Contribution of Disease-Specific Distress, Social Support, and Self-Efficacy to Diabetes Self-Management Behaviors in Saudi Adults: A Path Analysis

Ali Kerari Nursing Administration and Education Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Ali Kerari, Nursing Administration and Education Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Disease-specific distress, social support, and self-efficacy have noticeable impacts on diabetes self-management. Although these three concepts are connected, their interplay and subsequent influence on diabetes self-management warrants further research.Patients and Methods: A total of 154 individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited to complete a survey, which included questions related to social support, diabetes self-efficacy, diabetes self-management behaviors, and disease-specific stress. The variables were examined with path analysis using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software.Results: In the final model, diabetes self-efficacy was a significant predictor of increased diabetes self-management behaviors. Lower levels of disease-specific distress were associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. Path analysis indicated that the direct effect of social support on diabetes self-management behaviors was significant, and social support indirectly affected diabetes self-management behaviors through the mediating effect of diabetes self-efficacy. Overall, the study findings indicate that social support can exert an impact on diabetes self-management behaviors through the mediating effect of diabetes self-efficacy.Conclusion: The study’s findings support the use of Individual and Family Self-Management Theory to improve diabetes self-management. Further research is needed to better understand how factors related to the family support system influence diabetes self-management behaviors.Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, social environment, health-related behaviors, public health, comorbidities, Saudi Arabia