ABSTRACT
To keep Type 1 diabetes under adequate control and avoid long-term complications of the
disease, patients and families must implement a complex treatment regimen including multiple
daily insulin injections and blood glucose tests, a prescribed meal plan, regular physical
exercise, and problem solving based on blood glucose test results. Not surprisingly the
management of diabetes presents quite a challenge during adolescence. Numerous studies have
shown that diabetes treatment adherence and diabetic control decline during adolescence (see
Johnson, 1995; Wysocki & Greco, 1997, for reviews). Other studies have shown that par-
ent-adolescent communication and conflict resolution skills may be important mediators of the
efficacy of family management of diabetes (Bobrow, AvRuskin, & Siller, 1985; Miller-Johnson
et al., 1994; Wysocki, 1993). The magnitude of this challenge stimulated our interest
in evaluating psychological and behavioral interventions that might help adolescents
and their families cope more effectively with diabetes and its treatment. About 4 years
ago, in a similar chapter we described the research methods that comprised our randomized
controlled trial of behaviorally oriented family therapy for adolescents with Type 1 diabetes
(Wysocki, White, Bubb, Harris, & Greco, 1995). In the present chapter, we report the re-
sults of our investigation and offer suggestions for future research based on our findings.
