Improving glycemic control and psychosocial outcomes in youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) remains a clinical priority. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Pediatric Diabetes evaluated the effectiveness of coping skills training (CST) compared with conventional diabetes education across multiple timepoints.

A comprehensive search was conducted across CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and gray literature sources up to March 2025. The analysis included 10 randomized controlled trials involving 1029 participants from Western and Eastern settings. A narrative synthesis was performed to assess glycemic control, psychosocial variables, and diabetes self-management. Subgroup analyses using Review Manager 5.4 evaluated outcomes at 3, 6, and 12 months. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.

The findings showed that CST reduced glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at 3 months with a mean difference of −0.29% (95% confidence interval [CI], −0.56 to −0.02). This reduction was sustained at 6 months (−0.55%, 95% CI, −0.88 to −0.21) and 12 months (−0.56%, 95% CI, −1.03 to −0.10). Improvements in self-efficacy (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.35; 95% CI, 0.01-0.68) and quality of life (SMD, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.01-0.54) were observed at 12 months. No significant differences were found for stress, depressive symptoms, or coping across all timepoints.

These findings suggest that CST may support glycemic control over time, with more limited and delayed effects on psychosocial outcomes.