DESCRIPTION (taken from the application) Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a serious chronic illness and a highly prevalent disease among Latino youth. Although numerous studies have been carried out with young IDDM patients in the United States, few have been developed with Latino youth and with Puerto Rican populations. The understanding of IDDM and what leads to adequate metabolic control is of utmost importance to guarantee an improved quality of life for IDDM patients. In order to understand the characteristics of IDDM Latino youth that correlate with difficulties in metabolic control, the following research has been designed. This study aims to provide a descriptive profile and to identify the needs, strengths and weaknesses of this population. It will estimate which variables correlate with metabolic control. Finally, it aims to test a predictive model in order to determine which variables contribute most to metabolic control. This project will evaluate psychosocial characteristics that have been suggested in the literature as important and significant to metabolic control such as age, gender, psychological adjustment or mental health problems (depression, suicide, ideation, anxiety and eating disorders symptomatology), social support, coping styles, and cognitive appraisals (self concept, body image, and attributional style). One hundred IDDM youth, aged 9 to 18 years will be evaluated with standardized self-report instruments to measure the variables. A control group matched for age, gender and sex will also be evaluated. Descriptive frequencies of the variables and comparisons between the IDDM and control group will be calculated. Correlations with metabolic control glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) will be analyzed. Finally, a multiple logistic regression analysis will be performed to determine the best predictive model of metabolic control. The findings of this study will permit us to: 1) raise the awareness of health professionals about the particular difficulties faced by IDDM children and adolescents in Puerto Rico; 2) design early diagnostic procedures to identify comorbid mental health problems in this population; and 3) design and test for effective preventive and treatment interventions for the conditions that affect metabolic control in this population. This will ultimately result in healthier IDDM youth, less hospitalizations, and fewer diabetic complications.