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Effects of stress management and relaxation training on the relationship between diabetes symptoms and affect among Latinos |
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| Authors: | Julie Wagner Stephen Armeli Howard Tennen Angela Bermudez-Millan Rafael Pérez-Escamilla |
| Institution: | 1. Division of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health and Department of Psychiatry, UConn Schools of Dental Medicine and Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA;2. Department of Psychology, Farleigh Dickinson University, Taeneck, NJ, USA;3. Department of Community Medicine, UConn School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA;4. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA |
| Abstract: | Objective: Stress management and relaxation (SMR) interventions can reduce symptoms of chronic disease and associated distress. However, there is little evidence that such interventions disrupt associations between symptoms and affect. This study examined whether SMR dampened the link between symptoms of hyperglycemia and proximal levels of affect. We predicted that during periods of increased hyperglycemia, individuals receiving SMR training, relative to controls, would demonstrate smaller increases in negative affect. Design: Fifty-five adult Latinos with type 2 diabetes were randomised to either one group session of diabetes education (DE-only; N = 23) or diabetes education plus eight group sessions of SMR (DE + SMR; N = 32). After treatment, participants reported five diabetes symptoms and four affective states twice daily for seven days using a bilingual telephonic system. Results: Mean age = 57.8 years, mean A1c = 8.4%, and ¾ was female with less than a high school education. Individuals receiving DE + SMR, compared to DE-only, showed a weaker positive within-person association between daily diabetes symptoms and nervous affect. Groups also differed on the association between symptoms and enthusiasm. Age moderated these associations in most models with older individuals showing less affect reactivity to symptoms. Conclusions: Findings provide partial support for theorised mechanisms of SMR. |
| Keywords: | daily process affect-reactivity diabetes symptoms stress management Latinos |