Stress level and self-concept among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Indonesia

Introduction
Diabetes mellitus has several complications related to mental health, such as stress and depression. Stress may disrupt the self-concept of a person with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between stress and self-concept among T2DM patients in Medan, Indonesia.

Material and methods
This is a cross-sectional study of a total of 100 subjects. The subjects were selected using convenience sampling. The primary data were collected from interviews using questionnaire guidelines. The Perceived Stress Scale-10 was used to determine the stress level, while the National Self-Concept Scale was used to determine the patient’s self-concept. The data were processed using SPSS and analyzed with the chi-squared test.

Results
The results showed that 83% of diabetic patients experienced a moderate level of stress, whereas 61% of patients had a fair self-concept. Furthermore, the chi-squared test showed that there was no relationship between stress and self-concept in T2DM patients (p < 0.05).

Conclusions
There was no relationship between stress level and self-concept among T2DM patients (p < 0.05). Although stress and self-concept are closely related, especially in T2DM patients, the present study did not find a relationship between the two variables. However, efforts should still be made to prevent mental health disorders and to control the disease.