Abstract
The present study was conducted in order to examine how summer camps for children with type 1 diabetes would affect the children's self-control abilities. The self-efficacy of 28 children with type 1 diabetes (average age 10.36 years) in the areas of self-control, knowledge about type 1 diabetes, stress responses, and HbAlc were examined before and after a summer-camp experience. After the camp experience, the children's self-efficacy increased and their stress responses decreased, compared to before they had gone to the camp. In addition, their increased self-efficacy in self-injection, diet control, and self-control of insulin dosage resulted in an improvement in their stress responses and HbAlc. The discussion suggested that summer camps for children with type 1 diabetes could be effective in improving children's self-efficacy in self-control and their knowledge about diabetes.
