine decision-making competence (the ability to form effective plans for managing different situations) in a sample of adolescents with type I diabetes and their parents. We hypothesized that adolescent decision-making competence would mediate the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and adherence to treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 63 adolescents and their parents. Parent-adolescent communication during a problem-solving task was assessed, as well as adolescent maladaptive decision-making (adolescent report), adherence to treatment (parent and provider report; number of glucose tests), and metabolic control (HbA1C).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parent-adolescent communication was associated with adherence to treatment but not with adolescent decision-making. Poorer decision-making was associated with lower adherence per parent report but not provider report or the number of glucose tests. Decision-making competence did not mediate the relationships between parent-adolescent communication and adherence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results are consistent with prior research demonstrating associations between parent-adolescent communication and adherence and identify adolescent decision-making competence as another potentially important correlate of adherence. These findings highlight several areas for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Case Western Reserve University, USA. millerv@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Victoria A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drotar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001076:Aptitude; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D012803:Sick Role; D013223:Statistics as Topic