Psychological Assessment in Children With Epilepsy and Their Mothers

Objective: Epilepsy is a chronic disease with high morbidity. Our study aims to investigate the scores of anxiety and depression in children with epilepsy and their mothers and the role of parental attitudes in these children. Material and Methods: The study included 35 children with epilepsy and their mothers. Control group consisted of 35 healthy children of similar age and sex to the study group and their mothers. Parenting Style Inventory (PSI), Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale - Parent version (RCADS-P) scales were used in the patient and control groups. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between mother anxiety and depression scores in terms of BDI and BAI scales. There were no significant differences between the total and subscale scores of the anxiety and depression in the children of study and control groups in terms of RCADS-P. Strictness/supervision subscale of PSI average was statistically significantly higher in the patient group but the Psychological Autonomy subscale average was found lower. The mean scores of Excessive Maternity and Obsession and Discipline subscale of PARI were significantly higher in the patient group. Conclusion: Mothers of children with epilepsy may be overprotective or authoritarian. Overprotective or authoritative parental attitudes in children can lead to loss of self-esteem. Therefore, besides the treatment of children with epilepsy, attention should be paid to improving the wrong attitudes of their parents.