Resilience, stress and perceptions of school-based support for young people managing diabetes in school

Ben Hayes, Academic and Professional Tutor, Educational Psychology Group, University College London and Kent Educational Psychology Service; Leanna Lopez, Educational Psychologist, Tower Hamlets Psychology Service, London; Abigail Price, Consultant Paediatrician, Children’s Diabetes Team, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust. Personal resilience was studied in relation to perceived support and perceived stress in students aged between 11 and 16 managing school demands and type 1 diabetes. Fifty-four participants completed measures of personal resilience, perceived schoolbased support and perceived stress. Six students were interviewed in the qualitative phase. Correlational analysis identified significant relationships between personal resilience and perceived support, and personal resilience and perceived stress. Thematic analysis of interview data identified six themes linked to personal resilience, school-based support and overcoming stress in managing type 1 diabetes in a school setting. Perceptions of support were related to resilience in children and young people with type 1 diabetes. Young people’s perceptions of the support they receive in school should be considered in management plans.