Can one question be a useful indicator of psychosocial problems in adolescents with diabetes mellitus?
OBJECTIVE
A screening tool for psychosocial functioning of adolescents with diabetes is unavailable. We investigated whether one question using a Visual Analogue Scale that indicates a rating from the worst (0) to the best possible life (10) is related to standardized indices of psychosocial functioning and well-being in adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM).


METHODS
One hundred and fifty-one adolescents with T1DM and 122 healthy peers between 12 and 18 years of age were asked to rate their life on a scale, varying from 0 to 10. Behaviour problems and depressive symptoms were measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI).


RESULTS
Adolescents with T1DM rated their life less positive in comparison with their healthy peers (F(1,269) = 14.01, p = 0.000). Adolescents with T1DM who rated their life with a 6 or lower reported more depressive symptoms and behaviour problems (F(2,131) = 24.19, p = 0.00) compared to those with higher scores (7 or up).


CONCLUSIONS
One question the 'rate your life scale' identified most of the adolescents at risk of internalizing behaviour problems, especially depression. The results of this first step in exploring the validity of this question as a screening tool for psychological functioning are promising.
Department of Medical Psychology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. nienke.maas@cze.n
Nienke M
NM
Maas-van Schaaijk
Roelof J
RJ
Odink
Kees
K
Ultee
Anneloes L
AL
van Baar
D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires