Childhood Epilepsy: Child Adaptation and Family Resources

The purpose of the study was to (a) compare children with epilepsy and children with asthma in regard to psychosocial adaptation and family characteristics; and (b) compare family characteristics for children with epilepsy with good and poor psychosocial adaptation. Subjects were 111 children (54 with epilepsy and 57 with asthma) and their mothers. Children with epilepsy were found to have significantly lower self-concepts, more behavior problems at school, and more depression than children with asthma. In the epilepsy sample, family resources and adaptation were significantly lower for children with poor psychosocial adaptation when compared with children with good psychosocial adaptation.