title: Brief report: Adolescents' attitudes toward epilepsy: further validation of the Child Attitude Toward Illness Scale (CATIS).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine adolescents' attitudes toward having epilepsy using the Child Attitude Toward Illness Scale (CATIS) and to provide further psychometric validation of the scale in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 197 adolescents aged 11 to 17 years who completed the CATIS at two points and two external validation scales. Test-retest and internal consistency reliability and construct validity were computed. Analysis of variance was used to examine differences in attitudes according to gender, age, and epilepsy severity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Girls, older adolescents, and those with more severe epilepsy had more negative attitudes toward having epilepsy than boys, younger adolescents, and those with moderate or mild epilepsy, respectively. Psychometric analyses yielded excellent internal consistency reliability and good test-retest reliability. The CATIS was moderately correlated with self-esteem and mastery, supporting its construct validity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CATIS is a useful and psychometrically sound tool to assess adolescents' attitudes toward having chronic illness.
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Heimlich
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Westbrook
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Devinsky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D014481:United States