Abstracts

Rationale: There is growing evidence in the epilepsy literature that psychosocial factors can play a significant role in child health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Parents' adaptation to their child's illness is not often taken into account when considering the psychosocial functioning of children with epilepsy. This study examined parents' coping factors and how they relate to a child's psychopathology and HRQOL in the context of epilepsy. Methods: Data was obtained from 23 patients who were seen for a neuropsychological evaluation at a tertiary pediatric care epilepsy clinic. The Illness Cognitions Questionnaire ?" Parent Version (ICQ), Quality of Life Childhood Epilepsy (QOLCE), and Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) were administered to parents. Data regarding family history of internalizing psychopathology, duration of epilepsy, and maternal education level were obtained from medical records. Correlations were conducted (Pearson and point-biserial, when appropriate) to determine significant associations between parental/demographic, epilepsy-specific, behavioral, and functional variables. Along with epilepsy-specific variables, significant associations were then utilized within regression analyses as independent variables to predict QOLCE. Results: Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between the QOLCE and the following variables: ICQ helplessness (ICQ-H) (p < 0.0001), BASC-2 internalizing index (p < 0.0001), and BASC-2 externalizing index (p = 0.008). However, ICQ components of acceptance and perceived benefits, duration of epilepsy, maternal education, and positive family history of psychopathology were nonsignificant. Moreover, only a minimal association between ICQ-H and BASC-2 internalizing index was found (p = 0.127). A simultaneous regression model predicting QOLCE was significant (p < 0.0001) and yielded the following significant predictors: ICQ-H (partial r= -0.770, p < 0.0001) and BASC-2 internalizing index (partial r =-0.630, p = 0.004). This indicated that internalizing psychopathology and parental feelings of helplessness with their child's condition each contributed uniquely to Total QOL on the QOLCE, above and beyond control variables. Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that the degree of helplessness parents experience about their child's epilepsy is related to their child's HRQOL. Moreover, variance in HRQOL scores appears to be uniquely accounted for by parental helplessness even when factoring in the degree of internalizing psychopathology experienced by the child. This relationship highlights the importance of taking into account parents' ability to cope with the stress of their child's epilepsy and should be an important target when developing interventions for families who have a child with epilepsy. Funding: n/a