OBJECTIVETo determine whether personality traits (conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional regulation, extraversion, and openness to experience) are associated with glycemic control and blood glucose monitoring behavior, and change or stability of these outcomes over time, in young people with type 1 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA 3-year longitudinal study was conducted using data from 142 individuals with type 1 diabetes, 8–19 years of age. Personality was assessed at baseline using the Five-Factor Personality Inventory for Children. Data relating to glycemic control (HbA1c) and frequency of blood glucose monitoring (based on meter memory) were collected annually. Relationships between personality traits and HbA1c and monitoring frequency were examined using regression models and mixed-design ANOVA.RESULTSThree of the Five-Factor domains were independently associated with glycemic control. Individuals high in conscientiousness and agreeableness had a lower and more stable HbA1c across the 3-year study period. In contrast, the HbA1c of individuals scoring low on these traits was either consistently worse or deteriorated over time. Low or high emotional regulation scores were also associated with worse glycemic control. By the third year, these domains, together with initial HbA1c, accounted for 39% of HbA1c variance. Conscientiousness was the only personality factor associated with blood glucose monitoring behavior.CONCLUSIONSResults of this study underline the importance of personality in contributing to diabetes outcomes. Attention to a young person’s personality, and appropriate tailoring of diabetes management to ensure an individualized approach, may help to optimize diabetes outcomes.

School-based interventions are an effective way to treat childhood obesity. The purpose of the present study was to biologically validate an established school-based intervention designed to reduce standardised body mass index (zBMI) over a period of 12 months. This intervention focused on a subset of Mexican-American children who were participating in a larger clinical weight loss study. Plasma samples were analysed from self-identified Mexican-American children (12-14 years) who were randomised to either a school-based intervention (IN, n = 152) or self-help control (CN, n = 69). Treatment was 4 days week⁻¹ of exercise (45 min day⁻¹) and 1 day week⁻¹ of nutritional counselling for 6 months. Fasting (>8 h) blood samples were collected at baseline, 6 months (end of active intervention) and 12 months (6 months after the end of the active intervention). Plasma resistin, adiponectin and leptin concentration were measured using a multiplex assay. Separate linear mixed models and a P < 0.05 were used to test for significance. Significant group × time interactions were found for resistin (P < 0.0001), adiponectin (P = 0.001) and leptin (P = 0.013). For resistin, IN was 12% lower at 6 months than CN. Adiponectin concentration in IN was greater at 6 months (26%) and 12 months (8%) than CN. Leptin concentration was 22% lower for IN at 12 months than CN. We have previously reported that our school-based intervention reduced zBMI and now reported alterations in biologically relevant disease biomarkers. Some of the observed changes were only present at the end of the active intervention (resistin), while others persisted until 12 months (leptin and adiponectin). These changes underscore the effectiveness of our school-based intervention at not only improving zBMI but also at reducing disease risk.

With the international trend towards individualised funding packages that allocate funds to individuals to spend on disability support needs, the challenge of ensuring parents can readily access useful information to make decisions becomes paramount. The present research used a two stage, mixed method sequential approach (with 291 parents surveyed and 56 parents participating in focus groups) to determine how parents acquire information to enhance their understanding of their child's disability and determine how to use an individualised funding scheme to benefit their child and family. Parents attested to the importance of person-to-person communication and valued information that originated from other parents of a child with a disability, and from professionals who knew their child. Parents also spoke about the limitations of the internet, noting that reliance on the internet could cause confusion as the validity of information could not be assured. Early childhood intervention services emerged as a key instrument in developing the capacity of families to make informed choices. Understanding families' perspectives on the utility of information sources is critical and timely as policy-makers and service providers within the disability sector shift practice to meet the rise of individualised funding internationally. IntroductionFamily-centred practice has been widely accepted as best practice in the field of early childhood intervention for more than two decades (Espe-Sherwindt, 2008;Fordham, Gibson and Bowes, 2012;Moore, 2010). If parents are to engage genuinely in family-centred practice and make decisions around issues that affect their child and family, then the provision of information is paramount (Gallagher, Smith, Hardy, et al., 2012). Optimising parents' access to useful information not only plays a pivotal role in bolstering family-centred practice, but also has a direct positive impact on both the well-being of families and outcomes for children (Trute, Hiebert-Murphy and Wright, 2008).

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