Epilepsy in adolescence: implications for the development of personality

Sixteen adolescent children with onset of epilepsy between the ages of 1 and 12 years and 16 control children were investigated by interview, self-esteem scales, and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Children with epilepsy had a significantly larger discrepancy between the self-image and the ideal self-image than did the control children. TAT indicated the body and self-image is poorer, the unknown and the risk of acting out more threatening, the sex identity less stable, and the defense not as adaptive as the control group. Persons suffering from epilepsy are often stigmatized. One explanation could be the influence of epilepsy on the development during adolescence of the basic trust of their bodies and of themselves.