Children with new onset seizures: A prospective study of parent variables, child behavior problems, and seizure occurrence.

Objective: Parent variables (stigma, mood, unmet needs for information and support, and worry) are associated with behavioral difficulties in children with seizures; however, it is not known how this relationship is influenced by additional seizures. This study followed children (ages 4-14 years) and their parents over a 24-month period (with data collected at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months) and investigated the effect of an additional seizure on the relationship between parenting variables and child behavior difficulties.

Methods: The sample was parents of 196 children (104 girls and 92 boys) with a first seizure within the past 6 weeks.

Management challenges in children with both epilepsy and intellectual disability.

People who have both epilepsy and intellectual disability have significant problems requiring skilled health care management. Clinical nurse specialists have the unique opportunity to work with these people and their families to help them develop self-management and family management skills. In this article, we describe some factors associated with intellectual disability and epilepsy.

Continuing psychosocial care needs in children with new-onset epilepsy and their parents.

Children with new-onset epilepsy and their parents have many psychosocial care needs, including concerns and fears and needs for information and support. No prospective studies address psychosocial care needs at 12 and 24 months after seizure onset. It is unknown if psychosocial care needs are associated with children's attitudes toward having epilepsy or with parental responses to their child's epilepsy.

Development of the parent response to child illness (PRCI) scale.

The aims of this study were to develop an instrument to measure parents' responses and perceptions related to the onset of either seizures or asthma in a child (aged 4-14) and to assess the initial reliability and validity of the instrument. The 35-item scale developed comprised five subscales: Child Support, Family Life/Leisure, Condition Management, Child Autonomy, and Child Discipline. Subjects were parents of 224 children with new-onset seizures and 104 parents of children with new-onset asthma.

The Seizures and Epilepsy Education (SEE) program for families of children with epilepsy: a preliminary study.

We investigated the usefulness of the Seizures and Epilepsy Education (SEE) program in improving quality of life, management of the seizure condition, and health care utilization in families having a child with epilepsy. Members of 15 families attended the program, with at least one parent from each family represented. Children attended if they were at least 12 years of age.

Childhood epilepsy: failures along the path to diagnosis and treatment.

Despite the importance of early diagnosis in childhood epilepsy, few published studies address the process of the child's entry into the health care system. The purpose of this article is to describe parental accounts of the diagnostic process and corresponding treatment for their children. We interviewed 21 parents of children who had both epilepsy and significant learning problems using semistructured open-ended interviews.

Stressors of parents of children with epilepsy and intellectual disability.

Past research suggested that parents of children who have both epilepsy and intellectual disability are at risk for increased stress, but the specific causes of stress have not been studied. Descriptions of the specific stressors are needed before effective interventions can be designed. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore these sources of stress.

Maternal adaptation to a child's epilepsy.

Mothers of children with epilepsy are at risk for problems in adapting to their child's condition; however, factors associated with maternal adaptation to a child's epilepsy have not been well articulated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations among maternal and child characteristics, maternal beliefs, and maternal adaptation outcomes. A conceptual model was formulated based on the literature.

Identifying risk factors for maternal depression in families of adolescents with epilepsy.

Issues And Purpose: To investigate factors associated with depressive symptoms in mothers of children with chronic seizure disorders.

Design And Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was used with a sample of 115 mother-child dyads in families where the child had chronic epilepsy.

Results: A three-factor model consisting of family income, satisfaction with family relationships, and presence of child behavior problems explained 32% of the variance in maternal depressive symptoms.