title: Temperament and character factors in Korean children with seizure disorders.
abstract: Although the organic and psychosocial consequences of seizure disorders are thought to affect temperament and character patterns, these patterns in children with seizure disorders have not yet been investigated. We therefore investigated temperament and character patterns in Korean children with seizure disorders and their associations with seizure-related variables. The Korean version of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory was used to assess temperament and character factors of 65 children with seizure disorders (32 boys, 33 girls; mean age, 10.6 +/- 1.8 years) and 65 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Children with seizure disorders showed higher harm avoidance, and lower persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness than controls. In children with seizure disorders, character factors such as self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence were significantly associated with seizure type, and cooperativeness was correlated with seizure severity. Novelty seeking and self-directedness were correlated with paternal educational level and parental economic status, respectively. These findings suggest that children with seizure disorders have distinctive temperament and character patterns, with seizure type being the most influential factor modulating character patterns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Subin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hanik K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Jin Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeongwon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Soon Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Hee-Ryung
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tae
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sung Ko
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002605:Character; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament / Q000145:classification*