Correlates of Regimen Adherence in Cystic Fibrosis

The present investigation studied psychological and familial factors associated with self-care adherence in a sample of 50 children (ages 9 to 17 years) with cystic fibrosis (CF). Children and their parents were recruited through an outpatient pediatric pulmonary medicine clinic at a metropolitan children's hospital. Participants were interviewed and administered measures of family behavior and child psychological variables. Regimen adherence was measured using a telephone interview approach across three occasions per participant. Hierarchical multiple regression with age, perceived family behaviors, health locus of control, and self-competency as predictors, accounted for 53.8% of the variance in regimen adherence. Findings suggest that higher self-esteem and younger age are related to higher rates of regimen adherence among children with CF.