Abstracts

Although social problems are common in adolescents with epilepsy, factors related to these problems are not well understood. Lower neuropsychological functioning, specifically executive functioning, has been shown to be related to social difficulties in other populations but has not been studied in adolescents with epilepsy. It was anticipated similar relationships would be found in this population., Data from a longitudinal study investigating behavioral outcomes in adolescents with epilepsy were used for the current analyses. Participants were 125 adolescents (48% female) ages 11 to 18 years ([italic]M=13.6, SD=1.9[/italic]). Mean age of seizure onset was 5.5 years ([italic]SD=3.6[/italic]). All participants had a diagnosis of epilepsy and were excluded if they had another chronic physical condition or if they had been diagnosed with mental retardation. The Stroop Test and Trail Making Test B were used to measure executive functioning skills. Higher T-scores on the Stroop Test indicated poorer executive functioning skills. Higher z-scores on the Trail Making Test B indicated poorer executive functioning skills. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Teachers completed the Teacher Report Form and adolescents completed the Youth Self Report Form. The CBCL social problems T-score was used., Executive functioning, as measured by the Stroop Test, was negatively correlated with social problems as rated by parents ([italic]r [/italic]= -.27, p[lt].01) and teachers ([italic]r[/italic] = -.30, p[lt] .01). The same trend was found for social problems as reported by adolescents but the findings were only marginally significant ([italic]r[/italic] = -.17, p = .07). Executive functioning as measured by the Trail Making Test B was positively associated with social problems as rated by parents ([italic]r[/italic] = .22, p[lt] .05) and teachers ([italic]r[/italic] = .23, p [lt] .05). There was no significant relationship between Trail Making Test B and social problems as reported by adolescents ([italic]r[/italic] = .06, p =. 56)., The findings from this study suggest that adolescents with higher executive functioning skills have fewer social problems as reported by parents and teachers. This finding is consistent with previous literature from other chronic disability populations. The fact that there is no apparent association between social problems and executive functioning in adolescents might indicate that their perceptions of social problems are different than those from other sources. It appears that a triangulated methodology might be best when assessing social problems in adolescents with epilepsy., (Supported by RO1 NR04536 from NIH-NINR to J.K.A.)