Structural Equation Modeling in Explaining the Effect of Brain Behavioral System on the Psychological Vulnerability of Female Patients with Diabetes: The Mediating Role of Positive and Negative Emotions

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and general disability in 202, accounting for two-thirds of all diseases; therefore, the present research aimed to model structural equations in explaining the effect of the brain-behavioral system on diabetic women's psychological vulnerability with the mediating role of positive and negative emotions.

This descriptive study was conducted using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the study included all women with diabetes in the specialized diabetes clinic of Karaj in the first half of 2011. Among this population, 380 cases were selected via purposive sampling and participated in the study. Data were collected using Carver and White's behavioral brain systems questionnaire, mental health questionnaire (SCL-25), and Watson et al.'s (1988) positive and negative emotions questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 23) and Amos (version 18) software packages using Pearson's correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling.
Results The results pointed out that the indirect path coefficient between the behavioral inhibition system and psychological vulnerability (P=0.001; β=0.188) was positive, and the indirect path coefficient between the behavioral activation system and psychological vulnerability (0.01>P; β=0.147) was negative and significant. Nonetheless, the coefficient of the indirect path between the behavioral inhibition system and psychological vulnerability through positive affect (P=0.003; β=0.066) was positive, and the indirect coefficient between the behavioral activation system and psychological vulnerability through positive affect (0.001 P=0.070, β=0.070) was negative and significant. However, the coefficient of the indirect path between the behavioral inhibition system and psychological vulnerability through negative emotion (P=0.001; β=0.126) was positive, and the indirect coefficient between the behavioral activation system and psychological vulnerability through negative emotion (0.007 P=0.081, β=0.081) was negative and significant.

As evidenced by the obtained results,  it can be concluded that among female patients with diabetes, positive and negative emotions positively medicated the effect of the behavioral inhibition system on psychological vulnerability and negatively mediated the effect of the behavioral activation system on psychological vulnerability.