Development and psychometric evaluation of the life management skills scale for children with type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Life Management Skills Scale (LMSST1D), designed to assess coping and self-management skills in children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). Methods: A methodological and correlational study was conducted between May and December 2024 with 367 children aged 10–18 years. Content validity was assessed by expert review (CVI: 0.80–1.00). Construct validity wastestedviaexploratoryandconfirmatoryfactoranalyses. InternalconsistencywasmeasuredwithCronbach's alpha; test-retest reliability was assessed using Pearson correlation. Results: The scale revealed a two-factor structure “Diabetes Coping Skills” and “Diabetes Management Knowledge” explaining 70.9 % of the total variance. Factor loadings ranged from 0.832 to 0.963. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good model fit(χ2/df = 1.683, RMSEA = 0.069, CFI = 0.968). Cronbach's alpha was 0.980 for the total scale; 0.971 for the “Diabetes Coping Skills” subscale and 0.984 for the “Diabetes Management Knowledge” subscale. Item-total correlations were significant (r =0.823–0.904). Test-retest reliability was high (r =0.979–0.988), and no significant differences were found between applications (p >0.05). Conclusion: The LMSS-T1D is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating life management skills in children withT1DM.Itoffersastructuredframeworkforassessingcopingandself-managementcapabilitiesandmaysupport individualized interventions. Implications for practice: The scale may assisthealthcare providers inidentifying strengths and weaknessesinpediatric diabetes management, guiding personalized care plans. ©2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.