title: Examining health-related quality of life, adaptive skills, and psychological functioning in children and adolescents with epilepsy presenting for a neuropsychological evaluation.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to characterize 132 children and adolescents (mean age = 10 years, 11 months) with epilepsy in terms of psychosocial functioning and to determine the extent to which adaptive skills and psychological functioning predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL), above and beyond demographic and epilepsy-specific characteristics. A chart review was conducted to obtain demographic and epilepsy-specific information as well as caregiver responses on the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) Parent Report and the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE). In addition to Full Scale IQ and age at seizure onset, the BASC-2 Clinical and Adaptive Skills subscales also predicted HRQOL, indicating that this measure may be particularly helpful in predicting HRQOL above and beyond information routinely collected in a medical setting. It is imperative to evaluate children with epilepsy for psychosocial difficulties and diminished HRQOL to ensure the provision of comprehensive quality care and intervention services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, St Louis University, St Louis, MO, USA. lclary@cnmc.org
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Clary
authors.forename: Jillon S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Vander Wal
authors.forename: Jeffrey B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Titus
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires