Introduction: The prevalence of diabetes tends to grow and can be controlled by identifying personal and social factors affecting lifestyle. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the adherence to health behaviors and several cognitive social theory (SCT) structures in women referred to the Diabetes Forum in Shahrekord, Iran.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed among 198 diabetic women selected using a sample size formula and random sampling method with proportion to sample size. The questionnaire was three-fold including demographic questionnaires, adherence to health behaviors in diabetic patients, and a researcher-made questionnaire based on cognitive theory structures. Data analysis was carried out using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, t-test, analysis of variance, and linear regression in SPSS software, version 18.

Results: There was a direct and significant correlation between follow-up of adherence to health behaviors, such as diet and physical activity, and outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and self-regulation (P<0.05). The expectations of outcome were directly and significantly correlated with self-regulation and self-efficacy (P<0.05). The studied structures predicted 31.3% of the behavior. In this study, self-efficacy was a strong predictor of behavior compared to other structures (β=0.662).

Conclusion: There was a direct and significant correlation between adherence to health behaviors and SCT structures, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and self-regulation.