Diabetes Distress and Health-Related Quality of Life among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes—Mediating Role of Experiential Avoidance and Moderating Role of Post-Traumatic Growth

Chinenye Joseph Aliche () and Erhabor Sunday Idemudia
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Chinenye Joseph Aliche: Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Erhabor Sunday Idemudia: Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Objectives: Many people living with type 2 diabetes experience diabetes distress which impacts negatively on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, little is known about the modifiable factors or psychological processes that make this happen. The current study examines the role of experiential avoidance and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in association with diabetes distress and the HRQoL. Methods: Participants included 303 patients with type 2 diabetes conveniently selected from two tertiary healthcare institutions in Nigeria. They completed relevant self-report measures. The Hayes PROCESS macro for SPSS was used for data analysis. Results: The results showed that experiential avoidance mediated the association between diabetes distress and the HRQoL [95% CI: −0.15, −0.07]. PTG significantly moderated the association between diabetes distress and the HRQoL [95% CI: 0.01, 0.02]. Specifically, diabetes distress was associated with a poor HRQoL only among patients with low levels of PTG but not among those with average and high levels of PTG. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as it can potentially decrease the experiential avoidance behaviour of patients. Moreover, intervention should also target the facilitation of PTG due to its beneficial effects in reducing the negative effects of diabetes distress on health and recovery.

Keywords: emotional distress; health-related quality of life; patients with type 2 diabetes; positive adaptation; avoidance behaviour (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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