| Sumario: | Aims and objectives: To investigate the relationships of sociodemographic factors, self‐stigma, glycaemic control (measured by glycated haemoglobin (A1C)) and self‐care behaviours in young adults with type 2 diabetes. Background: Young adults aged 25–44 years are in their most productive period. Once diagnosed with diabetes, this population tends to experience poor glycaemic control and perform poorly in self‐care activities. Such patterns may raise perceptions of self‐stigma and further decrease motivations to engage in self‐care behaviours in patients with diabetes. Design: A cross‐sectional, correlational research design. Methods: The STROBE guidelines for cross‐sectional studies were followed. A convenience sample of 115 participants was recruited from a medical centre in southern Taiwan. Instruments included the Self‐Stigma Scale–Chinese version and the Diabetes Self‐Care Behaviours Scale. Data were analysed using a three‐step hierarchical regression analysis and the Sobel test. Results: The average age of the participants was 36.7 years. Marital status, employment status, self‐stigma and A1C were significantly associated with self‐care behaviours, and these four variables explained 43.6% of the variance in self‐care behaviours. However, A1C (β = −.58, p <.001) was found to be the only determinant of self‐care behaviours in the last regression model. The Sobel test showed that A1C had mediating effects on self‐stigma and self‐care behaviours as well as employment status and self‐care behaviours. Conclusion: This study supports the interactive relationship among self‐stigma, employment status, glycaemic control and self‐care behaviours in young adults with type 2 diabetes. Strategies aimed at optimising glycaemic control can help reduce the effects of self‐stigma perceptions and employment status on the self‐care behaviours of such patients. Relevance to clinical practice: More effective educational programmes should be designed to improve glycaemic control, lower the effects of employment and decrease perceptions of self‐stigma to further motivate young adults to engage in better diabetes self‐care behaviours.
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