Alleviating stress and perceived stigma in parents after febrile seizure in their children

Febrile seizure (FS) is a worrisome event for parents. This study aimed to investigate how stress and perceived stigma are alleviated after experience FS in their children.

Parents who visited hospitals because of FS exhibited by their children were invited to participate this study. One hundred and sixty-one parents answered the questionnaire (1st Q); among them, 52 parents answered the same questionnaire (2nd Q) after 3 months. The questionnaire consisted of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Parent Stigma Scale (PSS). The scores between the 1st Q and 2nd Q were compared with 52 participants who answered both questionnaires.

The median value of the IES-R total score was 11, and 20 participants showed >24 in the 1st Q (n = 161). IES-R subscales of Intrusion and Hyperarousal symptoms and one item of PSS, "people who know your children have a FS treat your children differently", decreased significantly (p<0.010, p = 0.013 and p = 0.038, respectively) from the 1st Q (n = 52) to 2nd Q (n = 52). Parents with children having a past history of FS showed significantly higher PSS scores than parents with children having first FS episode (p = 0.029) in the 1st Q (n = 161). Parents who had some knowledge about FS could deal significantly more appropriately with FS attacks compared with those who had no prior knowledge (p<0.001) in both the 1st Q (n = 161) and 2nd Q (n = 52).

Stress and stigma in parents were reduced to some extent 3 months after the FS attacks in their children. Recurrent FS can cause a transient perception of parental stigma. Appropriate education regarding correct management before experiencing the first episode of FS may be important.