Psychosocial well-being and epilepsy: an empirical study

The study examined the self-esteem, life fulfillments, social and interpersonal difficulties, general physical health, worries, and happiness of 392 adults with epilepsy using various psychometric instruments. A questionnaire method was used, and the sample was drawn from urban and rural epilepsy support groups in several regions of Great Britain and Ireland and a hospital outpatient population. The findings indicated general low well-being among the epilepsy sample when compared with a nonepilepsy sample matched for age and sex. Factors associated with high and low well-being within the epilepsy sample were also investigated. People's perceptions of themselves and of their epilepsy were strongly related to overall well-being, and seizure frequency, ratings of certainty of diagnosis, time since diagnosis, and a diagnosis of absence seizures also seemed of some significance. From a range of background factors, only employment status showed any significant association with well-being. The research findings have implications for the management of people with epilepsy and suggest that ratings of subjective experience could be usefully incorporated into future research into the quality of life of people with epilepsy.