Vocational Adjustment and General Well-Being of Young Adults With IDDM

Cameron K Tebbi; Clifford Bromberg; Irene Sills; Jack Cukierman; Marion Piedmonte

doi:10.2337/diacare.13.2.98

Original Articles

Vocational Adjustment and General Well-Being of Young Adults With IDDM

Cameron K Tebbi, MD,
Clifford Bromberg, MA,
Irene Sills, MD,
Jack Cukierman, MD and
Marion Piedmonte, MA

Adolescent Unit and the Department of Biomathematics, Roswell Park Memorial Institute; the Children's Diabetes Center, Children's Hospital of Buffalo private practice of Dr. Cukierman, Buffalo, New York

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Cameron K. Tebbi, MD, Director, Adolescent Unit, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY 14263.

Diabetes Care 1990 Feb; 13(2): 98-103. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.13.2.98

Abstract

The vocational experiences and general well-being of 58 young adult subjects (mean age 24.3 yr) with insulindependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) diagnosed during their adolescence were compared with that of 55 healthy matched control subjects with linear logistic discriminant function analyses. Assessment measures included the Rand General Well-Being Scale and the Rand Functional Limitations and Physical Abilities Batteries. Diabetic subjects, on average, reported significantly lower general well-being than control subjects, particularly in terms of health-related fears and feelings of depression. However, diabetic subjects did not report a pervasive functional deficit relative to control subjects and experienced similar employment rates and problems in the workplace. These results suggest that this group of young adult diabetic subjects has adjusted well to the demands of the workplace despite lower reports of general well-being. The results are discussed in light of relevant sampling issues.