Humor Training and Diabetes: An Adjunct to Treatment

Abstract

Positive humor and laughter have long been associated with health and well-being. Although evidence exists that positive humor can be strengthened, there is no evidence that these findings can be generalized to people living with diabetes. This study used a pre-posttest design to examine the effects of a humor training program on four styles of humor. The sample consisted of 30 participants with type 1 diabetes, 76.6% female (n = 23), 90% Caucasian (n = 27), and 76.6% college educated (n = 23). Participants completed the Humor Styles Questionnaire prior to and after completing The 7 Humor Habits Program. Participants demonstrated an increase in both types of positive humor, affiliative humor (P < .05) (P-value = .036), and self-enhancing humor (P < .01) (P-value = .006). There was no significant difference on either type of negative humor, aggressive humor (P > .05) (P-value = .8), or self-defeating humor (P > .05) (P-value = .975). Results suggest that people with type 1 diabetes can strengthen their positive sense of humor (affiliative, self-enhancing) while not impacting negative sense of humor (aggressive, self-defeating). Results are discussed relative to strengthening positive styles of humor without increasing styles of humor not associated with effective diabetes management.