Depression, Self-efficacy, and Adherence in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

•As depressive symptoms increase, diet and exercise adherence decreases.•As self-efficacy increases, adherence to diet, exercise, and smoking cessation increases•As self-efficacy increases, depressive symptoms decrease.•There were no significant gender differences in depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, and adherence.

Depression and self-efficacy can be major factors in treatment adherence for patients with type 2 diabetes. Fifty-five adults with diabetes completed a depression inventory, a self-efficacy questionnaire, and a diabetes self-care inventory. As depressive symptoms increased, self-efficacy decreased (P = .000). As depressive symptoms increased, participants reported following the appropriate diet (P = .020) and exercise (P = .034) recommendations less often. Participants with higher self-efficacy were less likely to smoke (P = .031), and were more likely to adhere to diet (P = .000) and exercise (P = .000). Interventions should be multifaceted to address various factors that affect diabetes adherence.