Objective:

To generate a scale to measure health beliefs among Mexican adolescents and young people with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) to determine the extent to which they affect adherence to treatment and to be able to develop more effective social marketing campaigns.

Materials and methods:

Based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), a scale was generated; three field tests were applied, and it was administered in two regions of Mexico to young people with type 1 diabetes. Tests of reliability, stability, convergence-discrimination and predictive validity were developed.

Results:

The main predictor is perceived barriers to treatment adherence, followed by self-efficacy to disease control, susceptibility/vulnerability to disease complications and perceived benefits of treatment.

Conclusion:

This scale may be especially useful for better monitoring young Mexican patients with T1DM and prevent sequelae of disease.

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