Parental factors associated with adaptation in children with pediatric epilepsy

• Main Author: Stephan, Linda Herrington Dugan
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2002
• Subjects: Children & youth; Epilepsy; Nursing; Parents & parenting; Pediatrics
• ISBN: 9780493884813; 0493884815

Children with epilepsy have multiple problems with behavior, emotion, self-concept, and learning. Parents provide the environment in which the child adapts to epilepsy. Fathers have been studied much less frequently than mothers. Determining parental factors associated with child adaptation and examining differences between mothers and fathers is essential to understanding how to help these families make a successful adjustment to childhood epilepsy. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to describe child, parent, and family factors that are associated with child adaptation (behavior problems) to epilepsy and (b) to describe differences between mothers and fathers. The study involved a secondary analysis of existing data from a larger study (RO1 NS22416; PI: Joan K. Austin). The sample was 69 children (37 girls and 32 boys) of the 69 mother-father pairs who had complete data at follow-up in the larger study. Cross-sectional analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, and multiple regressions. The major finding was that more severe seizures and more parental symptoms of depression were significantly associated with a poorer child adaptation for both mothers and fathers. These factors accounted for approximately one-third of the variance for both mothers and fathers. Family functioning and coping strategies did not contribute to the prediction of child behavior problems. Compared to fathers, mothers reported more child behavior problems ( p < .05). In addition, mothers reported higher levels of depression symptoms and greater use of all three coping strategies (family maintenance, social support, and medical consultation) than did fathers (p < .05). The finding that higher seizure severity and more parent symptoms of depression were associated with more child behavior problems has implications clinically and for future research. In this study some mothers and fathers had symptoms of depression that should be addressed. Clinicians should be aware that when children with epilepsy experience behavior problems that their parents should be assessed for depression. A regular assessment of depression in mothers and fathers of children with severe seizures also is indicated. Future research should explore coping strategies that might help reduce symptoms of depression in parents of children with epilepsy.