Shared illness appraisal and self-efficacy among adults with type 1 diabetes.

We examined the interaction between shared illness appraisal and self-efficacy among couples in which one partner was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (n = 199). We hypothesized that the relation between self-efficacy and health would be weakened under conditions of shared rather than individual appraisal. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that partner shared illness appraisal interacted with the self-efficacy of the person with type 1 diabetes to predict overall psychological distress and daily diabetes stressors in the predicted direction. Plots of the interactions suggest that partner appraisal of diabetes as shared buffers individuals with lower levels of self-efficacy from poorer health.