# Teens with Type 1 Diabetes:  A Focus on Friendship

> **NIH NIH R01** · CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $459,668

## Abstract

Abstract
Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases among children. Managing type 1 diabetes is a
complicated, labor intensive effort as one has to monitor blood glucose levels throughout the day, monitor diet,
exercise, inject insulin, and adjust insulin based on these activities. The failure to engage in appropriate self-
care behavior is problematic as uncontrolled blood sugars can pose both short-term and long-term threats to
health. Adolescence is characterized as a developmental period in which youth with type 1 diabetes face
difficulties in maintaining good glycemic control, in part due to declines in self-care behavior. Much of the
research aimed at this decline has focused on the family, but peer relationships are another important and
neglected aspect of youth's social environment. Thus, the present proposal focuses on the role that friends play
in the psychological, behavioral, and physical health of adolescents with type 1 diabetes. We have three specific
aims: (1) to examine the relations of friend integration and friend conflict to psychological well-being and
diabetes outcomes (self-care behavior, glycemic control); (2) to identify potential mechanisms that explain the
link of friend integration and friend conflict to these outcomes; (3) to examine the trait of unmitigated
communion (i.e., overinvolvement in others to the neglect of the self) as a moderator of the relations of friend
integration and friend conflict to outcomes, predicting that links will be stronger for those high in unmitigated
communion. We hypothesize that friend conflict will lead to increased psychological distress, distraction from
self-care, failure to discuss diabetes, and the perception that friends will respond negatively to the enactment of
diabetes self-care. Because the literature on the positive aspects of friendship to diabetes outcomes is mixed,
we examine mechanisms for potential positive and negative relations. To the extent that friend integration is
beneficial, potential mechanisms include positive affect, disclosure to friends about diabetes, and the
perception that friends will respond positively to self-care. To the extent that friend integration is detrimental,
potential mechanisms include vulnerability to friend influence and distraction. Because peer relationships
occur in the context of family relationships, we also will examine the synergy between the two relationships.
We will enroll 160 teens with diabetes in 9th through 11th grades and conduct an ecological momentary
assessment (EMA) study over a 4-day period in which interactions with friends and family are assessed as well
as previously noted mechanisms. EMA is an innovative method that allows one to tap ongoing experiences as
they naturally unfold and to examine within-person variability in links of friend relations to outcomes. The
procedure will be repeated 6 months later at yearend. Survey measures of variables will be assessed as a 2nd
approach to address the sa...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10189569
- **Project number:** 5R01DK115384-04
- **Recipient organization:** CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** VICKI S HELGESON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $459,668
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-28 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10189569

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10189569, Teens with Type 1 Diabetes:  A Focus on Friendship (5R01DK115384-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10189569. Licensed CC0.

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