Objective: Diabetes perceptions, acceptance and treatment motivation are changeable factors of adherence. This study aimed to test the effects of brief psychological interventions based on diabetes threat and mastery perceptions in terms of adherence, acceptance and motivation. Physicians may find such interventions useful during a 15-minute consultation with diabetes patients.

Research design and methods: This randomized controlled study included 80 patients with type 2 diabetes, recruited from the hospital diabetes department, who were randomly assigned to four intervention groups based on autobiographical recall. Those in the two intervention groups were asked to recall diabetic events based on mastery and threat perceptions, respectively, whereas those in the two control groups recalled non-diabetic events based on positive and negative emotions, respectively. Following this, all participants completed validated self-questionnaires assessing diabetes perceptions, acceptance, treatment motivation and adherence.

Results: Patients in the threat group reported less adherence (P<0.01) and less avoidance (P<0.05), and perceived diabetes as less threatening (P<0.05) than those in the mastery group. Similar results were obtained when the threat group was compared with its matched negative-emotion control group (P<0.05, P<0.05 and P=0.087, respectively). Patients in the mastery group reported feeling a stronger sense of mastery (P<0.05) than those in their positive-emotion control group and greater treatment acceptance than those in the threat group (P<0.01).

Conclusion: Contrary to conventional medical belief, discussing threatening personal events with patients can yield positive results. Health professionals should take threat and mastery perceptions of diabetes into account during regular consultations with a view to improving treatment acceptance and adherence. With this brief intervention of type 2 diabetes patients, it was also more effective to alleviate their emotional difficulties than to enhance their perception of mastery.