Relationship Between Self-Care Behaviors and Severity of Type 2 Diabetes: Moderator role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies

Background: Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases and self-care and emotion play an important role in the control of the disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between self-care behaviors and severity of diabetes. Methods: The present study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The statistical population of the present study includes all type 2 diabetic patients referring to health centers, of which 108 patients (57 women, 51 men) were selected as a sample group by the purposeful sampling method. The participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). Results: The results of this study showed that the severity of the disease was negatively correlated with self-care and had a significant positive correlation with maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (P<0.01). The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated a moderating role for cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between self-care and the severity of type 2 diabetes. Conclusion: According to the results, the severity of diabetes can be controlled through self-care promotion and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and these can be taken into account when designing therapeutic interventions and preventing diabetes.