A survey of behavior problems in children with epilepsy

This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of psychiatric morbidity in children and adolescents referred to a tertiary national epilepsy center (inpatient unit) and the extent of the unmet need for psychiatric services in this group. Participants were 74 children and adolescents aged 9-15 years referred from February 2001 to October 2002 (67% response rate). The multi-informant (parent, teacher, self-report) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) were answered before or at admission. Patients with severe mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorder were excluded. We found a high proportion (77%) with a possible or probable psychiatric disorder. The parents, teachers, and the adolescents themselves had higher mean SDQ scores than a British community sample on total difficulties, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention, peer problems, and impairment, except self-reported conduct problems. Nearly 80% of the children who probably had a psychiatric disorder had no contact with the psychiatric service.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Mental health problems in children and adolescents referred to a national epilepsy center

Hanssen‐Bauer

Heyerdahl

Eriksson³

2007

“…Infants who have difficult and resistant temperaments may be at a relatively greater risk for both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Because internalizing behavior problems are the most common in children with epilepsy [4,7,28,43], it is especially important to identify factors that might predispose children with seizures to internalizing problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children with epilepsy have been shown to be at increased risk for psychopathology [2,3] as well as for problems with adjustment, including behavior, and cognition [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Children with seizures are up to 4.7 times more likely to have behavior problems than control children [4,8,10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children with seizures are up to 4.7 times more likely to have behavior problems than control children [4,8,10,11]. Children with epilepsy also have more behavior problems than children with other chronic conditions that do not involve the central nervous system [7,8]. This increased risk for behavior problems has been shown to be present prior to the recognition of seizures [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Temperament, family environment, and behavior problems in children with new-onset seizures

Baum¹,

Byars²,

deGrauw³

et al. 2007

Children with epilepsy, even those with new-onset seizures, exhibit relatively high rates of behavior problems. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among early temperament, family adaptive resources, and behavior problems in children with new-onset seizures. Our major goal was to test whether family adaptive resources moderated the relationship between early temperament dimensions and current behavior problems in 287 children with new-onset seizures. Two of the three temperament dimensions (difficultness and resistance to control) were positively correlated with total, internalizing, and externalizing behavior problems (all p < 0.0001). The third temperament dimension, unadaptability, was positively correlated with total and internalizing problems (p < 0.01). Family adaptive resources moderated the relationships between temperament and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at school. Children with a difficult early temperament who live in a family environment with low family mastery are at the greatest risk for behavior problems.

“…We want teachers to be aware that, in fact, a considerable proportion of children will present with learning disability (up to 50%) [17], attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or "ADHD" (approximately 38%) [18], and behavior problems [19]. Yet, many children with epilepsy do not have problems at school [17][18].…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ ratings of the academic performance of children with epilepsy

Katzenstein

Fastenau

Dunn

et al. 2007

The present study examined how knowledge of children's seizure condition was related to teachers' assessment of the children's academic ability. Children with epilepsy were divided into two groups based on teacher awareness of the child's seizure condition (Label). The children's achievement was assessed using the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement-Revised (WJ-R), and the teacher's ratings were obtained from the Child Behavior Checklist Teacher Report Form (TRF) (Source). A 2 (Source) × 2 (Label) mixed-design analysis of covariance (controlling for IQ and how well the teacher knew the child) found a significant interaction, F (1, 121) = 4.22, p = 0.04. For the WJ-R there was no effect of Label on Achievement, but on the TRF lower scores were observed for children who were labeled. These results support the hypothesis that some teachers might underestimate the academic abilities of children with epilepsy. KeywordsSeizures; Cognition; Child; School; Achievement 1.IntroductionChildren who have a disease or disability can be at a potential disadvantage in the classroom depending on the perceptions associated with the "labels" of their illnesses. Teachers might have a predetermined idea regarding the performance of labeled children, attributed to the perception the teachers hold in how children with a disease or disability differ from the societal norm [1,2]. Labeling might affect not only a teachers' perception of the students but also the perceptions that the children have of themselves. Children who are labeled could feel they are Corresponding Author: Jennifer M. Katzenstein, Psychology (LD 124), Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford Street, Indianapolis, jkatzens@iupui.edu Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errorsmaybe discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. The present study examined how the label of having epilepsy or seizures is related to teachers' ratings of children's academic performance compared to the children's actual performance on a standardized measure of academic achievement. The independent variable was dichotomous (whether or not the teachers knew about the children's seizure condition). In addition, a second independent variable was the source of academic achievement data (teachers ratings vs. the children's test scores). The dependent variable was academic achievement scores, assessed through the two sources: teachers' report of the children's progress in school (teachers' source of academic evaluation) and the child's score on a standardized achievement test (child's source of academic evaluation). Using a 2 × 2 (Label × Source of Achievement) design, ...